Serving members of the UK armed forces can apply for private life insurance, but life insurance for military personnel in the UK is not one product with one answer: each insurer decides how it treats service, deployment orders and reservists, and the terms differ. This page sets out what two insurers' own underwriting pages say, what the Ministry of Defence (MOD) says about buying your own cover, and how that sits beside the death benefits of your pension scheme.

Deployment status decides a lot here, so an FCA-authorised broker can check how insurers would see yours. You can ask for that introduction by completing this page's quote form, which is free and carries no obligation to buy.

Can serving armed forces personnel and reservists get life insurance?

Yes, with conditions that depend on the insurer and on your orders. Legal & General's adviser site says "All service personnel will need to complete an armed forces questionnaire when applying for cover", and it names the Army, Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Royal Air Force and "Armed Forces Reserves (formerly the Territorial Army)". The questionnaire is an extra step, not a refusal.

Scottish Widows' adviser underwriting page is firmer. It says "We can’t accept any business if the person applying is currently serving in, or under orders to go to a theatre of operations within 12 months." It then adds that it can "consider Life Cover, Critical Illness Cover and Total Permanent Disability for customers in the TA or who are Reservists as long as they are not under orders". Both are adviser pages, undated, read in October 2026.

Two things follow for a reader. A reservist and a regular can be treated differently by the same insurer. And whether you are under orders can matter as much as your trade. Legal & General's adviser page says it will consider mortgage life cover for service personnel who are due to deploy to an active theatre of operations "within six months, or if they are currently on one", with "An extra premium" charged "for two years". Scottish Widows says that for mortgage cover only, service travel is acceptable "unless they are under orders in the next 12 months".

Aviva's and LV='s public guides are less specific. Aviva's high-risk guide (6 May 2026) says "roles involving emergency response, the armed forces, or certain types of manual labour can sometimes lead to different outcomes", and LV='s guide (27 April 2026) lists armed forces personnel among hazardous occupations where premiums may rise or exclusions may be applied. Neither sets out a rule for serving personnel.

Does life insurance pay out for a death on operations or in war?

This depends on the insurer and on the policy, and the wording is what counts.

Legal & General's adviser page for armed forces says "Our policies don’t usually exclude war risks", and its consumer page on jobs (20 June 2023) says the same. The word "usually" matters: that consumer page also says restrictions on when it can pay a claim may apply to some occupations, and that it tells applicants before cover starts. Legal & General's Life Insurance policy terms (QGI12849, October 2026) say any exclusions appear in the Policy Schedule sent once cover is taken out, alongside the terms' own section on what the policy does not cover, so those two places are where yours are set out.

The same terms say "We can still consider and accept a claim if the event occurs outside the UK, and we can confirm it is valid." They also define the UK to include "a Crown employee (someone in the UK armed forces, a civil servant or diplomat)", which matters for residency, not for the cause of death.

Both insurers' adviser pages describe a named armed forces exclusion on critical illness cover. Scottish Widows' version, which it says will always be applied, covers "any claim arising as a result of any event occurring while the person covered is undertaking duties on behalf of, or during service with, the British Armed Forces or any other militia in an active theatre of operations or conflict. This exclusion applies for the length of the cover." Legal & General's adviser page describes a tour of duty exclusion on its critical illness cover. Those exclusions are written for critical illness cover. What a life policy says about a death in a theatre of operations, and whether that changes if your orders change, is in that policy's own wording and schedule, which is the thing to ask about before you apply.

How do insurers ask about forces service, and what affects the price?

Legal & General's adviser page says "Certain occupations may attract premium loadings, such as" bomb disposal, diving and aviation. Its table on how occupation class affects life cover says the premium is affected "No, unless occupation has a hazardous element". Scottish Widows says hazardous activities "e.g. diving, special services, will require individual assessment by our underwriting team". Aviva's policy summary for Life Insurance+ (AL50001 02/2026) lists occupation among the factors that premiums depend on, alongside age, health, lifestyle and smoking.

Nobody can give an honest figure for a loading without your trade, deployment status, age, health and the cover you want. As a direction only, a hazardous role or smoking usually raises the price, and a younger, healthier applicant usually pays less.

One point on timing. Legal & General's adviser page says "The occupation class is established when the policy is first set up", and that generally a client does not have to report later job changes on current policies, "But some older policies do require it, so it’s best to check the individual policy terms and conditions." That is one insurer's position.

