Mortgage protection insurance from Barclays is life insurance that Barclays Bank UK PLC arranges and Legal & General Assurance Society Limited underwrites, so the company that would pay a claim is Legal & General, not the bank. Barclays sells two life policies under its own name, one built for people with a mortgage and a simpler one that does not need a mortgage, and both come from the same insurer.
Choosing between a Barclays quote and another insurer’s? An FCA-authorised broker can set both side by side when you ask for a call in the form on this page.
Does Barclays sell life insurance, and which insurer is behind it?
Yes. The legal notice on Barclays’ mortgage life insurance page reads: “Life Insurance is arranged by Barclays Bank UK PLC and provided and underwritten by Legal & General Assurance Society Limited.” The same page calls Legal & General “our life insurance partner”. Aviva is sometimes named alongside Barclays, but Barclays’ current partner is Legal & General.
Barclays’ important-information leaflet for the mortgage version (V04, dated June 2023) explains the bank’s role. It says Barclays only offers this cover from Legal and General, acts for and on behalf of the insurer, and is paid a percentage of the premium as commission when a policy is sold. It adds that the insurance is sold on a non-advised, information-only basis, so Barclays will not make a personal recommendation about whether it suits you; if you need advice, the leaflet says you can book an appointment with a Barclays mortgage adviser.
That has one practical effect. Limits quoted on a Barclays page, such as the oldest age to apply, belong to the Barclays-arranged policy and can differ from what Legal & General publishes for cover bought direct. Legal & General’s own range is set out in Legal & General life insurance, and how the main mortgage policies line up is in comparing mortgage life insurance quotes, and the other ways to buy cover are in where to buy mortgage protection.
What are Barclays’ two types of life insurance?
Barclays’ life insurance page introduces “Our two types of life insurance”: Simple Life Insurance and life insurance for mortgage protection. They differ mainly in what you can choose.
| Feature (as Barclays’ pages set it out) | Simple Life Insurance | Life insurance for mortgage protection |
|---|---|---|
| Level term | Yes | Yes |
| Decreasing term | Not listed (level term only) | Yes |
| Single policy | Yes | Yes |
| Joint policy | No (“single policy only”) | Yes |
| Critical illness cover | Cannot be added | Optional |
| Who it is aimed at | One person, mortgage or not | Mortgage holders |
The Simple Life page says that “Whether you have a mortgage or not, your loved ones will get a single payout to spend where necessary.” For the mortgage version, Barclays says: “Choose between a single or joint policy and level or decreasing term insurance to suit your mortgage.” Whether a level or a decreasing policy fits a repayment or an interest-only loan is explained in life insurance or mortgage protection, and whether they differ.
Both policies pay out once, and then they end. Barclays lists terminal illness as covered where you are expected to die within a year. At the end of the term there is nothing to claim: its page says that “Life insurance policies have no cash value and Legal & General won’t pay out if you reach the end of the policy without making a valid claim”. How much a policy costs depends, in Barclays’ words, on your health and lifestyle, and a quote also takes in your age, the amount and length of cover, the type of policy and whether you smoke.
Can you add critical illness cover or a joint policy through Barclays?
Critical illness cover is available only on the mortgage version. Barclays says you can add it for an extra fee, in the Barclays app or with its mortgage advisers, and that it covers you until you are 75. The Simple Life page is explicit that it cannot be added there. What counts as a critical illness is set by Legal & General’s definitions, and Barclays’ page notes that cover will not pay out for an illness that does not meet them. The wider question of illness and mortgage protection has its own page, mortgage protection and critical illness cover.
A joint policy covers two people in one policy, and Barclays is plain about the catch: it “only pays out once after the first person dies. After that, the policy ends.” Whoever is left would need a new policy, at their age and health at that point. Two single policies work differently, and what a joint life insurance policy is and how joint policies compare cover that choice.
Which combination suits a particular mortgage, whether level or decreasing, with or without critical illness, single or joint, depends on the loan and on who relies on it. A broker can weigh those choices against your loan, and this page’s form is where you ask for that conversation.
Who can apply, and is there Barclays life insurance for over 50s?
