Aviva's main whole of life insurance policy is Whole of Life Insurance+, a separate product from its Over 50s Life Insurance, and Aviva's DigiCare+ page lists it among policies taken out through an adviser. It pays one lump sum when the person covered dies, whenever that is, and then ends. An FCA-authorised broker can talk lifelong cover through with you at no cost; this page's form is how that call gets arranged.

Whole of Life Insurance+ and the three documents behind it

The policy is named Whole of Life Insurance+, not a "Whole of Life plan". Aviva's DigiCare+ page lists it among the policies bought "through an adviser", so the usual route is a conversation with an adviser or broker rather than an online quote. A policy has three documents. The policy summary gives the overview; the policy conditions are the full contract; and after you buy, a personal policy schedule shows the cover amount, whether the policy is single or joint, and any options you chose. This guide follows the summary (AL50007) and the policy conditions (AL50008), both read on 27 October 2026.

Aviva's Over 50s Life Insurance is a different product with different rules, such as how it treats a death in the first year; Aviva over 50s life insurance covers it. The wider Aviva range, including its term cover, is on Aviva life insurance, and the general idea of lifelong cover is on what whole of life insurance is.

Who can apply, and what Aviva asks first

The summary says you need to be between 18 and 85 to take the policy out, and for a joint policy the top age limit "applies to the older person". Everyone covered must have a legal right to live in Gibraltar, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands or the UK, treat their main home as being in one of them, and have no current plan to move away for good.

You answer health and lifestyle questions, plus questions about your personal circumstances, and Aviva uses the answers to decide how much it can cover and what you pay. The summary warns that if answers are not full, truthful and accurate, Aviva "might change or cancel your policy, or we might not pay out on a claim". How Aviva would view one particular condition is best put to the broker during the call-back, where the medical details belong. For the wider picture see medical questions for life insurance.

What gets paid, to whom, and when the policy ends

The summary puts it simply: "If you die while you have a Whole of Life Insurance+ policy, we'll pay out a lump sum." The policy has no set term. Once Aviva pays, the policy ends, and the conditions add that Aviva pays the main benefit only once, even on a joint policy.

You can cover one person or two. With two people you choose, when you apply, whether the cover amount is paid on the first death or on the second death, when both have died. The conditions say that if the first of two lives covered dies by suicide or intentional self-inflicted injury in the first 12 months on a second-death policy, the policy continues. The conditions say Aviva pays the amount in the policy schedule to "the person who is legally entitled to receive it". If the policy is held in trust the money goes by a different route; whether life insurance needs a trust explains.

The policy cannot be cashed in. If you cancel it or stop paying, the cover stops and you are not paid anything back.

Premiums, and what increasing cover does to them

The summary says premiums depend on the cover amount, your age, job, health, lifestyle and smoking. They are described as guaranteed: the amount "won't change", unless you choose increasing cover or change the policy. Payment is by Direct Debit, monthly or yearly, from an account in the same four places and in pounds sterling. If a premium is missed, the conditions give 60 days from the due date to pay; a claim during that window has the unpaid premium taken from the payout, and after 60 days Aviva cancels the policy and no claim can be made.

Premiums run for as long as the cover does, and the summary is direct about what follows:

As the premiums are paid for the duration of your cover, the total paid in premiums could exceed the cover amount paid out at claim.

Increasing cover is the option that raises the cover amount each year against inflation. Per the summary, it comes in two kinds. Fixed increasing cover goes up by 3% or 5% a year. Index-linked cover follows the Retail Prices Index, up to a maximum of 10% a year. Either way, premiums go up by two times the percentage increase in cover. You can skip an increase in any year; skip three years in a row and Aviva removes increasing cover, and it cannot be added back later. A figure for your own age, health and amount of cover is worked out on the broker's call, which is free and puts you under no obligation.

Deaths in the first 12 months, and cover while Aviva decides

One exclusion appears in both documents. The summary says: "We won’t pay the cover amount if you die as a result of intentional self-inflicted injury or suicide within the first 12 months of taking out your policy." For a joint first-death policy it applies to the first death, and for a joint second-death policy to the second.

