Yes, you can get life insurance without a medical exam, though not always without health questions. Aviva says of its own term cover that "in most cases, you won’t need a medical exam", and the guaranteed-acceptance over-50s plans from Aviva, Legal & General and SunLife ask no health questions at all.

Those are two different routes, and the trade-offs differ. A broker authorised by the FCA can check which insurers might take your application and what each would ask for; the form on this page connects you with one. It costs nothing and you are under no obligation.

What life insurance without a medical usually means

The first meaning is underwritten cover that needs no examination. You answer questions about your health and lifestyle and the insurer decides on those answers; at Aviva, by its own account, most applicants are asked for nothing more. Legal & General says that when it assesses an application it asks questions about your medical history, occupation and lifestyle, and that the answers help it decide your premiums and whether you are entitled to life insurance. So you skip the exam, not the questions.

The second meaning is cover with no health questions: guaranteed-acceptance over-50s plans, covered below. They accept everyone in an age band, which is why they carry the terms set out in that section.

Answers are not judged the same way everywhere: an industry paper on underwriting decisions, published by BIBA (March 2021), notes that "different insurers may offer different outcomes and decisions when assessing the same risk". For how a condition changes things, see life insurance with a medical condition, and for the questions themselves, medical questions for life insurance.

When an insurer does ask for a medical, GP report or nurse screening

Aviva's page for its Life Insurance Plan (September 2026) says the answer "depends on your age, the cover amount and the information you gave us about your health on your application", that "if you're applying for a large amount of cover, we might ask you to have a medical with either a nurse or a doctor", and that being asked "doesn’t automatically mean your application won’t be accepted". It also says that if it asks for an exam, "we’ll cover the costs". Treat that as one insurer's statement, not a rule for all.

Records can also be looked at later. Legal & General says that when it assesses a claim this "may include writing to the GP, Coroner (or procurator fiscal) and any other involved parties so we can obtain additional information".

If an insurer wants a report from your GP, the Access to Medical Reports Act 1988, which extends to England, Wales and Scotland, applies to a report "prepared by a medical practitioner who is or has been responsible for the clinical care of the individual" (section 2), not to a screening by someone you see only for the insurer. Under section 3 the insurer must tell you and get your consent first, and under sections 4 and 5 you can ask to see the report before it is sent and ask the doctor to correct anything you think is wrong; section 7 lets a doctor withhold parts in limited cases. Non-medical limits sets out these rights in full.

Over-50s plans: no health questions, with different terms

Guaranteed-acceptance over-50s plans are the true no-medical option. Aviva says of its Over 50s Life Insurance (September 2026): "No, we won’t ask you any health questions or ask you to have a medical examination." Legal & General (reviewed 8 June 2026) says it guarantees to accept you without any medical questions if you are 50 to 80 and a UK resident. Both give 50 to 80 as the age band; SunLife's terms (S-G050T12.25.V3) give 49 to 85. Guaranteed acceptance life insurance explains who qualifies.

The price of skipping the questions is in the terms. The payout is fixed, so inflation reduces what it buys, and premiums can add up to more than the payout. There is a qualifying period: Aviva says that if you die within the first 12 months and it was not an accidental death, it will not pay the cover amount but a sum equal to the premiums you have already paid. There is also a limit on cover, and Legal & General allows multiple policies "as long as the total cash sum is not more than £10,000". The best life insurance over 50 sets these terms out provider by provider, and is there a waiting period for life insurance? covers the qualifying periods.

Legal & General itself notes that, for someone willing to answer more lifestyle and medical questions, other products may be available. The plans are set side by side in the best life insurance over 50, and whether one is worth having is weighed in is over-50s life insurance worth it.

Answering health questions may open an underwritten policy with no exam, but only an insurer can say whether it would take your answers as they stand. A broker regulated by the FCA can put that question to more than one insurer at once; to be introduced to one, use the form on this page.

Cover without a medical still depends on honest answers

Because the decision rests on your answers, what you say carries legal weight. Under the Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012, section 2: "It is the duty of the consumer to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation to the insurer." Whether you took reasonable care depends on the circumstances, and section 3 lists how clear and how specific the insurer's questions were among the things to weigh.

If an answer turns out to be wrong, Schedule 1 to the Act sets what the insurer may do, and it depends on whether the mistake was careless or deliberate. Where it was careless but the insurer would still have offered cover at a higher premium, the insurer may reduce the amount paid on a claim in proportion; the stronger remedies are kept for answers it would not have accepted at all, or that were deliberate or reckless. That is the law in outline, not a view on any one application: what you must disclose sets out the classes and remedies, and when an insurer can refuse to pay covers claims.

Choosing between the routes, and what to ask

Underwritten cover tends to ask more of you at the start; a guaranteed plan asks nothing but pays a fixed sum. Aviva says on its over-50s page that the payout on its Over 50s Life Insurance is usually much smaller than the payout on its Life Insurance Plan. Aviva’s Life Insurance Plan takes applicants aged between 18 and 77; how term cover works explains that route.

Questions worth putting to an insurer or broker before you apply:

  • Based on the amount I want, would you expect to ask for a nurse screening, blood test or GP report?
  • If a report is requested, will I be told first and can I see it before it is sent?

The BIBA paper says that where an insurer has reasonably refused cover for a pre-existing condition, "alternative options for accessing cover may still be available to them". If you have been turned down, a broker can tell you which insurers might still consider you, though none can promise cover, and life insurance with a medical condition explains how conditions are assessed. For a mortgage, see mortgage protection with no health questions.

Frequently asked questions

Does guaranteed acceptance change as you get older?

Not within the age band: Aviva and Legal & General guarantee acceptance from 50 to 80, and SunLife's terms from 49 to 85, so inside each band the guarantee does not depend on how old you are. Price is another matter: Legal & General says its premium turns on your age and smoker status, and what over-50s life insurance costs covers that.

Can I get term life insurance with no health questions at all?

Aviva's and Legal & General's term-cover pages both ask about your health. The plans on this page with no health questions are the over-50s plans above, so if term cover without questions is what you want, ask a broker whether any insurer offers it.

Which route is open to you is a question only an insurer can settle. An FCA-authorised broker can put it to several on your behalf without charge: send the form on this page, and whether to go ahead stays your decision.

Part of our health and underwriting guides.

Sources

  • Aviva, Life Insurance Plan page (WC05632 09/2026), read 18 October 2026. aviva.co.uk
  • Aviva, Over 50s Life Insurance page (WC05649 09/2026), read 18 October 2026. aviva.co.uk
  • Legal & General, Life Insurance FAQs, read 18 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
  • Legal & General, Over 50 Life Insurance (reviewed 8 June 2026), read 18 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
  • SunLife (Phoenix Life Limited), Guaranteed Over 50 Plan Terms and Conditions including the Policy Summary (S-G050T12.25.V3), read 18 October 2026. sunlife.co.uk
  • legislation.gov.uk, Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012, sections 2, 3, 5 and Schedule 1, read 18 October 2026. legislation.gov.uk
  • legislation.gov.uk, Access to Medical Reports Act 1988, sections 2 to 5 and 7, read 18 October 2026. legislation.gov.uk
  • Access to Insurance group, Explaining underwriting decisions (updated March 2021), published by BIBA, read 18 October 2026. biba.org.uk