Life insurance cover till what age depends on two limits: the oldest age you can start a policy, and the age by which a term policy has to end. In the insurers' documents set out below, the latest start age for a new term policy runs from 74 to 79 in most, and reaches 88 or 89 in two products sold through financial advisers; where an end age is stated, the policy must finish by 90 or 91.
Where your own age and health leave you depends on details an insurer has to see; an FCA-authorised broker can look into it for you at no charge, if you ask for an introduction using this page's form.
What is the oldest age you can take out life insurance?
Each insurer sets its own limits, and the documents come from different channels, so each row names the document and its date.
| Insurer and document | Oldest age to start | Term must end | Also stated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal & General, direct Life Insurance policy summary (QGI14786, October 2026) | 77 (74 for decreasing cover) | Before age 90 | Policy lasts 1 to 50 years (decreasing: 5 to 50) |
| Aviva, direct Life Insurance Plan summary (DA03008, May 2023; linked from Aviva's life insurance page, WC05632 09/2026) | 77 | Before age 91 | Joint policy: the limit applies to the oldest person covered |
| Aviva, Life Insurance+ summary (AL50001 02/2026; from Aviva's website for financial advisers) | 77 for cover under £50,000; 89 for £50,000 and above | Maximum age at the end: 90 | Combining options applies the lowest maximum age |
| Scottish Widows, Protect summary (61041 01/26; adviser site, for all customers except those using an aggregator) | 79 for life cover | Not stated in the summary | |
| VitalityLife, Personal Protection Plan summary (dated February 2025, the copy on Vitality's adviser site in October 2026; newer terms may differ) | 74, from age 16 | Fixed term life cover: up to the 90th birthday | Whole of life cover: no maximum term |
| Royal London, advised life cover page (undated; sold through financial advisers) | 88 | Not stated on the page | Medical questions, and possibly a medical |
Legal & General's life insurance page (reviewed 1 June 2026) and Aviva's direct page also give 77. Aviva's 89 belongs to Life Insurance+, which Aviva presents on a website it describes as for UK life advisers only, and Royal London's 88 to a plan it sells only through financial advisers, so ask an adviser or broker whether either is open to you.
Whole of life cover works differently, because it has no term to end. Its start ages, and the plans that take people into their eighties, are on what whole of life insurance is.
Why the start age and the end age are separate limits
A policy has to satisfy both. Someone starting at the top entry age cannot have the longest term on offer, because the policy still has to finish before the end age.
That is the answer to why cover seems to stop at a certain age such as 80. A term policy does not stop paying because you reach an age: it covers you until the expiry date chosen at the start, and the insurer's age rules set the latest that date can be. Legal & General's summary says you are covered from the start date until the expiry date, and Scottish Widows says a life cover claim must be for a death before the end of the policy's expiry date. The date to look for is the expiry date, which Legal & General says appears, with other important dates, in the Policy Schedule it sends once the policy starts.
Optional extras can end earlier than the life cover: Aviva's Life Insurance+ table shows several add-ons ending well before 90, and says combined options take the lowest maximum age. See waiver of premium, critical illness age limits and mortgage life insurance age limits.
How to choose an end age for a term policy
Three dates tend to matter, and they can point to different answers:
- The end of a debt. If the cover is there to clear a repayment mortgage, the mortgage end date is the natural anchor. Decreasing cover is built for that case; see decreasing term cover, and whether you need life insurance for a mortgage.
- Children becoming financially independent. For a family, the question is how many years until the youngest no longer relies on your income.
- Retirement and what follows. Some people choose to stop cover at retirement, when income needs change. Others have a need that carries on, such as a partner's income in later life.
A longer term usually costs more, and is paid for more years, so the choice trades how long the need lasts against what you can keep up. Amounts are covered in how much life cover you need, and term policies in how term life insurance works.
Once you have a rough end date, a broker can price a few end ages side by side if you request an introduction on the form on this page.
What happens when a term policy ends
The cover stops and nothing is paid for being alive. Legal & General's summary says its policies have no cash value and it will not pay out if you reach the end of the policy without a valid claim; its life insurance page adds that no further premiums are payable once the policy ends. Scottish Widows' summary says a death after the expiry date is not paid, and that the policy has no cash-in value at any time. Aviva's direct page says a single or joint policy finishes when the term ends, and its summary says the same about cash-in value.
Two things follow as the end date approaches:
- Extending is not automatic. Legal & General's terms say you might be able to ask to change the length of your policy, with an amendment form that asks about your health, medical history, residency and leisure activities. It may ask for a full application, and a change can alter the premium. A change may also mean the original policy is cancelled and a new one issued, possibly on different terms.
- Renewing means starting again. Legal & General's premiums guide (15 May 2026) says renewing at expiry means a new policy from scratch, offered on your health at the time, and that being older would likely make the premium higher.
If converting to whole of life cover matters to you, ask an insurer whether a particular policy has a conversion option and on what conditions; converting term life insurance to permanent cover sets out the questions. Raising cover mid-term is covered in increasing the cover on a term policy.