Any exclusions that come from your health answers are shown in your policy schedule, and Aviva calls a policy on "standard terms" only when it has not had to charge more, change the benefit or add an exclusion.

If Aviva needs more information before it can decide on an application, the summary says the protection promise gives free cover meanwhile. It starts once Aviva has a fully completed application and tells you cover has begun, and it pays up to £500,000 of the cover amount applied for. It does not pay if the information given was incomplete or inaccurate, if death is by suicide or self-inflicted injury, or if it results from a pre-existing medical condition present at the date of application that the person knew about or was having symptoms of. It ends on the earliest of 10 days after Aviva makes its acceptance offer, the policy start date, a decision to defer or decline, you withdrawing, or 90 days from when Aviva told you it had begun. On a second-death application it pays nothing if only one of the two people dies during that cover.

The extra benefits that come at no extra cost

The summary lists three additional benefits; your policy schedule confirms which you have. Each works through a new policy with no further health questions: the life change and inheritance tax benefits add cover for an additional premium, and the separation benefit splits a joint policy. The conditions set out when each is included and how it works.

  • Life change benefit. After six months you can add cover if you marry or form a civil partnership, divorce or separate, become a parent, take on a larger mortgage, or receive a gift or inheritance of cash or residential property. The new policy must start within 90 days, with evidence, and before the eldest life covered turns 65. Together, the new policies are limited to the lower of £200,000 and the original cover amount.
  • Separation benefit. On a joint policy, if you separate or move a mortgage into one name, the joint policy is cancelled and one or both of you take out a new single policy, again with no new health questions. The combined new cover cannot exceed the old cover amount, and it can be used once.
  • Inheritance tax benefit. If a change to inheritance tax bands, exemptions or reliefs raises your potential liability, you can add cover up to the lower of the increase, £1,000,000 and the original cover amount, with the new policy started within 90 days.

The conditions include the life change and separation benefits only where the policy was accepted on standard terms with the eldest life covered under 65 at the start date; the separation benefit also needs a joint policy. The inheritance tax benefit allows standard terms or an extra charge of up to 100% per life covered, and new policies under it must start before the eldest life covered turns 85. For what the tax itself means, and why people link whole of life cover to it, see whole of life insurance and inheritance tax.

Changing, cancelling and making a claim

Six months after the start date you can reduce the cover amount, change how often you pay or remove an option without new questions. Increasing the cover amount needs further health and lifestyle questions, and Aviva may not be able to go ahead. You have 30 days to change your mind: cancel within that time and Aviva refunds the premiums. Cancelling later is allowed, but no premiums come back.

To make a claim, the summary gives 0800 158 3467 and the policy conditions give 0800 015 1142, so use the number printed on your own papers. Aviva may ask for proof of the death, proof of who owns the policy and consent to look at medical records, and it bears the cost of reports it requests from others. If Aviva cannot settle a complaint, the summary says you may be able to take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service, and that the policy is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which "may cover you for up to 100% of any successful claim you make". Making an Aviva life insurance claim after a death walks through what to expect.

Frequently asked questions

Is Whole of Life Insurance+ sold direct by Aviva?

Aviva's DigiCare+ page names it among the policies new customers are taking out through an adviser. The ones it lists as bought directly from Aviva are Aviva Life Insurance, Over 50 Life Insurance and Critical Illness cover.

Are Aviva whole of life premiums guaranteed?

The summary says the amount you pay will not change unless you choose increasing cover or change the policy. Choosing increasing cover raises premiums as well as the cover amount.

Is tax due on the payout?

According to the summary, the person who receives a payout owes no income tax or capital gains tax on it, though it may count towards inheritance tax unless the policy sits in a suitable trust. Your own circumstances can change the position, and the rules can change too.

Which edition of the policy conditions applies to me?

The one sent with your own policy. Aviva can amend the conditions in set circumstances and says it aims to give 60 days' written notice of changes to your disadvantage.

If you are weighing up lifelong cover for a partner, for a family or for a tax bill, a broker can explain how this policy would work in your case and what else is on offer. Put that to the broker when they phone, after you send the short form here.

Sources