Aviva Life Insurance Plus means Life Insurance+, an Aviva term policy that pays a lump sum or monthly amount if you die, with critical illness cover as an option. It is easily confused with the Life Insurance Plan that Aviva sells direct and with Simple Life Insurance, three policies with different rules.

Handed one of these names and unsure which? An FCA-authorised broker has the knowledge to read the documents with you. The form on this page needs only your name, age band, contact details and postcode; the call follows, free.

Which Aviva policy has the plus in its name?

On its own life insurance page, Aviva says: "We’re talking about our Life Insurance Plan, which is a term life insurance." That is the policy Aviva sells to people who apply on its website or by phone, and the word is "Plan", not "Plus". A cover of that kind lasts for a fixed number of years and then ends.

The "+" belongs to Life Insurance+. Aviva's DigiCare+ page lists it, together with Whole of Life Insurance+, among the policies people take out "through an adviser". Each has its own policy summary and its own policy conditions.

The rest of the names are easily muddled with these:

For the wider list of what Aviva sells direct, Aviva life insurance in the UK sets it out, and insurers compared puts Aviva beside other firms.

How do the three term policies compare on ages, terms and cover types?

The table sets out what each policy's own summary says. Nothing in it ranks them or says one is better, and premiums are left out because they depend on your details.

Life Insurance PlanLife Insurance+Simple Life Insurance
Who can applyAged 18 to 77Aged 18 or over, with a maximum start age that depends on the option chosenAged 18 to 59
Policy termOne to 50 years, ending before you turn 91One to 50 years, in whole years or until a specific ageOne to 40 years, in whole years or before age 71
How the money is paidLevel, decreasing or increasing lump sumLevel or decreasing lump sum, or equal monthly amounts (family income cover); increasing cover can be addedLevel or decreasing lump sum
What is coveredLife cover and terminal illness coverLife cover, or life and critical illness cover; both include terminal illness coverLife cover and terminal illness cover
Joint policySingle or jointSingle or joint; a joint policy can pay on the first event or, with level or increasing life cover, the secondSingle or joint

On the Life Insurance Plan, increasing cover rises each year in line with the Consumer Prices Index, up to a maximum of 10%. Life Insurance+ handles increasing cover differently, as an add-on tied to the Retail Prices Index or a fixed percentage, so a word like "increasing" does not mean the same thing across the two documents.

The age limits in Life Insurance+ move with the cover chosen. Aviva's summary gives a maximum start age of 77 for life cover alone where the amount is below £50,000, and 89 where it is £50,000 or more. Life and critical illness cover has a maximum start age of 64, and where you hold more than one option, such as increasing cover, the summary says the lowest maximum age applies.

What does Life Insurance+ include?

The headline choice is critical illness cover. Aviva's summary says Life Insurance+ can be taken as life cover or as life and critical illness cover, and that with the second "We only cover the critical illnesses we define in our policy and no others." The payout on a critical illness claim depends on the definition: Aviva says it may pay on diagnosis only, once a condition reaches a specified severity, or when named treatment is carried out, and you must survive at least 10 days.

Family income cover is another Life Insurance+ choice. It pays equal monthly amounts until the end of the policy term rather than one lump sum. A joint policy also has a second-event option, which pays only when both people covered have died or met Aviva's terminal illness definition, and the summary offers it only with level or increasing life cover.

The summary also lists benefits for children under life and critical illness cover, and several benefits at no extra cost, such as a separation benefit and house purchase cover. The Life Insurance Plan summary describes its own separation benefit and free house purchase cover lasting up to 90 days, so check what the schedule for your policy says rather than assuming the two match. Critical illness cover compared with life insurance goes into whether the extra layer is worth having.

Thinking about critical illness cover? A broker can talk it through against what you want the policy to do, by telephone and free of charge. Requesting that conversation takes the form on this page, nothing more.

What is Aviva Simple Life Insurance, and who can have it?

Aviva's Simple Life Insurance policy summary describes a policy that pays a lump sum if you die and includes terminal illness cover. You choose level or decreasing cover, and a single or joint policy.

Its age range is narrower than the other two. You need to be aged 18 to 59, and the highest cover available depends on your age when you apply: £750,000 at 18 to 39, falling to £200,000 at 55 to 59.

The summary is also where Aviva sets out the terminal illness test. For this policy it is a diagnosis in which both an attending consultant and Aviva's Medical Officer do not expect you to live longer than 12 months. The Life Insurance+ summary words its test around an attending consultant not expecting you to live longer than another 12 months, so read the definition in your own policy conditions rather than assuming the two match.

Whether Aviva is accepting new Simple Life applications now, and by which route, is something the broker can pin down when they phone.

All three policies end if you stop paying, and none can be cashed in. The rules for cancelling are in cancelling an Aviva life insurance policy.

How can you tell which Aviva policy you have or are being offered?

The policy schedule is the document that names what you hold. Aviva says it "shows what’s included on your policy", and the summaries are headed with the policy's name. If the name reads Life Insurance Plan, Life Insurance+ or Simple Life Insurance, you have your answer, and that name decides which summary applies.

The app that comes with the policy is another clue. Aviva's DigiCare+ page lists Life Insurance+ taken through an adviser and the Life Insurance Plan bought direct from 14 April 2021 as eligible, but its list for older Aviva+ and options policies excludes Simple Life Insurance. Aviva adds: "These services are non-contractual benefits Aviva can change or withdraw at any time." What DigiCare+ includes covers the services themselves.

A policy first issued by another insurer may have a different route. AIG Life policies now with Aviva and finding an Aviva policy help when the paperwork has gone missing.

When a quote arrives from a broker or adviser, ask for the Aviva policy name and the summary that goes with it; what a life insurance broker does explains the terms people use. Unsure which Aviva name your quote carries? Using the form on this page, request a call-back; a broker can then set the quote beside the right Aviva summary at no charge.

Frequently asked questions

Do Simple Life Insurance and the Life Insurance Plan work the same way?

No. Each has its own summary and its own limits: the Life Insurance Plan takes applicants aged 18 to 77, Simple Life Insurance 18 to 59. Simple Life offers level and decreasing cover only, while the Plan also has increasing cover.

Is Life Insurance+ sold on Aviva's own website?

Aviva's direct life insurance page describes the Life Insurance Plan, and its DigiCare+ page lists Life Insurance+ as taken "through an adviser". Which route applies to a given policy is a question the broker will answer when they phone, at no cost.

Does Aviva Simple Life Insurance pay out on a terminal illness diagnosis?

Aviva's summary says the policy includes terminal illness cover, paying the cover amount on a diagnosis during the term. It applies a test that needs both an attending consultant and Aviva's Medical Officer to expect death within 12 months, and the policy conditions give the detail.

Can two people share one of these policies?

Each summary lets you cover one person or two. With Life Insurance+ a joint policy can pay on the first event, or on the second where level or increasing life cover is chosen, and a joint Life Insurance Plan or Simple Life policy ends after one claim.

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