Whether there is a waiting period for life insurance depends on the type of cover. Underwritten policies, the kind that ask about your health, have no general waiting period in the two insurers' terms quoted below: cover runs from the policy start date, with a narrow first-year exclusion. The guaranteed-acceptance over-50s plans quoted below do have one, of one or two years.
Which of these applies to you depends on the policy, and an insurer's own document is what decides it. If you want to know how a specific policy would begin for your age and health, the quote form here puts you in touch with an FCA-authorised broker who can check that for you. It costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
When does life insurance cover start?
On an underwritten policy, cover starts on the policy start date, not on the day you fill in the application. Legal & General's Life Insurance terms (QGI12849, October 2026, the direct version) say: "You're covered from the policy start date until the policy expiry date. Your policy will end before this if we pay the cover amount or the policy is cancelled." Your Policy Schedule shows "what is covered by your policy and what isn't covered. As well as important dates." How long a term then runs is on how long term life insurance lasts.
Between applying and that date there is a gap in which the insurer is asking questions and deciding. Aviva's Life Insurance Plan policy summary (DA03008, May 2023) asks you to tell it "if any of the information you’ve given us changes between completing your application and us confirming when your policy will start." So a change in your health or circumstances during that gap is something to report, not to wait out. The gap is longer when the insurer needs more evidence before deciding; life insurance without a medical explains when it asks for that.
Is there free cover while the application is assessed?
Aviva offers free cover during that gap on some applications and calls it a Protection Promise. The Life Insurance Plan summary (May 2023), still the one Aviva's life insurance page asks you to read before applying, says: "If we need more information before we can give you a decision, our Protection Promise will cover you free of charge. We’ll let you know when your free cover has started. This will be after we’ve received a fully completed application form."
It stops on the earliest of five dates, among them "10 days after we make our acceptance offer", the policy start date, and "90 days from when we told you that your cover under our Protection Promise had started." It pays up to £500,000, and "Until we confirm the Protection Promise has started, we can change or withdraw it at any time." It is not unconditional either: it pays out "unless: ●we haven’t received complete and accurate information as part of your application ●death is as a result of suicide or self-inflicted injury ●death is a result of a pre-existing medical condition present at the date of your application, which the life covered knew about or was having symptoms of."
The terms differ by product. Aviva's later Life Insurance+ policy summary (AL50001, February 2026, from its adviser library) offers the Protection Promise only "for customers under 55", not to anyone "in the process of applying for the same cover from another insurance company", and up to £1,500,000 on level and decreasing cover. Whether another insurer covers that gap, and on what terms, is in its own documents and worth asking about before you apply. A broker can put that question to several insurers in one conversation; to arrange one, send the form that sits on this page.
Do any exclusions apply in the first year?
Both underwritten policies quoted here exclude a death by suicide or intentional self-injury in the first year. That limits what the policy pays in that period; it is not a wait before cover starts.
Legal & General's terms say: "The policy will be cancelled if within the first year of the policy, the life insured dies as a result of:" suicide, "Intentional and serious self-injury" or an event where, in its reasonable opinion, the life insured took their own life. Aviva's policy conditions (DA03011, May 2023) say: "We won’t pay if the life covered dies because of suicide or intentional self-inflicted injury within 12 months of the policy start date. If this happens, the policy will end." The wording differs between insurers, so the exact clause is in your own policy. Does life insurance cover suicide goes into this in more detail.
If you are struggling, Samaritans say: "Whatever you're going through, you can call us any time, from any phone for FREE." The number is 116 123, day or night.
Is there a waiting period on over-50s plans?