On the mortgage version Barclays’ page sets these limits, as Barclays-arranged terms:
- You need to be a UK resident, at least 18, and no older than 74 to apply.
- For critical illness cover, you cannot be older than 67 to apply, or 64 if you have chosen a decreasing policy.
- The policy can run from 5 to 50 years, and must end before your 90th birthday, or your 75th if critical illness cover is included.
- The maximum cover amount is £5 million.
The Simple Life page says the same about age: you cannot apply if you are older than 74, and cover can run up to your 90th birthday.
Barclays sets out its range as the two policies above, both open to applicants up to 74, so someone in their fifties or sixties applying through Barclays is applying for one of the same two term policies, with a payout only if they die, or are expected to die within a year, before the term ends. How over-50s plans work generally is in life insurance over 50.
Is life insurance a condition of a Barclays mortgage?
No law requires life insurance for a UK mortgage, and whether you need life insurance for a mortgage covers what lenders may ask and the FCA rule on being allowed to choose another insurer. Whether a particular Barclays mortgage offer asks you to hold cover is one for the broker who phones you: ask on that free call, and they will explain where your Barclays offer stands.
If you do take a policy, Barclays’ page gives one warning about keeping it in step with the loan: if the policy is to help pay off a mortgage, make sure your amount of cover matches your outstanding balance, because it will not update itself when your finances change. Changing a policy when you move or remortgage is covered in changing mortgage protection, and the same cover from other banks in NatWest mortgage protection and Nationwide life insurance.
What do you do to apply, cancel or make a claim?
You can apply online or in the Barclays app. For Simple Life, Barclays says a quick quote starts with five questions; on either policy Legal & General then asks more about your health and lifestyle, and your monthly cost could go up with the answers. Barclays says there are many medical conditions that will still allow you to get life insurance, and that it is important to be honest about them in the application.
Cancelling is allowed whenever you like. Within 30 days of starting, Legal & General returns what you have paid; after 30 days nothing is refunded and future payments stop. If you stop paying, Barclays says cover ends 60 days after the first missed payment. To cancel, log in to My Account on the Legal & General website or ring 0370 010 4080 (Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 6pm, Saturday 9am to 1pm, as Barclays gives them). Barclays also says that putting a policy in trust can help make sure the right people get paid, though its legal notice adds that its mortgage advisers cannot advise on trusts, and mortgage protection policy in trust explains the choice.
Barclays’ pages ask people making a claim to go to Legal & General: the quickest way is on its website. Barclays says Legal & General will review a claim as quickly as possible, and that Barclays might be in touch if documents such as death certificates are needed.
Barclays also advertises a cash incentive for new policies: £100 with any Barclays current account and a policy with a minimum monthly premium of £10, or £150 with a Premier Current Account and a minimum of £12.50. The conditions are to apply by 25 November (as read on 27 October 2026), start the policy within six months, keep it for at least twelve months and make every monthly payment, and not have held a Barclays life insurance policy in the last twelve months. Barclays adds that T&Cs, eligibility criteria and exclusions apply to the offer, which is separate from the cover itself.
Want a broker to look at a Barclays quote beside alternatives? Request the call on this page’s form; it carries no charge.
Frequently asked questions
Will an existing health condition stop me buying Barclays cover?
Barclays says many conditions still allow cover, though the price can be affected, and answers must be honest and complete. How an insurer treats a particular condition is in life insurance with medical conditions, and a broker can talk through yours when they phone.
Does moving abroad affect a Barclays policy?
Barclays says a policy might be affected if you move abroad during it, and points to the policy booklet.
Sources
- Barclays, Mortgage protection | Mortgage life insurance (undated), read 27 October 2026. barclays.co.uk/insurance/life-insurance
- Barclays, Life Cover (undated), read 27 October 2026. barclays.co.uk/insurance/life-insurance
- Barclays, Barclays Simple Life Insurance (undated), read 27 October 2026. barclays.co.uk/insurance/life-insurance/barclays-simple-life-insurance
- Barclays, Barclays life insurance for mortgage protection: important information (V04, June 2023), read 27 October 2026. barclays.co.uk