No, you do not need life insurance to get a mortgage in the UK: no law requires it, and the lenders quoted here say so themselves. A lender can still make cover a condition of its own offer, though, so whether you need life insurance for a mortgage comes down to the lender in front of you and to who else depends on the loan being repaid.

Want to talk through what cover on your own mortgage would involve? A broker with FCA authorisation will phone to go over your loan once you have used the form on this page to ask. Nothing is charged, and whether to buy is up to you.

Is life insurance compulsory for a mortgage?

Not by law. Legal & General's guide (3 August 2026) answers the question directly: "No, you’re not legally obliged to get life insurance for a mortgage. However, some lenders may consider it a precondition for letting you borrow money to buy a home."

Two lenders say the same on their own sites, read in October 2026. Halifax: "Legally, you don’t need life insurance for a mortgage." It adds, in its questions, "Life insurance isn’t a legal requirement for a mortgage – although some providers may ask that you have cover." Nationwide: "It’s not a legal requirement to have life insurance for a mortgage but some lenders may consider it a condition of lending you the money."

Each separates the law from a lender's own conditions. What your lender requires is a question for it or a mortgage adviser.

The cover you will usually be asked for is a different kind. Legal & General's guide for first-time buyers (17 August 2026) says "When buying a home, you'll usually be asked to arrange buildings insurance before your mortgage completes." Halifax's page goes further, saying buildings insurance "is the only insurance you legally have to take out for your mortgage".

Can a lender make you buy its life insurance?

It can ask you to hold cover, but on the mortgages the FCA's tying rules apply to, it must accept an equivalent policy from another insurer. The Financial Conduct Authority's handbook section on tying practices (MCOB 2A.2, last updated 21 March 2016) starts from a ban, with listed exceptions: "neither an MCD mortgage lender nor an MCD mortgage credit intermediary may engage in any tying practice". A separate rule in the same section, MCOB 2A.2.5R, deals with insurance:

An MCD mortgage lender may require the consumer to hold a relevant insurance policy related to the MCD regulated mortgage contract but, where it does so, the MCD mortgage lender must accept an insurance policy from a supplier different to his preferred supplier where such policy has a level of guarantee equivalent to the one the MCD mortgage lender has proposed.

So the rule does not stop a lender requiring a policy; it stops the lender requiring its own. The FCA Glossary defines an MCD regulated mortgage contract as "a regulated mortgage contract entered into on, or after, 21 March 2016, under which the borrower is a consumer and which is not an exempt MCD regulated mortgage contract". Whether a lender treats life cover as a relevant insurance policy is a question for that lender.

Legal & General says the same in everyday language: "If this is a condition of the mortgage, the lender will not release funds until you have protection to cover your borrowing. However, you still have the choice of which insurance provider to choose." MoneyHelper (archived August 2025) says most mortgage providers offer life insurance automatically when you take out a mortgage, but you might be able to find a better deal elsewhere. Which insurer stands behind a lender's cover is set out in comparing mortgage life insurance quotes, and where else to buy in where to buy mortgage protection.

If your lender has put a policy in front of you and you want other insurers' terms beside it, an FCA-authorised broker can compare several in one conversation, at no charge. Requesting that call is done through the form on this page.

When is life insurance worth considering with a mortgage?

When someone else relies on the mortgage being paid. This is general information, not advice. It comes down to a few questions rather than a rule.

Joint borrowers. Legal & General asks it of couples: "If you or your partner died while your mortgage loan was still outstanding, would one of you alone be able to keep up the regular mortgage repayments?" Halifax gives both halves of the answer. "If you’re buying a house as a couple, life insurance could give peace of mind that the mortgage has cover should anything happen to either of you", but "If the surviving partner would be able to repay the mortgage alone, you may not need life insurance." Whether one income could carry the loan is a sum for your own household. A policy for two people is covered in joint life insurance, and the choice between one policy and two in joint or individual cover.

