Do life insurance premiums increase with age? On a policy with guaranteed premiums, not while you leave it unchanged. A premium can rise if it is reviewable or the cover is increasing, and a new policy bought later in life generally costs more than one bought younger.
Which applies depends on the insurer and the policy. To see what you could be offered, and on which premium basis, send your details through the quote form here. The FCA-authorised broker it reaches can check with several insurers at once, at no charge.
Does the premium on a policy you hold go up each year?
On most of the policies quoted here, not because of your age alone. What you pay later depends on which of three arrangements the policy is on:
| Arrangement | What happens to the premium |
|---|---|
| Guaranteed (fixed) premiums | Stay the same unless you change the policy |
| Reviewable premiums | Fixed for a period, then reviewed by the insurer |
| Increasing cover | Cover and premium both rise on a set formula |
On level and decreasing term cover, Legal & General's direct policy terms (QGI12849, October 2026), Aviva's direct Life Insurance Plan summary (DA03008, May 2023, which Aviva's life insurance page of September 2026 tells buyers to read) and Scottish Widows' Protect summary (January 2026, from its adviser site) all describe guaranteed premiums. Scottish Widows puts it as "If you choose level or decreasing cover, the cost of your policy will never change." Their exact wording is set out in how level term works.
The guarantee has a condition: the premium holds "unless you make changes". Legal & General's terms say a change to the amount or length of cover means an amendment form with questions about "your health, medical history, residency and leisure activities", and that "Making changes to your policy might change your premiums." Raising cover has its own page, on increasing the cover on a term policy.
Guaranteed whole of life works the same way. Aviva's Whole of Life Insurance+ summary (AL50007, February 2026) says "The amount you pay won't change, unless you choose increasing cover or make any changes to your policy." Royal London's adviser-sold Whole of Life page says "Your monthly payment will stay the same over the full term of the plan unless you choose reviewable payments or increasing cover".
Reviewable premiums: when the insurer can change what you pay
Legal & General's guide to how premiums are calculated (15 May 2026) describes the difference: "Some life insurance providers such as L&G offer fixed premiums, which means your premiums are guaranteed to remain fixed for the duration of the policy unless you make any changes to it. Other insurers may offer ‘reviewable’ premiums, where the cost can increase at a later date."
Aviva's Life Insurance+ summary (AL50001, February 2026, from its adviser document library) says, for life cover alone, "If you have life cover you’ll have guaranteed premiums. With life and critical illness cover you can choose from guaranteed premiums or reviewable premiums." Of reviewable premiums it says:
We’ll review your premium every five years to check if you’re paying the right price for the cover you’ve chosen. We’ll look at things like our claims experience, medical advances, changes in the law and the insurance industry to decide whether your premiums should change. We’ll decide whether they should go up, down or stay the same. We don’t look at things like your age or your health as part of this review.
So at Aviva, a reviewable premium can change because of the insurer's claims experience and costs, not because you have aged, and it can fall as well as rise. If it rises, the same summary says "you can keep your premium as it is and bring down your cover amount." This is also the arrangement in which the cover can stay level while the premium changes. How the premium basis fits into the price of critical illness cover is on critical illness cover costs.
Age does come into it on at least one reviewable whole of life plan. Royal London's page for existing holders of its Reviewable Whole of Life plan (it sends new customers to its Whole of Life page) says the cost is set for an initial period, then "is reviewed periodically and may increase significantly as you get older, depending on your plan." Royal London ties the possible rise to age; Aviva's review wording rules age out. What a holder can do at a review is set out in whole of life costs, and age-costed income protection has its own version of the split.
When comparing quotes, check whether each is guaranteed or reviewable before setting the prices side by side. Say which you want on the form on this page, and the broker who picks it up can ask insurers about both bases for your age and health, free of charge.
Increasing cover: the premium rises with the cover
Increasing cover lifts the payout each year to keep pace with inflation, and the premium goes up with it. Each insurer states the mechanics, and the inflation index, in its own way:
- Legal & General (QGI12849, October 2026): cover rises "in line with changes in inflation on each policy anniversary", and "Your premiums will also increase in line with the changes in the Retail Prices Index (RPI) multiplied by 1.5, subject to a maximum increase of 15% per annum." It says it will contact you at least three months before each increase, and "You'll have the option of accepting the increase or not."
- Aviva, direct Life Insurance Plan (DA03008, May 2023): "If you’ve chosen increasing cover your premiums could change. They will go up each year at 1.5 times the rate of the CPI increase. If the CPI doesn’t go up, your premiums won’t either. The maximum your premium could increase by is 15% each year."
