You can change the beneficiary on a life insurance policy, but how depends on whether it is written in trust: in a trust, the trustees act within what the trust deed allows, and without one the insurers quoted here pay the policy owner or their estate, so your will decides where the money goes.

Unsure which of those your policy is? An FCA-authorised broker can help you check, free, if you jot your policy details on the form on this page.

Is there a beneficiary on your policy to change?

That depends on who the insurer is bound to pay. Legal & General's Life Insurance Policy Terms and Conditions (QGI12849 - 2026/10) pay a claim to you, or to your personal representative if the owner has died, to the trustees if the policy is in trust, and to the assignees if it has been assigned. Its beneficiary guide adds that you need a trust to name a beneficiary with Legal & General.

So in a trust, the deed sets what can change. Without a trust or an assignment, a policy on your own life pays into your estate, which passes under your will or the intestacy rules. More on who is paid is in what a life insurance beneficiary is.

How do you change the beneficiary when the policy is in trust?

Legal & General's consumer guide says: "You can only change the beneficiaries of a life insurance policy in certain circumstances if you’ve written a life insurance policy ‘in trust’." Legal & General's Absolute Trust and Aviva's bare trust fix the beneficiaries at the outset; their discretionary trusts leave room to change, as compared in the types of trust for life insurance.

What the trustees can do

Legal & General sets out the trustees' position: "Once the policy is put in trust, the trustees take legal ownership of the trust fund and must then act in the best interests of all the beneficiaries at all times, and can only do what is allowed in the trust deed."

Aviva's Guide to trusts (EDCO0853 0126), written for England and Wales, adds: "With all Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited trusts and under general trust law, the trustees should all be in agreement on decisions relating to the trust." One objection is enough: "So, if most of the trustees want to pay a beneficiary, but one does not, the beneficiary cannot be paid."

What the person who set it up can do

Each insurer's trust gives the settlor (Royal London says donor) different powers:

  • Aviva: its guide says trusts in a discretionary form let the settlor nominate people to be added to, or excluded from, the beneficiaries.
  • Royal London: its Discretionary Trust (form A P9 PD 0002/4) lets the donor add names to the list, at outset or later, by putting this in writing to the trustees. Under clause B7 the trustees may exclude a discretionary beneficiary by deed, but at least one must remain and rights already given to that person are not affected.
  • Legal & General: the settlor is automatically a trustee of its insurance trusts, and a letter of wishes to the trustees can be rewritten at any time.

To alter shares rather than the list, Royal London's Deed of Appointment of a Beneficiary (form P8B0039/6) works with its discretionary and flexible interest in possession trusts. The trustees, usually including the donor, sign it before an independent witness who is over 18 and not a relative, choosing whether the change is revocable or permanent. Its notes warn: "If the trust was created before 22 March 2006, changing the shares of the named beneficiaries is likely to have adverse inheritance tax consequences." They strongly recommend professional trust and tax advice first. If someone you named has died, see what happens if your life insurance beneficiary dies before you.

Can you change the trustees?

Legal & General says: "Yes, trustees can be changed. Depending on the trust wording, the trustee’s permission may be needed for them to be removed from the trust. It’s also possible to appoint a new trustee to the trust."

Aviva's guide lets a trustee retire if at least two would continue, and lets the settlor remove trustees in certain circumstances on the same condition, a power the continuing trustees hold after the settlor's death. Its specimen trustee deed adds that anyone appointed must be 18 or over.

Royal London's trustee deed (form P8B0038/4) says: "Where a Trustee is retiring or is being removed, another Trustee should normally be appointed at the same time in place of the exiting Trustee." Removing a trustee who does not sign must follow whatever powers the trust contains, and a signed copy goes to Royal London for noting.

If a trustee dies, Aviva's deed says the trust property vests in the survivors and Aviva must be told; Legal & General says the remaining trustees can carry on, though a replacement may be needed. More on the role is in life insurance trustees, and on HMRC registration in registering a life insurance trust.

How do you change the beneficiary without a trust?

For a policy on your own life that is neither in trust nor assigned, Aviva's guide says the benefits go to your estate, and your will must direct them to the people you intend. So changing who receives the money means changing your will, though Aviva's FAQs note this may not give the same protection against Inheritance Tax as a trust. With no will, Legal & General's guide says intestacy rules apply, under which only married or civil partners and some other close relatives can inherit (see life insurance for unmarried couples).

GOV.UK's guidance on updating a will says: "You cannot amend your will after it’s been signed and witnessed. The only way you can change a will is by making an official alteration called a codicil." A codicil is signed and witnessed like the will; for major changes it suggests a new will revoking earlier ones. Getting married cancels any earlier will, it adds, and Scotland and Northern Ireland have different rules.

