You can switch life insurance companies, but it is not a transfer: you apply for a new policy, the new insurer decides on your age and health as they are now, and the old policy is a separate contract you end yourself. Aviva's guide to switching (last updated 20 May 2026) puts the order bluntly: "Never cancel your old policy until your new one is active".

The sequence below follows those steps, then sets out what changes on a new policy and what the FCA has said about switching. It does not say whether you should switch. Should you want a view on how a new insurer might treat you before anything changes, the form here asks an FCA-authorised broker to ring you. It costs nothing.

What does switching involve?

The Aviva guide explains: "You won't be transferring your policy to a new provider; you'll be getting a new policy in addition to the one you already have or cancelling your existing policy and taking out a new one." That means the same kind of health and lifestyle questions you answered the first time. Legal & General's guide (22 October 2025) adds that the provider may ask for further medical information before offering terms, and that there is no guarantee a new application will be accepted.

In practice the steps run like this:

  1. Apply for the new policy. The insurer assesses your answers afresh and decides whether to offer cover, and on what terms.
  2. Read the offer. The amount, the term, whether premiums are guaranteed or reviewable, and any exclusions or loading the insurer has applied are in the offer and the schedule, not in the quote you first saw.
  3. Start the new policy. On an Aviva policy you can choose the start date, so it begins when you need it to.
  4. End the old one, if you are replacing it. You contact the old insurer; how that works, and what comes back, is on what happens if you cancel.

Replacing is not the only route. Both guides point out that your current insurer may be able to adapt the policy you already have, and a "top-up" policy with another company can sit alongside it; holding two at once is covered in can you have two life insurance policies.

In what order should the old and new policies end and start?

Aviva, Legal & General and MoneyHelper all give the same order: new cover first, cancellation second. Legal & General says not to cancel before the new one is in place, because cover ends when you cancel. MoneyHelper's page on life insurance (archived 3 August 2025, the most recent capture that could be read) goes further: do not cancel "until the replacement policy is fully set up and you have made the first monthly payment". It adds: "When you've cancelled a policy, you can't change your mind."

Two details can change the timing:

  • The new offer may name the old policy. Legal & General's terms (QGI12849, October 2026) list, among the reasons a claim may be refused, that the insurer made its offer conditional on a named existing policy being cancelled and you did not cancel it. If a new offer asks for the old policy to end, that is a condition to meet, and the date it applies from is worth asking about.
  • Free interim cover may be withheld. Aviva gives free cover while it gathers information on a Life Insurance+ application, its Protection Promise, only to applicants under 55, and its policy summary (AL50001, February 2026, from Aviva's adviser library) says it will not offer it where you are already applying for the same cover with another insurer. Is there a waiting period explains how cover starts while an application is open.

The overlap between the two policies means paying two premiums for a short time. Whether that is a cost you accept for certainty is your call.

What can you lose by replacing a policy?

The loss is not a fee. It is the terms you already hold. Aviva's switching guide points to three:

  • The age you were when you bought it. "Taking out life insurance becomes more expensive as you get older, because with age comes an increased risk of having a medical condition that might affect your life expectancy. So, the policy you already have may be priced at a better rate than a new policy might be." Why premiums on a policy you hold behave differently is in do life insurance premiums increase with age.
  • Your health record. A health problem since you took out the first policy "may also increase your premiums, and you may even be declined for a new policy". MoneyHelper's archived page makes the same point from the other side: if you are young or healthy it "might be worth seeing if you can a better deal elsewhere", but "as you get older or develop medical problems, you might find it's cheaper to stick with a policy you bought when you were younger."
  • Loyalty benefits. Moving provider "can mean losing loyalty benefits". The guide does not list them, so ask your current insurer what features your policy carries and whether a new policy offers the same.

Premiums are the clearest example. Under Legal & General's terms (QGI12849, October 2026), and Aviva's Life Insurance Plan summary (DA03008, May 2023) for level or decreasing cover, a guaranteed premium does not move for the life of the policy unless you change the policy. That price was set at your age and health when you applied; a new policy is priced from the day you apply for it.