A new policy bought later depends on your health then; see life insurance with a medical condition and whether premiums increase with age.
Options for older applicants, including cover for a parent over 80
Past the term limits, the routes are whole of life cover and guaranteed-acceptance over-50s plans. Legal & General's Over 50s Fixed Life Insurance (QGI12836 11/2025) and Aviva's Over 50 plan (WC05649 09/2026) take people aged 50 to 80 without medical questions, and SunLife's Guaranteed Over 50 Plan (S-G050T12.25.V3), which says acceptance is guaranteed, takes people aged 49-85. Cover then lasts for life, but on terms worth knowing: the payout is a fixed sum (at Legal & General, at most £10,000), so inflation reduces what it buys; premiums stop only at a cap age, such as 90 at Legal & General or the anniversary on or after the 95th birthday at SunLife; total premiums can come to more than the payout; and a death in the first year other than by accident returns the premiums paid (SunLife and Legal & General). The plans are compared in the best life insurance over 50, and the wider picture is in life insurance over 50 and our over-50s and later life guides; for funeral costs see funeral plan age limits.
If you are looking at cover for a parent, Legal & General's guide (9 March 2026) says you need an insurable interest in them, that the parent must consent, and that its application process requires the person insured to complete the application themselves. Section 1 of the Life Assurance Act 1774 says no insurance shall be made on a life where the person for whose benefit it is made has "no interest", and that such an assurance is "null and void"; how that applies to a particular family is a question for the insurer or a legal adviser. The rest is in life insurance for parents.
If your parent has a terminal diagnosis, Marie Curie offers practical information and emotional support about living with a terminal illness, end of life and bereavement, on 0800 090 2309. When it comes to cover, the questions to put to an insurer or broker are whether it would consider an application at all, and what any existing policy's terminal illness benefit would pay (terminal illness benefit explains it).
Frequently asked questions
Can an 80 year old get life insurance?
Some products in the documents above reach past 80: SunLife's guaranteed-acceptance plan takes applicants to 85, and two adviser-sold products go further, Royal London's advised life cover to 88 and Aviva's Life Insurance+ to 89 for cover of £50,000 and above. The over-50s plans at Legal & General and Aviva stop at 80, and the underwritten products still ask health questions before offering cover.
Can I get term life insurance in my seventies?
The start-age limits above reach 74, 77 or 79 at the insurers named, so the early seventies are within each. The insurer still asks health questions and decides whether to offer cover and at what price.
Does life insurance stop paying out after a certain age?
A term policy pays only for a death before its expiry date, and the latest expiry date the insurers above allow is 90 or 91. Whole of life cover has no expiry date, though entry ages still apply; see term vs whole of life insurance.
What happens to my life insurance when I turn 85?
The term documents above tie the end of cover to the expiry date, not to a birthday. Your Policy Schedule or equivalent shows yours.
What is the maximum age with Legal & General, Aviva, Scottish Widows, Vitality or Royal London?
To start a term policy: 77 at Legal & General and Aviva direct, 79 at Scottish Widows, 74 in VitalityLife's February 2025 summary and 88 at Royal London through an adviser, as the table above shows with each document.
Is life insurance available for parents aged 80 or over?
Sometimes, through the plans above whose entry ages reach a parent's age, such as SunLife's to 85. The parent's consent and your insurable interest come first, as set out in life insurance for parents.
Should you want these age limits measured against your own position, the quote form here is how to reach an FCA-authorised broker; the conversation takes a few minutes, costs nothing and leaves the decision with you.
Sources
- Legal & General, Life Insurance and Critical Illness Cover Policy Summary (direct version, QGI14786 - 2026/10), read 18 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
- Legal & General, Life Insurance Policy Terms and Conditions (direct version, QGI12849 - 2026/10), read 18 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
- Legal & General, Life insurance (reviewed 1 June 2026) and How are life insurance premiums calculated? (15 May 2026), read 18 October 2026. life insurance; premiums guide
- Legal & General, Over 50s Fixed Life Insurance Policy Summary (QGI12836 11/2025, direct version) and Can you insure your parents? (9 March 2026), read 18 October 2026. summary; parents guide
- Aviva, Life Insurance Plan Policy Summary (DA03008 05/2023) and Life insurance page (WC05632 09/2026), read 18 October 2026. summary; page
- Aviva, Policy Summary of Life Insurance+ (AL50001 02/2026; listed in Aviva's adviser document library, on a site for UK life advisers only), read 18 October 2026. static.aviva.io; adviser library
- Aviva, Over 50 life insurance (WC05649 09/2026), 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
- VitalityLife, Personal Protection Plan Summary (VLTD182053WF_02/25_J8476, February 2025; the copy on Vitality's adviser site), read 18 October 2026. adviser.vitality.co.uk
- Royal London, Advised life cover (web page, undated; 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
- Life Assurance Act 1774, section 1, read 18 October 2026. legislation.gov.uk
- Marie Curie, Information and support, read 18 October 2026. mariecurie.org.uk