The maximum life insurance cover is set by each insurer, product by product, and for larger amounts it also checks that the cover fits your finances. Some published ceilings are in the millions, while other policies stop at £500,000 or £750,000.
The highest amount you can actually be offered depends on your age, health and earnings as well as the insurer, so the most reliable answer comes from asking. To see how the amount you have in mind looks to an FCA-authorised broker's insurers, submit the form on this page; the phone call that follows costs nothing.
What is the most life insurance you can buy?
Published ceilings vary widely, even between products from one group. These are the figures each firm's own pages give, read in October and November 2026:
| Product | What the firm says is the most cover |
|---|---|
| Beagle Street Life Insurance (policy summary 31589 003 04.2026) | Up to £750,000 depending on your age; up to £300,000 if you add Critical Illness |
| Scottish Widows Plan & Protect (consumer page) | A total of £500,000 |
| Scottish Widows Protect (consumer page) | Level cover £18 million; decreasing £12.5 million; increasing £7.2 million |
| Royal London Advised Life Cover (consumer page) | Level and decreasing term cover up to an unlimited amount, or a maximum of £5 million with an increasing option |
Beagle Street adds that "The age of the oldest life assured may reduce the maximum sum assured we can offer you", so the headline figure is a ceiling rather than something every applicant is offered. Scottish Widows says its increasing cover reaches the higher £18 million only through annual increases after the policy starts. Royal London says its advised cover is only available through a financial adviser.
These are examples of how far apart the limits sit, not a ranking of insurers or a suggestion of how much to buy. How much you need is a separate question, covered on how much life cover you need.
How do your finances limit the amount you can have?
A product's ceiling is not the same as the sum you will be accepted for. For large amounts an insurer also looks at whether the cover is in proportion to your finances. Guardian's underwriting guide for advisers puts it this way: "We financially underwrite applications for large amounts of cover to make sure the proposed cover is in keeping with the client's financial situation."
How far each insurer will go against your earnings is its own decision, so one firm's approach is no guide to another's; the broker can explain how the insurers they use look at income when they phone you back. A company-paid policy for an employee or director follows its own multiples of pay, set out on relevant life cover limits.
At what amount does an insurer want evidence of your finances?
Guardian's guide gives its trigger point: for life cover above £1.5 million it asks for financial evidence, which it says "will usually be a financial questionnaire". For very high cover amounts, it says it asks for independent third-party evidence such as a loan offer letter, or for an accountant to sign the questionnaire.
Medical checks can rise with the amount too. Aviva says most people who apply for its cover don't need a medical, but that for a large amount of cover it might ask for one with a nurse or a doctor, and that being asked does not automatically mean the application won't be accepted. Guardian's £1.5 million is the point at which it asks for more, not the most it will sell.
What an insurer would want to see for your own earnings is something the broker can cover when they ring you. For people without a payslip, life insurance for the self-employed covers the position.
Can you get life insurance without proof of income?
Below an insurer's trigger point you may not be asked for financial evidence at all: Guardian's guide for advisers puts its first request for it on life cover at amounts over £1.5 million. That does not make income irrelevant: Guardian's reason for checking is that the cover should be in keeping with your financial situation, and other insurers set their own trigger points.
If you do not earn, for example because you care for children at home, each insurer decides how to set your ceiling. The page on cover for a stay-at-home parent deals with that situation.
Does cover you already hold count towards the limit?
It can. Aviva confirms that more than one policy is allowed, and adds: "If your combined cover is for a high amount, we might need to do a more in-depth financial assessment to make sure we're insuring you for the right amount." Scottish Widows sets its ceilings as totals too: its consumer page says Plan & Protect allows multiple policies up to a total of £500,000 for life cover, and Scottish Widows Protect multiple policies with life cover up to a maximum of £18 million. So at these two insurers, splitting an amount across policies does not lift the ceiling or guarantee you avoid the extra checks. Having two life insurance policies goes through how existing cover is treated.
Age is the other limit worth knowing. The age at which you can start cover, and the age it must end by, are set per product, and they are covered on the oldest age you can start life insurance.
How much whole of life cover can you buy?
Whole of life cover lasts for the rest of your life, so there is no term to pick. Royal London's whole of life page says "You can choose as much or as little cover as you'd like. It is only available through a financial adviser." Its life insurance page lists the same plan with no upper limit, or a £5 million ceiling if you pick an increasing option. Neither tells you what a particular applicant would be offered. Typical payouts and how to choose the sum are on the typical whole of life payout, and what whole of life insurance is explains the product itself.
For the largest sum on a particular type of policy, a broker can say which of their insurers would consider the amount you have in mind and what each would ask to see.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a cap on how much life cover one person can hold?
Each insurer has a ceiling for each product, and the published examples above run from £500,000 to unlimited. Above certain amounts, insurers such as Guardian also want evidence that the cover is in proportion to your finances.
Is life insurance based on income?
Partly. Beagle Street's policy summary lists your age, health, lifestyle, job, smoking history and the sum assured among what sets the price. For large amounts, insurers such as Guardian also check that the cover is in keeping with your finances.
How much life insurance do I qualify for?
That depends on the insurer, your age and your earnings. A figure for your own circumstances comes from an application or from a broker putting your details to the insurers they work with.
How much term life insurance can I get?
For life cover alone, the ceilings in the table above run from £500,000 to £18 million, depending on product, and Royal London describes its advised level and decreasing cover as unlimited.
Is critical illness cover capped lower than life cover?
At Beagle Street and on Scottish Widows Protect, yes: Beagle Street's limit with critical illness is £300,000 against £750,000 for life insurance alone, and Scottish Widows Protect allows critical illness cover of up to £3 million against £18 million of life cover. Plan & Protect is the exception, with a total of £500,000 for each.
How can I find out the most I could be offered?
On the call, the broker can go over the amount you have in mind and what evidence insurers could want, once your details reach them through the enquiry form here.
Sources
- Guardian, Underwriting guide (page on Guardian's website for financial advisers, undated), read 26 October 2026. adviser.guardian1821.co.uk
- Scottish Widows, Get Life Cover Quote (consumer page, undated), read 1 November 2026. scottishwidows.co.uk
- Royal London, Life insurance to protect what matters to you (consumer page, undated), read 26 October 2026. royallondon.com
- Royal London, Whole of Life Plan (consumer page, undated), read 26 October 2026. royallondon.com
- Beagle Street, Life Insurance and Critical Illness Cover Policy Summary (31589 003 04.2026), read 20 October 2026. beaglestreet.com
- Aviva, Life insurance (consumer page, undated), read 26 October 2026. aviva.co.uk