A whole life insurance policy pays out the sum assured chosen when it was taken out, plus any yearly increases built into the plan, as one lump sum after the insured person dies, at whatever age that is. There is no standard amount. An ordinary whole of life plan pays the cover the applicant asked for and the insurer accepted, either level or rising each year, while an over-50s plan pays a fixed cash sum, which Legal & General caps at £10,000 across all of its over-50s policies.

If you would like to know what sum a particular budget might buy at your age, an FCA-authorised broker can go through it with you. A broker rings back free of charge; this page's form needs only your name, number and a few other basic details.

How the payout amount is set when you apply

The buyer names the figure. Aviva's policy summary for Whole of Life Insurance+ (AL50007 02/2026), a document held in Aviva's adviser library, puts it this way: "You can choose the amount of money we pay – this is called your cover amount." The insurer then has its say. The same summary explains: "We use the information you give us to work out how much we can cover you for and how much you’ll pay for your policy." So the amount printed on the policy schedule is the applicant's request as the insurer agreed to it.

Royal London, whose current whole of life plan is sold only through financial advisers, likewise leaves the size of cover to the buyer. A larger sum means a larger premium; what else drives the monthly price is set out in how much whole of life insurance costs.

The money is paid once. On a joint plan, Legal & General's Whole of Life Protection Plan summary (LG2588 06/2025, a customer document published on L&G's adviser website) lets the buyer pick whether it comes on the first death or the second, but either way there is a single payment. Insurers' names for it vary: Aviva says cover amount, Legal & General amount of cover, and the over-50s documents from L&G and SunLife say cash sum.

The sum is only as secure as the application behind it. Aviva warns that if its health and lifestyle questions are not answered in full, truthfully and accurately, it may alter or cancel the policy, or may decline to pay a claim.

Will the payout grow, or stay at the starting sum?

On level cover the amount never moves. L&G's summary keeps level cover the same for the length of the policy, which on whole of life means for life, so the figure agreed at the start is the figure paid however many years later a claim comes. The cost of that is spending power. Aviva's summary notes: "Because inflation might reduce the value of your cover over time, you might want to add increasing cover."

Increasing cover lifts the payout each year, and the premium climbs with it (how much faster is covered on the cost page). The two insurers' rules for the payout side:

  • Aviva: either a set 3% or 5% added every year, or an increase in line with RPI (the Retail Prices Index), capped at 10%. A year's increase can be turned down, but turning it down three years running removes the option for good: "You won’t be able to add increasing cover back on to your policy later."
  • Legal & General: an RPI-linked rise, again capped at 10%, with no rise in a year when RPI moves by 1% or less. Refusing three years in a row means L&G stops offering it.

The sum can also be revisited after the start. Aviva allows the cover amount to be altered once the policy has run for six months; asking for more means answering further health and lifestyle questions. L&G says certain life events may let a policyholder raise cover with no further medical information, though it may do this by issuing a new policy at a different premium. The different varieties of plan are compared in types of whole life insurance.

Can a review cut the amount paid out?

On a guaranteed plan, no: Aviva describes Whole of Life Insurance+ as paying a guaranteed lump sum, with a premium that stays fixed unless the holder adds increasing cover or changes the policy, and L&G's guaranteed premiums, where offered at application, stay the same unless the policy is changed. Reviewable plans work differently, because the sum itself can be part of the review.

Royal London's page for people who already hold its Reviewable Whole of Life plan describes it. Cover is chosen at the outset and the price is set for an opening period. At each review the holder may be given options such as paying more to hold the cover where it is, or paying the same and accepting a smaller sum, and the page states the cover amount is fixed only up to the next review date. The whole of life plan Royal London sells to new customers keeps the monthly payment level for the full term unless reviewable payments or increasing cover were chosen.

Whether a plan you are offered is reviewable, and what a review could do to its sum, is something the broker can explain free when they ring.

How much does an over-50s plan pay?

Over-50s plans are whole of life cover with a fixed cash sum. Legal & General's Over 50s Fixed Life Insurance summary (QGI12836 11/2025) caps the sum at £10,000, counted across every over-50s policy a person has with it, and says plainly that the plan is not designed to cover a whole funeral bill. At the other end, SunLife's Guaranteed Over 50 Plan terms set £500 as the least cover it sells, and its premiums stop at the policy anniversary on or after the 95th birthday.

