Whether you can get life insurance with a terminal illness depends on the type of cover and the insurer, and a policy you already hold may include a terminal illness benefit. Ordinary cover asks about your health before the insurer decides; guaranteed-acceptance over-50s plans ask nothing but hold back the full payout for a year or two.
Marie Curie runs a free service of information and support for people with a terminal diagnosis and those close to them, online, in print and by phone on 0800 090 2309. When the illness is cancer, Macmillan's helpline on 0808 808 00 00 is free to call and answers from 8am to 8pm every day.
How that benefit works is explained in terminal illness benefit in life insurance and set against critical illness cover in critical illness and terminal illness cover compared. This page deals with new cover.
Would you like an insurer asked on your behalf? The form on this page puts your name and number in front of an FCA-authorised broker, who rings you free of charge and passes on what the insurers reply, although none can guarantee an offer.
What does an insurer ask when you apply for ordinary cover?
Term and whole of life cover bought in the ordinary way is priced and accepted on health. Of its Life Insurance Plan, Aviva says: "We’ll ask you a few health and lifestyle questions when you apply." Legal & General (page dated 16 March 2026) lists what it may need once you mention a condition: its name, the diagnosis date, hospital admissions, specialist referrals, the severity of symptoms, and medication with start dates. A report from your own doctor is sometimes requested too.
Some of the questions can be hard to answer. Macmillan's guide to insurance and cancer (reviewed September 2023) says the insurer "might ask you whether the cancer can be cured", and suggests that anyone who finds this difficult could ask a broker or financial adviser to look for policies for them.
Accurate answers matter most. The Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012 says: "It is the duty of the consumer to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation to the insurer." Legal & General warns that "if you do not tell us full and accurate information about your health when applying then any future claim may not be paid". Typical questions are listed in health questions on a life insurance application, and life insurance disclosure requirements covers what an insurer expects you to say.
How could an ordinary application end?
Macmillan, writing about cancer, says an insurer "may decide not to accept your application because of the cancer", or "may ask you to pay a higher premium", though only where it has evidence that you are more likely to claim because of the condition. One insurer's refusal rests on the details it was given and is not every insurer's answer. Next steps after a refusal are in being declined or postponed, and the wider picture is in cover with a medical condition.
Guaranteed-acceptance over-50s plans: ages and qualifying periods
Within their age and residency rules, these plans take you on without health questions. Aviva guarantees to accept UK residents aged 50 to 80 and says: "No, we won’t ask you any health questions or ask you to have a medical examination." Legal & General's summary (QGI12836 11/2025) accepts ages 50 to 80 without medical questions. Scottish Friendly says its plan has "no tricky medical questions to answer", for UK residents aged 50 to 74.
The absence of health questions does not bring the full sum forward. Each plan holds it back for a qualifying period, on the terms each provider prints:
| Plan | Death inside the qualifying period, not by accident | Accidental death in that period |
|---|---|---|
| Aviva, Over 50s (web page read 26 October 2026) | First 12 months: a cash amount equal to the premiums already paid, not the cover amount | The cover amount is paid if the accident is in the first 12 months |
| Legal & General, Over 50s Fixed (QGI12836 11/2025) | First year: premiums already paid come back | The full cash sum is paid |
| SunLife, Guaranteed Over 50 Plan (S-G050T12.25.V3) | First year: all premiums are given back | The cash sum is paid if death is within 90 days of the accident, from injuries sustained in it |
| Scottish Friendly, Guaranteed Over 50s (web page read 26 October 2026) | First 2 years: a return of the premiums paid in those 2 years | The guaranteed payout; Scottish Friendly says exclusions apply |
When the qualifying period is over, these plans pay a fixed cash sum on death; Legal & General's summary describes a cash sum paid "if you die after one year". Each document describes a payment on death, not on diagnosis. Legal & General also notes that, depending on how long you live, "total premiums paid may be greater than the cash sum we pay on death".
Plans of this kind are also marketed as funeral insurance, so funeral insurance explained applies to them, while guaranteed acceptance life insurance describes the wider group and best life insurance over 50 compares providers.
What is realistic to expect?
Put plainly, the terms above come down to three points. Ordinary cover is assessed on your health, so it can be refused or priced higher. Guaranteed plans accept you within their age bands, but they return premiums rather than the cover amount if death comes inside the qualifying period for any reason except an accident. And a policy you already hold is the first place to look, because it may carry a terminal illness benefit.
Which of these suits your own situation is a personal question. A free conversation with a broker is available via the form on this page, with every decision left to you.
If you are asking about a parent rather than yourself, life insurance on a sick parent covers that question. Cancer is covered in separate pages for cover while you have cancer and after cancer.
Frequently asked questions
Can someone with terminal cancer buy life insurance?
Terminal cancer is not the same situation as cancer under treatment or after treatment, and those have their own pages. For ordinary cover, Macmillan says the insurer may ask whether the cancer can be cured and may decline or charge more. The guaranteed over-50s plans in the table ask no health questions, but if death from the illness comes within the qualifying period they return premiums rather than the cover amount.
Can someone who is terminally ill buy funeral insurance?
Over-50s whole of life plans like those in the table are the policies marketed as funeral insurance, so the qualifying periods shown there apply to the plans named. It pays money, not a funeral. A prepaid funeral plan is a different product, not an insurance policy; buying a funeral plan for someone else explains how they are bought.
When it suits you, a broker can ring and explain which options remain open, once your number is on the form on this page. More guides are in health and underwriting.
Sources
- Marie Curie, We’re here to support you (undated web page), read 26 October 2026. mariecurie.org.uk/help
- Macmillan Cancer Support, Macmillan Support Line (undated web page), read 26 October 2026. macmillan.org.uk
- Macmillan Cancer Support, Insurance and cancer (reviewed 1 September 2023), read 26 October 2026. macmillan.org.uk
- Legal & General, Life insurance with pre-existing medical conditions (16 March 2026), read 26 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
- legislation.gov.uk, Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012, section 2, read 26 October 2026. legislation.gov.uk
- Aviva, Over 50 life insurance (undated web page, direct), read 26 October 2026. aviva.co.uk
- Legal & General, Over 50s Fixed Life Insurance Policy Summary (QGI12836 11/2025, direct), read 26 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
- SunLife, Guaranteed Over 50 Plan Terms and Conditions including the Policy Summary (S-G050T12.25.V3, no date printed), read 26 October 2026. sunlife.co.uk
- Scottish Friendly, Mutual Guaranteed Over 50s Plan (undated web page), read 26 October 2026. scottishfriendly.co.uk