How much whole of life insurance costs depends on your age when it starts, your health and smoking, the amount of cover and whether the premium is guaranteed, so no honest monthly figure exists until an insurer has your details. Because you usually pay for the rest of your life, what you choose at the start, such as level or increasing cover, shapes the cost for decades.
For a quote that is yours rather than a general answer, fill in this page's short quote form and it goes to an FCA-authorised broker. They can ask several insurers about your age and health in one conversation, free of charge.
Why there is no single price for whole of life cover
This page states no whole of life premium, because the price is set once the insurer knows you. Two insurers' own documents say the price is set only once they know you. Legal & General's policy summary for its Whole of Life Protection Plan (LG2588, June 2025, published on its adviser site) puts it this way:
How much you pay will depend on your needs and individual circumstances. We’ll confirm the premium before your cover starts.
Zurich's Key Features for its adviser-sold Whole of Life policy (February 2025) likewise say that "Your ‘Confirmation of terms’ will tell you how much the policy will cost." So the cost is confirmed after you apply, not before.
Why whole of life tends to cost more than term cover is set out in term vs whole of life insurance, and general life cover costs are on what life insurance costs. This page covers what moves a whole of life premium in particular.
What sets a whole of life premium
The insurers' documents name the same handful of things; how far each one moves a premium depends on you.
| Document | What it says the price depends on |
|---|---|
| Zurich, Whole of Life Key Features (February 2025; sold through financial advisers) | "your personal circumstances – for example your age, health, occupation, whether you use tobacco products or nicotine replacement products, or how long it is since you stopped using these", and "the amount and type of cover, and any optional benefits you choose". |
| Aviva, Policy Summary of Whole of Life Insurance+ (AL50007; no printed date, though its print code suggests February 2026) | "Your premiums depend on the amount of cover you choose, as well as your age, job, health, lifestyle, and smoking habits." |
Age when the policy starts
Starting later tends to mean a higher premium for the same cover, though the premium is then paid over fewer years; starting earlier tends to work the other way. Aviva's summary says that to get its policy "you need to be between 18 and 85"; other insurers' limits are on what whole of life insurance is, and the insurer still has to accept you.
Health, smoking and nicotine
Both documents list health and smoking, and Zurich adds how long it is since you stopped using tobacco or nicotine products. As a general rule, smoking and health conditions tend to raise a premium. If you want to know how smoking is treated across insurers, see how much more life insurance costs for smokers, and for what to tell an insurer about your health, what you must disclose.
The amount of cover
A larger sum assured generally costs more. Zurich also lists "the amount and type of cover", which is where the choices below come in.
Guaranteed or reviewable premiums, and increasing cover
Whether the premium can change after you start is one of the main differences between whole of life policies. The insurer documents quoted here describe two arrangements.
Guaranteed premiums. Aviva's summary says the amount you pay won't change unless you choose increasing cover or make changes to your policy, and Zurich's guarantee carries the same two exceptions. Legal & General's summary presents its premium choices "If you are given the option when you apply", so ask which basis a quote is on.
Reviewable premiums. Royal London's page on its reviewable Whole of Life plan (for existing plan holders; it points new customers to a separate page) says you choose your level of cover at the start and the cost is set for an initial period; after that, the cost is reviewed periodically and "may increase significantly as you get older, depending on your plan." At each review the options may be "increasing your payments to maintain the same level of cover, or keeping your payments the same but reducing your cover", and "The cover amount is guaranteed only until the next review date." Why premiums can rise at all is explained in whether life insurance premiums increase with age.
Level-premium policies still set out when payments can move. Royal London's conditions for the whole of life policy it took over from Scottish Equitable (printed May 2025, and filed by Royal London among its historic policy conditions) say "Your payments will stay the same, unless" inflation-linking applies, you ask for a change, or "we need to change your policy". Condition 7.2 allows changes without your agreement only "in a reasonable and proportionate manner where we believe it is necessary or prudent", and says "We will give you at least 30 days’ notice of the change" except where that is not practical or possible.
Increasing cover
Choosing cover that rises each year to follow inflation raises the premium each year too, and each insurer states by how much:
- Zurich: cover can rise each year by 3%, 5% or the Retail Price Index, and the premium goes up by 2% for each 1% increase in cover.
- Aviva: fixed increases of 3% or 5%, or index-linked up to a maximum of 10%; the premium goes up too, by 2 times the percentage increase in the cover amount. A year's increase can be skipped.