Aviva's Life Insurance+ summary (AL50001, February 2026, from Aviva's adviser document library) offers two kinds. With fixed increasing cover the cover goes up by 3% or 5% a year and, on level cover, premiums by 4.5% or 7.5%. With index-linked cover it says "Your premiums will also go up at 1.5 times the rate of the RPI increase. So your premiums will go up by a maximum of 15%." Its worked example of that calculation is Aviva's own illustration, with an assumed premium and inflation rate and no date beyond the summary's print code; it is not a price for you or a comparison with any other insurer:
Example of increasing cover: Max, 34 has a £200,000 increasing cover Life Insurance+ to last 25 years. They pay £20.00 a month. After the first year the Retail Prices Index (RPI) has increased by 2.5% Their cover amount increases by 2.5%. £200,000 x 2.5% = £5,000 £200,000 + £5,000 = £205,000 Their premium increases by the change in RPI and the factor we apply. £20.00 x 2.5% x 1.5 = £0.75 £20.00 + £0.75 = £20.75
You can say no to a rise. Aviva's summary says "if one year you don’t want your cover or your premiums to go up, you can skip an increase", though doing so three years in a row removes increasing cover; Legal & General has a similar three-year rule. Scottish Widows' summary links its cover increases to the Retail Prices Index, at least 2% and up to 10% a year, with the premium rising "by a higher rate than your cover amount increases".
Where age does raise the price: a new policy, and the end of a term
Age matters when a premium is set. Aviva's life insurance page (September 2026) says "it’s worth noting the cost tends to rise as you get older", and Legal & General's premiums guide gives the reason: the later you start, "the more likely it is that a claim will be made." That is the price of a new policy, not a change to one you hold: a guaranteed premium set when you were younger stays as it was for as long as the policy runs unchanged. What age does to the size of a quote is for how much life insurance costs.
The same applies when a term policy ends. On renewing, Legal & General's guide says "If you wish to renew your life insurance when your policy expires, you will need to take out a new policy from scratch. The terms of that policy would be offered on the basis of your health status at the time, and since you would be older than when you first took out life insurance, your premiums would likely be more expensive." Getting a life insurance quote explains the routes to new cover.
Over-50s plans set the premium once, at the start: SunLife's Guaranteed Over 50 Plan (S-G050T12.25.V3) says the "fixed premium, will be payable based on your age at outset", and Legal & General's over-50s summary (QGI12836, November 2025) says "Your premiums and cash sum are fixed". When payments stop, and what that means over a long life, is covered in the later-life cover guide.
Frequently asked questions
Why did my life insurance premium go up?
In the insurer documents quoted on this page, a premium on a policy already in force rises for one of three reasons: the cover is increasing, a reviewable premium has been reviewed, or you changed the policy. Your insurer can tell you which basis your policy is on and which of these applied.
Can a life insurance premium go down as you get older?
Not on a guaranteed premium, which stays the same, and that includes decreasing cover: Legal & General and Aviva describe guaranteed premiums there even though the payout falls. A reviewable premium can fall at a review, since Aviva says it will decide whether premiums "should go up, down or stay the same", but that turns on its claims experience and costs, not your age.
If you would like your own age and health put to several insurers, with each quote's premium basis spelled out, the form on this page is short and free, and the FCA-authorised broker who receives it will get back to you. More on prices is in the cost and quotes guides.
Sources
- Legal & General, Life Insurance Policy Terms and Conditions (QGI12849 2026/10), read 18 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
- Legal & General, How are life insurance premiums calculated? (15 May 2026), read 18 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
- Legal & General, Over 50s Fixed Life Insurance Policy Summary (QGI12836 11/2025), read 18 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
- Aviva, Life Insurance Plan Policy Summary (DA03008 05/2023; linked from Aviva's life insurance page), read 18 October 2026. static.aviva.io
- Aviva, Life insurance (product page, WC05632 09/2026), read 18 October 2026. aviva.co.uk
- Aviva, Policy Summary of Life Insurance+ (AL50001 02/2026; adviser document library), read 18 October 2026. static.aviva.io
- Aviva, Policy Summary of Whole of Life Insurance+ (AL50007, February 2026), read 18 October 2026. aviva.co.uk
- Scottish Widows, Scottish Widows Protect Personal Protection Policy Summary (61041 01/26; adviser site), read 18 October 2026. adviser.scottishwidows.co.uk
- Royal London, Reviewable Whole of Life Plan (web page for existing plan holders), read 18 October 2026. royallondon.com
- Royal London, Whole of Life (web page; sold through financial advisers), read 18 October 2026. royallondon.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