Children and other dependants. Halifax says "If your partner or dependents might struggle to afford mortgage repayments on their own, they may have to sell your home." A family in a mortgaged home whose repayments you make is among the people for whom a policy can provide. Cover is not only about the mortgage: do I need life insurance covers dependants, existing cover such as death in service, and the other debts and bills to weigh, and family protection or mortgage protection compares covering the loan alone with covering living costs.

When it may not be needed. MoneyHelper's short list of people who do not need life insurance includes people whose partner earns enough for the family to live on.

What happens to the mortgage if a borrower dies with no cover?

MoneyHelper's guide for someone whose partner has died (archived September 2025) treats the mortgage as one of the debts to deal with, and starts with the lender: "The first step is to speak to the mortgage lender to let them know that your partner has died." Then: "Normally, the mortgage is one of the first debts that’s paid out of the estate. Or from life or mortgage payment protection insurance that your partner might have bought when the mortgage was taken out."

So with no policy, it is normally the estate that pays. If there is not enough, the guide sets out options, one of which is taking the mortgage on in your own name: "Unfortunately, you can’t simply ‘transfer’ the mortgage into your name, even if you had a joint mortgage with your partner." It explains that "You’d have to go through a review process as though it’s a fresh mortgage application", and that "If you’re not approved for a mortgage and you’re unable to pay it back in full, you might have to face the option of having to sell your home to clear this debt."

That is the contrast cover is for: a payout towards the loan, set against the estate and a fresh assessment. What a lender must do, and what a surviving borrower is liable for, are questions for the lender or a debt adviser about your own case.

If you decide cover is worth having, the choice between a sum that falls with a repayment loan and one that stays level is set out in how mortgage life insurance works, with more on decreasing term, level term, how much cover to choose and putting a mortgage policy in trust. Cover that pays on illness or lost income is a separate product, covered in income protection for a mortgage, and our mortgage cover guide gathers the rest.

To see what single or joint cover sized to your own loan would involve, and how insurers would view your health, request a call using the form on this page. It takes a few minutes, and an FCA-authorised broker will talk it through with no obligation to buy.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get a mortgage if I can't get life insurance?

Life insurance is not a legal requirement, so it turns on the lender's own conditions. If you cannot get cover, ask the lender or a mortgage adviser before you apply.

Is mortgage protection insurance compulsory?

The name covers different products, which life insurance and mortgage protection sets out. Life insurance is not a legal requirement, and Halifax names buildings insurance as the only one you legally have to take out. Whether a particular lender asks for any other cover as a condition is for that lender to say.

Do I need life insurance to remortgage, or for a shared ownership or Help to Buy home?

The points above are about mortgages generally; ask the lender what applies to a remortgage or a particular scheme.

Sources

  • Financial Conduct Authority, FCA Handbook, MCOB 2A.2 Tying practices (last updated 21 March 2016), read 18 October 2026. handbook.fca.org.uk
  • Financial Conduct Authority, FCA Handbook Glossary: MCD regulated mortgage contract (archived February 2025), read 18 October 2026. web.archive.org (handbook.fca.org.uk)
  • Legal & General, Do I need life insurance for a mortgage? (3 August 2026), read 18 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
  • Legal & General, Do I need life insurance? (5 December 2025), read 18 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
  • Legal & General, Life insurance for first time buyers (17 August 2026), read 18 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
  • Halifax, Do you need life insurance for a mortgage (undated; Halifax's life insurance is provided by Scottish Widows), read 18 October 2026. halifax.co.uk
  • Nationwide Building Society, Life insurance (undated; cover provided by L&G), read 18 October 2026. nationwide.co.uk
  • MoneyHelper, What is life insurance? (archived 3 August 2025), read 18 October 2026. web.archive.org (moneyhelper.org.uk)
  • MoneyHelper, Managing your finances after your partner dies (archived 15 September 2025), read 18 October 2026. web.archive.org (moneyhelper.org.uk)