Where the money goes is the other thing tied to the policy. The same summary shows that a policy held by and covering you pays your estate, and one held under trust pays the trustees. None of the sources read for this page says what happens to a trust when a policy is replaced, so ask both insurers; putting a life insurance policy in trust explains how trusts work.

A broker authorised by the FCA can put your present age and health to several insurers, so you see what is on offer before the old policy is touched. Our enquiry form is the way to book that call.

What starts again on a new policy?

A replacement is a new contract, so any exclusion that applies only in a policy's first year runs from the new start date, even if the old policy's first year is long past. Legal & General's and Aviva's terms both contain one; what they cover, in each insurer's wording, is set out in is there a waiting period for life insurance.

The other thing that starts again is the duty to answer questions carefully. The new insurer relies on what you tell it, as the old one did; can a life insurance company refuse to pay covers what happens when answers turn out to be wrong.

What has the FCA said about switching?

The FCA's Market study into the distribution of pure protection products to retail customers: Final Report (MS24/1.5, September 2026) looked at the risk that commission structures encourage intermediaries to move customers on to new policies. It defines "unnecessary switching" as occurring "when an intermediary encourages a customer to switch (in order to gain a commission) to a policy that does not better suit the consumer's needs or offers less value", and says this "can harm consumers by leaving them with either the same coverage at higher prices, or less coverage".

The report is not against switching. It says "consumers' circumstances can change and the opportunity to switch can still be important", and that stakeholders "broadly agreed that not all switching is harmful". It repeats its interim report's estimate that about 19,000 customers a year, roughly 0.1% of policyholders, may be affected by unnecessary switching, and says it has found "insufficient harm to justify market-wide intervention". Two questions follow from its definition, and any intermediary suggesting a switch can answer them: how are you paid, and what does the new policy give me that my current one does not?

Legal & General's guide adds a practical check: confirm any new insurer is registered with the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which could step in to pay compensation if an insurer failed.

Frequently asked questions

Is it easy to switch life insurance?

The paperwork is a new application and a cancellation, and Aviva says that cancelling the old policy should be straightforward. What can be less easy is the new application: you answer health questions again, and the offer depends on your age and health now.

How often can you change life insurance?

Legal & General says anyone is entitled to change provider at any time. The limits are practical: each new application is assessed afresh at your age and health then, and MoneyHelper's archived page warns that once a policy is cancelled you cannot change your mind.

Is it worth switching life insurance?

Nothing in the sources read answers that for you. MoneyHelper's archived page says switching might suit someone young or healthy, and that it can be cheaper to stay put as you age or if health has changed. A quote on your current details, set beside what you pay now, is the comparison.

Is it bad to switch life insurance companies?

The FCA's report says the opportunity to switch can still be important. The harm it describes is a switch that leaves you with the same cover at a higher price, or less cover, so compare amount, term, premium type and exclusions before deciding.

Can you change life insurance without a medical?

Sometimes. Legal & General says the provider may want further medical information, though sometimes you can get life insurance with no medical. Which applies to you is for the new insurer to say; see life insurance without a medical.

Weighing up a move? Send the enquiry form and a broker with FCA authorisation will call to go through it with you, with nothing to pay.

Sources

  • Aviva, Switch a life insurance policy (last updated 20 May 2026), read 20 October 2026. aviva.co.uk
  • Legal & General, Changing a Life Insurance Policy (22 October 2025), read 20 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
  • MoneyHelper, What is life insurance? (archived 3 August 2025), read 20 October 2026. web.archive.org
  • Legal & General, Life Insurance Policy Terms and Conditions (QGI12849, October 2026), read 20 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
  • Aviva, Life Insurance Plan Policy Summary (DA03008, May 2023), read 20 October 2026. aviva.io
  • Aviva, Life Insurance Plan Policy Conditions (DA03011, May 2023), read 20 October 2026. aviva.io
  • Aviva, Policy Summary of Life Insurance+ (AL50001, February 2026), read 20 October 2026. aviva.io
  • FCA, Market study into the distribution of pure protection products to retail customers: Final Report (MS24/1.5, September 2026), read 20 October 2026. fca.org.uk