Put your trade and your orders to an FCA-authorised broker and they can find out which insurers would look at an application like yours, and on what terms. Asking costs nothing; your details go in through the quote form here. Any offer of cover remains for the insurer to make. Life insurance for construction workers explains how hazardous-job loadings work in other trades, and cover without a medical covers the health side.

What does the Ministry of Defence say about buying your own cover?

The MOD publishes rules in JSP 752, its tri-service expenses and allowances regulations (1 October 2026 edition). Chapter 17 section 4 sets up Service Risks Insurance Premium refunds: "The aim of Service Risks Insurance Premium (SRIPs) refunds is to contribute towards the extra cost incurred by eligible Service personnel when insuring themselves against particular Service risks."

It also gives a caution about policy wording: "Service personnel are advised to examine very carefully any insurance policy they are offered to ensure it meets their needs as caveats may be included that limit the cover being offered." It adds "It should be possible to obtain worldwide cover although an additional premium may be required."

The refund is for extra premiums, not the whole premium, and it covers named duties. These include bomb disposal and mine clearance, diving, parachute descents, flying in Service aircraft, Northern Ireland service and Special Forces. Serving on operations is on the list, but "These claims will require the exceptional authority of the DBS MIL PERS-MIL OPS PACCC". Regular and Reserve personnel can be eligible, but Cadet Force Adult Volunteers are not.

The policy types that qualify include whole life, family income and mortgage protection, and short-term life policies "taken out for terms of not less than 4 years". "Personal Accident policies do not normally qualify". Refunds can apply to policies held by a spouse or civil partner. For policies taken out on or after 14 March 1984 the rule is "90% of the extra premiums paid", up to a maximum sum assured that depends on the year the policy started; the latest entry in the table at Annex A is £245,931 for policies starting on 1 October 2026. The refund attracts tax and National Insurance for personnel on a UK assignment, but the MOD says that tax "will be met by MOD", and the refund is not taxable for personnel assigned outside the UK. The MOD can change or end the scheme. Legal & General's adviser page also points to this scheme and suggests asking your HR department whether you are eligible.

The refund is separate from what the Armed Forces Pension Scheme and the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme pay on a death in service, which are scheme benefits rather than insurance; our guide to armed forces death in service benefit sets those out, with the questions to weigh against personal cover. A private policy can also be written in trust so that it goes to chosen people, as putting a policy in trust explains.

What changes when you leave the forces?

The MOD side changes first. JSP 752 says if a claimant "is due to leave the Service before the expiration of a period for which refund has been made, the over-issue is to be assessed by the unit HR admin staff and recovered prior to the claimant leaving the Service." The refund is tied to service duties, so ask your insurer what happens to any loading once those duties end.

What the pension scheme pays after you leave is covered in the death in service guide, and life insurance for retired military looks at cover once you have left.

Whenever you want your own position looked at, serving or leaving, completing the quote form here sets up an introduction to an FCA-authorised broker. For the wider question of who needs cover at all, see who needs cover.

Frequently asked questions

Do the military get free life insurance?

Not as a private policy. Serving personnel have death in service benefits through the pension and compensation schemes, which are not insurance and are set out in the death in service guide. Personal cover is bought separately, and the MOD may refund part of any extra premium charged for named service duties.

Can reservists get life insurance?

Scottish Widows' adviser page says it can consider life cover for Reservists who are not under orders, and Legal & General's adviser page includes the Armed Forces Reserves in its questionnaire requirement. Under JSP 752, Reserve personnel as well as Regulars can be eligible for the MOD's premium refund.

Sources

  • Ministry of Defence, JSP 752 - Tri-Service Regulations for Expenses and Allowances, chapter 17 section 4 (1 October 2026 edition), read 18 October 2026. assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
  • Legal & General, Occupation and armed forces (adviser protection site, undated), read 18 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com/adviser
  • Legal & General, Does your job affect your life insurance? (consumer page, 20 June 2023), read 18 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
  • Legal & General, Life Insurance Policy Terms and Conditions (QGI12849, October 2026), read 18 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com (QGI12849)
  • Scottish Widows, Underwriting, Armed Forces section (adviser site, undated), read 18 October 2026. adviser.scottishwidows.co.uk
  • Aviva, Policy Summary of Life Insurance+ (AL50001 02/2026, from Aviva's adviser document library), read 18 October 2026. static.aviva.io (AL50001)
  • Aviva, High risk life insurance (knowledge centre, 6 May 2026), read 18 October 2026. aviva.co.uk
  • LV=, High-risk life insurance guide (27 April 2026), read 18 October 2026. lv.com