With Legal & General's over-50s plan the buyer pays a chosen monthly premium and the cash sum follows from it, so age at the start shows up directly in the payout. L&G's website (reviewed 8 June 2026) shows the cash sum its customers could get for £25 a month as non-smokers, from quotes taken on 8 June 2026. These are L&G's own examples, not an offer:

Age when cover startsCash sum for £25 a month (L&G example)
50£7,643
60£6,046
70£3,701
80£1,893

The full sum is not paid for every death in year one. Aviva's Over 50 life insurance page (WC05649 09/2026) pays the cover amount for an accidental death in the first 12 months or any death after them; for a death from other causes in that first year it returns the premiums paid instead. L&G likewise refunds premiums for a first-year death unless it was accidental. SunLife refunds all premiums for a first-year death, but pays the cash sum if death follows an accident, as its terms define one, within 90 days of it.

Once that year is over the sum stays put, and L&G points out that inflation will erode what it buys. Both L&G and SunLife also warn that, depending on how long the person lives, the premiums paid in may add up to more than the cash sum. More on these plans is in our guide to cover after 50 and what over-50s plans cost, with provider pages for SunLife and Aviva. Weighing a small guaranteed-acceptance sum against a larger plan with health questions is a decision a broker will discuss with you at no cost when the form on this page has gone in.

Is tax taken off the payout?

The insurers speak only for their own policies here. For Whole of Life Insurance+, Aviva writes: "In the UK, the payments we make are free from personal liability to income and capital gains tax. However, they may be subject to inheritance tax, unless you put your policy in a suitable trust." It adds: "Please remember that tax rules may change in the future."

Legal & General's whole of life summary says no UK Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax should be due on its payouts, warns that the Government can change that at any time, and says that with a suitable trust in place the cover paid on death should be kept out of the estate for Inheritance Tax. Those are the insurers' statements, not tax advice for any one estate. How the rules work is explained in whether a life insurance payout is taxable and whole of life insurance and inheritance tax; cashing a policy in raises a different question, answered in whether a life insurance cash-out is taxable.

Settling on a sum assured

No figure is right for everyone, because the sum follows the job the money has to do. L&G's summary describes the plan as a way to support the insured person's family and their day-to-day costs, or to go towards an Inheritance Tax bill; Royal London names leaving a legacy, inheritance tax and business protection. A method for turning a purpose into a figure is in how much life cover you need; sizing cover to an estate's tax bill is covered in life insurance for inheritance tax, and funeral-sized sums in funeral cover limits.

Then decide how the sum should behave over time: flat or rising, guaranteed or open to review. Keep in mind that the premiums run as long as the cover does. Over a long life the total paid in can overtake the payout, a point weighed in whole life insurance pros and cons; L&G gives the example of £50 a month for 30 years, which comes to £18,000, adding that the real figure depends on how long the insured person lives and on any premium changes. If you would like those choices worked through for your own age and budget, a broker will ring you free of charge as soon as this page's form reaches them.

Frequently asked questions

What is the death benefit or face value of a whole of life policy?

It is the lump sum the policy pays on a valid claim after the insured person dies. UK documents call it the sum assured, the cover amount (Aviva), the amount of cover (Legal & General) or, on L&G's and SunLife's over-50s plans, the cash sum.

Is there an average whole of life payout?

Each buyer sets their own sum, so one person's figure says little about another's. For the amounts that might be open to someone of your age and health, a broker can talk you through it on a free call.

Is the monthly payment the same as the amount a whole of life policy pays?

No. The monthly payment is the premium and the payout is the cover amount; the premium depends on the size of the sum as well as on the person insured. What moves the premium is set out on the cost page.

Who is legally entitled to claim the payout?

Legal & General's summary defines the recipient as the policy's owner, the person legally entitled to the amount of cover when a valid claim is made, which may mean trustees, assignees or personal representatives. Who that is depends on how the policy was set up; naming a recipient and using a trust are covered in what a life insurance beneficiary is.

Sources