Assigning the policy instead

Assignment is different: it transfers ownership. Legal & General's terms define the assignee as the person to whom legal ownership is transferred, and pay claims to assignees. Royal London's Deed of Assignment (form P8B0040/7) covers an absolute owner assigning to another person outright, "where no trust is involved". Aviva's customer booklet for its Life Insurance product (Insurance Details, EDCO2264 0126) says it must see notice of an assignment when a claim is made, and recommends professional guidance first. Whether your own insurer would accept an assignment, or a later move into trust, is a question the broker can answer free when they ring.

Whether you must name anyone at all is answered in do you have to have a beneficiary for life insurance, and tax on the payout in is a life insurance payout taxable.

Where do you find the forms for Legal & General, Aviva or Royal London?

Your policy documents show whether a trust was used and which one; the forms come from the insurer. Legal & General's guide says to ask it for one. Aviva's guide says its trustee deed is in the trust section of its website. Royal London lists its forms on an existing-customer page, including for existing Scottish Provident plans.

What if you divorce or separate?

In England and Wales, section 18A of the Wills Act 1837 says that when a court dissolves or annuls a marriage, property left in a will to the former spouse "shall pass as if the former spouse had died on that date", unless the will shows a contrary intention; section 18C mirrors this for civil partners. GOV.UK says you are divorced once you get the final order (a decree absolute for applications issued before 6 April 2022).

A policy in trust is no longer part of your estate, Aviva's guide explains, so the trust deed governs. Legal & General says the named beneficiaries of its absolute trust cannot be changed, giving the example that "a spouse cannot be removed following a divorce". In a discretionary trust, any change rests on the powers above, with their conditions. Joint policies are covered in what happens to a joint life insurance policy after divorce.

If you are separating and would like cover in your own name looked at, a broker can take you through it when they phone after your form arrives.

Frequently asked questions

Can you change your life insurance beneficiary at any time?

Without a trust, by codicil or a new will, witnessed like the original. With a trust, it depends on the deed: Legal & General's Absolute Trust cannot be changed, while Royal London's donor can add discretionary beneficiaries at any time.

Who can change a life insurance beneficiary?

For a policy in trust, the trustees, plus whatever powers the deed reserves to the person who set it up. Without a trust, the policy owner, through their will.

How do I add a beneficiary to my Aviva life insurance?

In an Aviva trust in a discretionary form, the settlor can nominate people to be added. Without a trust, Aviva's FAQs say you could put instructions about the proceeds in your will.

How do I change the beneficiary on Legal & General life insurance?

For its Discretionary Trust, Legal & General's guide says to ask for a change-of-beneficiary form, which you sign and return by email or post. Nothing can be changed or added under its Absolute Trust.

How long does it take to change a life insurance beneficiary?

It varies with the insurer and with whether trustees must sign and witness a deed. Your insurer can tell you, or you can raise it with the broker when they ring.

If you would like your own set-up checked, a broker can ring you at no cost once the form on this page reaches them. More on trusts and tax is in the trusts and tax guides.

Sources

  • Legal & General, Who should be your life insurance beneficiary? (18 August 2026), read 21 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
  • Legal & General, Protection trusts, read 21 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
  • Legal & General, Life Insurance Policy Terms and Conditions (QGI12849 - 2026/10, in one PDF with the Critical Illness Cover terms), read 21 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
  • Aviva, Guide to trusts (EDCO0853 0126, January 2026), read 21 October 2026. protection.aviva.com
  • Aviva, Deed of Appointment/Retirement of Trustees (specimen, EDCO2627 0126), read 21 October 2026. protection.aviva.com
  • Aviva, Life Insurance – Insurance Details (customer booklet for Aviva Life Insurance, EDCO2264 0126), read 21 October 2026. protection.aviva.com
  • Aviva, Life insurance FAQs, read 21 October 2026. aviva.co.uk
  • Royal London, The Discretionary Trust (form A P9 PD 0002/4), read 21 October 2026. royallondon.com
  • Royal London, Deed of Appointment of a Beneficiary (form P8B0039/6), read 21 October 2026. royallondon.com
  • Royal London, Deed of Appointment of New Trustee/Removal or Resignation of Trustee (form P8B0038/4), read 21 October 2026. royallondon.com
  • Royal London, Deed of Assignment (form P8B0040/7), read 21 October 2026. royallondon.com
  • Royal London, Access and download trust forms, read 21 October 2026. royallondon.com
  • GOV.UK, Making a will: Updating your will (page last updated 12 November 2024), read 21 October 2026. gov.uk
  • GOV.UK, Making a will (overview, last updated 12 November 2024), read 21 October 2026. gov.uk
  • GOV.UK, Get a divorce: Finalise your divorce (last updated 12 November 2024), read 21 October 2026. gov.uk
  • legislation.gov.uk, Wills Act 1837, section 18A (revised text), read 21 October 2026. legislation.gov.uk
  • legislation.gov.uk, Wills Act 1837, section 18C (revised text), read 21 October 2026. legislation.gov.uk