- Legal & General: the premium increases each year in line with the change in inflation, using RPI multiplied by two, up to a maximum of 20%.
Joint cover, second death and how long you pay
A joint policy covers two people and pays once. Aviva's summary says that with a joint policy "you can choose for the cover amount to be paid on the first death or the second death of the two people covered", and Zurich calls these "joint life first event" and "joint life second event". To see how either basis compares on price with two single policies, ask for quotes on each; joint life insurance costs covers joint cover generally.
How long you pay is another part of the cost. On the underwritten whole of life policies quoted here, premiums run for life: Legal & General says "Premiums are payable for the rest of the life insured’s life." Aviva's over-50s plan, a separate product, has a limited premium-paying term: premiums are "paid monthly for 30 years, or until the first policy anniversary after you turn 90, or until your death", and then "your cover continues until you die, no matter how long you live past 90." See over-50s life insurance costs for those plans.
Optional extras and changes
Waiver of premium, which pays the premiums if illness or injury stops you working, costs extra. Aviva's summary says "For an extra cost you can add this benefit", and the former Scottish Equitable conditions say "For an extra cost you can protect your payments". How long it lasts is on how long waiver of premium lasts. Changing cover later can move the price too: Zurich says "Any changes you make are likely to change your premiums", and where those Royal London conditions let you raise the sum insured after certain life events without new medical evidence (its guaranteed insurability options), it still asks about "residency, occupation, smoking activity and leisure pursuits" and says "It is likely that your payments will increase." Legal & General says a change may need "a new policy and your premium may need to change."
Whether an extra is worth its cost is your decision; a broker introduced through our quote form can ask insurers to price the policy with and without it.
Can the premiums add up to more than the payout?
Aviva's Whole of Life Insurance+ summary says so directly under its heading on premiums:
As the premiums are paid for the duration of your cover, the total paid in premiums could exceed the cover amount paid out at claim.
That is Aviva's statement about its own policy; the total paid depends on how long the person insured lives and keeps paying. Stopping part-way does not return what has gone in; Aviva says that if you stop paying or cancel, you won't be covered and you won't get any money back. The weighing-up is in whole of life insurance pros and cons, and cancelling is in what happens if you cancel.
How to get a whole of life price of your own
An actual figure needs the same details the insurers list above: your age, health, smoking or nicotine use, the amount and type of cover, whether premiums are guaranteed, and whether the policy is single or joint. The insurers above confirm the price only after assessing you, so treat any calculator figure as a guide until then. When setting two whole of life quotes side by side, check the premium basis first: a reviewable premium can rise at each review, a guaranteed one cannot except in the cases its insurer lists. The general process is in getting a life insurance quote, and which insurers and policies come out best on price and features is covered in which whole of life insurance is the best.
Frequently asked questions
How much does whole of life insurance cost per month or per year?
Each insurer prices from the applicant's own details, so the monthly or annual figure comes from a quote. You can usually choose how often to pay: Aviva's summary says "You pay us money every month or every year".
What is the average cost of whole life insurance at my age?
Insurers price from your own details, so the figure for your age comes from a quote. Age still matters in the usual direction: a later start tends to cost more for the same cover.
Can giving up smoking lower a whole of life premium?
Possibly. Zurich's Key Features say that someone who has quit smoking can ask Zurich to look at the premium again; the outcome is Zurich's decision. With any other insurer, ask the one you hold a policy with.
If you would like whole of life cover priced against your own age and health, start with the quote form here: an FCA-authorised broker picks it up, and the conversation costs nothing. Other policy types are set out in our guide to types of policy.
Sources
- Aviva, Policy Summary of Whole of Life Insurance+ (AL50007; no printed date, print code suggests February 2026; channel not stated), read 18 October 2026. aviva.co.uk
- Zurich, Zurich Whole of Life Key Features (PW720505007, February 2025; sold through financial advisers), read 18 October 2026. zurichintermediary.co.uk
- Legal & General, Whole of Life Protection Plan Policy Summary (LG2588, June 2025; published on Legal & General's adviser site), read 18 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
- Royal London, Whole of Life policy conditions (for the policy taken over from Scottish Equitable, filed among historic policy conditions; printed May 2025), read 18 October 2026. royallondon.com
- Royal London, Reviewable Whole of Life Plan (web page for existing plan holders), read 18 October 2026. royallondon.com
- Aviva, Over 50 life insurance: premiums and paying out (last updated 5 June 2026), read 18 October 2026. aviva.co.uk