Yes, on the four plans below. They accept you without health questions and pay the full sum only after a qualifying period. Inside it, a death from natural causes returns the premiums paid, and an accident is treated differently. Each provider's own words:
| Provider and document | Qualifying period | Death inside it |
|---|---|---|
| Legal & General, Over 50s Fixed Life Insurance summary (QGI12836, November 2025) | One year | "we’ll refund any premiums paid. However, if you die as a result of accidental death then full cover will be paid." |
| Aviva, Over 50s Life Insurance page (WC05649, September 2026) | The first 12 months | A "cash amount equal to the premiums already paid, but not the cover amount"; the cover amount if you die "because of an accident within the first 12 months" |
| SunLife, Guaranteed Over 50 Plan terms (S-G050T12.25.V3, no printed date) | The first year | "If you were to die during the first year we would refund all premiums paid unless Accidental Death Benefit is payable." |
| Scottish Friendly, My Mutual Guaranteed Over 50s Plan page (undated) | The first 2 years | "If your death is accidental, your family will receive the guaranteed payout. Otherwise, they’ll receive a return of the premiums you’ve paid in the first 2 years." |
The accident exception has conditions. SunLife's applies when you "die within the first year of taking out the Plan, solely as a result of (and within 90 days of) accidental bodily injury you suffer because of a sudden and unexpected event", and its list of excluded causes is set out in the best life insurance over 50. Scottish Friendly adds "Exclusions apply."
So on these four plans, the only full payment inside the qualifying period is for an accidental death. Funeral insurance has qualifying periods of its own, covered in funeral cover waiting periods. The other terms of these plans, including the fixed payout, premiums that can exceed it and inflation, are set out in life insurance over 50.
When does life insurance cover end?
Term cover ends on the date in your policy schedule, or earlier if a claim is paid or the policy is cancelled, as the Legal & General wording quoted above says. Aviva's conditions define the policy term as "the period your policy is in force, from the start date until the end date." Nothing is paid for a death after that date. What happens when a term runs out, and the options then, are on what happens at the end of a decreasing policy; cover meant to last for life is explained in what whole of life insurance is.
Cover can also end early if premiums stop or you cancel. How long you have to catch up a missed payment, and what a cancellation refunds, differ between insurers' documents, as set out in what happens if you cancel life insurance.
Other products have their own waiting periods. Critical illness survival periods are on critical illness cover and when it pays out, and income protection's deferred period is on its own page. Waiver of premium has deferred periods of its own; the wider picture is in how life insurance works.
If a start date, free cover in the meantime or a qualifying period is what you are weighing, the form here leads to a broker who can raise it with insurers for you. Whether to go ahead stays your choice.
Frequently asked questions
Is there instant life insurance cover?
Underwritten cover starts on the start date the insurer confirms, not when you apply. Aviva's free cover under its Protection Promise starts "after we’ve received a fully completed application form", and only where it needs more information before deciding. On the over-50s plans above, cover from day one is for an accidental death only.
What happens if you die a month after getting life insurance?
On the underwritten terms quoted above, a valid claim is paid from the start date, except for a death from suicide or intentional self-injury in the first year, and provided the application questions were answered accurately. On the over-50s plans, a death from natural causes that early returns the premiums paid rather than the full sum.
How long is the waiting period on Legal & General life insurance?
Under its Life Insurance terms, cover runs from the policy start date, with the first-year exclusion quoted above. Its Over 50s Fixed Life Insurance is different: it pays the cash sum "if you die after one year from when you take out your policy", refunding premiums for an earlier death unless it was accidental.
Sources
- Legal & General, Life Insurance Policy Terms and Conditions (QGI12849, October 2026, direct version), read 18 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
- Legal & General, Over 50s Fixed Life Insurance Policy Summary (QGI12836 11/2025, direct version), read 18 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
- Aviva, Life Insurance Plan Policy Summary (DA03008 05/2023, adviser library, linked from Aviva's life insurance page), read 18 October 2026. static.aviva.io
- Aviva, Life Insurance Plan terms and conditions (DA03011 05/2023, adviser library, linked from Aviva's life insurance page), read 18 October 2026. static.aviva.io
- Aviva, Over 50s Life Insurance (WC05649 09/2026), read 18 October 2026. aviva.co.uk
- SunLife (Phoenix Life Limited), Guaranteed Over 50 Plan Terms and Conditions including the Policy Summary (S-G050T12.25.V3, no printed date), read 18 October 2026. sunlife.co.uk
- Scottish Friendly, My Mutual Guaranteed Over 50s Plan (web page, undated), read 18 October 2026. scottishfriendly.co.uk
- Aviva, Policy Summary of Life Insurance+ (AL50001 02/2026, adviser library), read 18 October 2026. static.aviva.io
- Samaritans, Contact Samaritans, read 18 October 2026. samaritans.org