There is no single mortgage life insurance age limit, because each insurer sets its own. In the policy summaries set out below, the latest age to start decreasing or level cover runs from 74 (Legal & General's decreasing cover) to 84 (LV=), and where an end age is given, the policy has to finish by about 90 (Aviva: before 91).
An FCA-authorised broker can check, at no cost, how your age sits against each insurer's limits for mortgage cover; the form on this page asks them to phone you.
Which latest start ages do insurers set for mortgage cover?
Each age below belongs to the insurer and product named beside it, as printed in that insurer's own document.
| Insurer and document | Latest age to start | Policy must end | Term limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal & General, direct Life Insurance policy summary (QGI14786, October 2026) | 77 for level cover; 74 for decreasing cover | Before age 90 | Level: 1 to 50 years. Decreasing: 5 to 50 years |
| Aviva, Life Insurance Plan summary (DA03008, May 2023; the one Aviva's direct page links) | 77, for level and decreasing alike | Before age 91 | 1 to 50 years |
| LV=, Life Protection policy summary (49029-2020 04/26) | 84 for level or decreasing cover | Until age 90 | 5 to 50 years |
| Zurich, Life Protection key features (NP720500009, February 2025) | 83 for life cover | 89, meaning before the 90th birthday | 1 to 50 years |
| Scottish Widows, Protect summary (61041 01/26; adviser site) | 79 for life cover | The broker can confirm both when they ring you | |
Of these five, only Legal & General's summary sets a lower start age for decreasing cover than for level. Aviva and LV= give one age for both, and Scottish Widows lists level, decreasing and increasing as shapes of the same life cover. Zurich's table shows life cover on one line and describes level, increasing and decreasing as ways of choosing it.
These five are not the market, and the channels differ. Legal & General, Aviva and Zurich publish consumer documents on their own sites, and Zurich says you can apply online. LV='s summary tells readers to speak to a financial adviser about whether the cover suits them, and the Scottish Widows summary is on its adviser site, headed for all customers except those using an aggregator. Zurich's table is read in its own words: if an age is shown as 83, "it means before your 84th birthday".
Does the limit change at 50, 60 or 70?
Not at those ages. Each summary gives a latest start age for each type of cover it sells, and every one in the table is above 70. What changes as you start older is how long the policy can run, because the end age stays put while your starting age moves up.
The next table is our own arithmetic, not a figure any insurer prints: it subtracts a starting age from each insurer's end age above. The real longest term can be a little under the gap, because most of these policies must finish before that age, and each insurer's term limits and underwriting still apply:
| Age at start | Legal & General, LV=, Zurich (end age 90) | Aviva (end age 91) |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | 40 years at most | 41 years at most |
| 60 | 30 years at most | 31 years at most |
| 70 | 20 years at most | 21 years at most |
So a 25-year repayment mortgage taken at 60 would end at 85, inside every end age above, while the same mortgage at 70 would run to 95, past every end age shown in the table. Starting older also usually costs more for the same cover; see why life insurance premiums increase.
Plans sold to people over 50 are a different product. Legal & General's over-50s plan takes people aged 50 to 80 and caps the cash sum at £10,000, and Aviva's takes ages 50 to 80 as well. They pay a fixed sum rather than tracking a mortgage balance; life insurance types for people over 50 and over-50s plans compared go through them.
Your own age and loan can be tested against these limits by a broker, who rings back, free of charge, once you send in this page's short form.
What if the mortgage runs longer than the policy can?
This is where age limits matter most for a home buyer: the mortgage term and the policy's end date are chosen separately. Legal & General's summary says the policy could be used to help pay an outstanding mortgage, and in its section on level cover it warns: "The policy may not completely pay off your outstanding mortgage, if you change the mortgage you have in any way and you don't adjust your cover to match your new arrangements."
Decreasing cover adds a timing point. Zurich describes it as reducing in line with a repayment mortgage or loan at a rate Zurich chooses, which may be faster or slower than your own loan falls, with cover that "will reduce to zero by the end of the term". A decreasing policy that ends before the mortgage does leaves the balance after that date uncovered. Scottish Widows lists a mismatch between the policy period and the mortgage term among the reasons a payout might fall short, in these words: "the period of time you are covered for under the policy doesn't match the term of the mortgage".
How a late start would sit against a longer mortgage is a question for the free call-back, where a broker can talk through shorter terms and what each would leave uncovered.
How to size and shape cover against a loan is covered in level or decreasing term for a mortgage, and whether a payout settles the loan at all in will life insurance pay off my mortgage. What a decreasing policy does when it reaches its end is on what happens when a decreasing term policy ends.
What are your options at or near the limit?
A term policy covers you from the start date to the expiry date and no further. Legal & General's guide says that to renew when a policy expires, "you will need to take out a new policy from scratch", and that because you would be older, premiums "would likely be more expensive". Its terms would be offered on your health at that time.
If you are past the start age for one insurer, another may have a higher one; the table shows a spread of 74 to 84, and the oldest age you can take out life insurance sets out the wider picture beyond mortgage cover. For where mortgage cover is sold, see where to buy mortgage protection.
Frequently asked questions
Can you get life insurance for a mortgage at 50 or 60?
Every start age in the table is well above 50 and 60, so age alone is not what rules it out. Whether an insurer accepts you is settled at application, where Aviva's direct page says health and lifestyle questions are put to the applicant.
Is mortgage protection insurance available over 70?
The start ages in the table are all above 70, from 74 for Legal & General's decreasing cover to 84 for LV=. The end age then limits the term, to roughly 20 years at 70 on the gaps above.
Does the oldest person's age count on a joint mortgage policy?
Aviva's summary says that for a joint policy the maximum age applies to the oldest life covered. Other insurers set their own joint-policy rules, so check the terms that come with any quote.
Is the age limit different for level and decreasing cover?
With Legal & General, yes: 77 for level and 74 for decreasing. In the Aviva, LV= and Scottish Widows summaries the start age is the same for both.
When you are weighing mortgage cover and want the ages tried against your own, a broker will ring after you send the page's short form; the call costs nothing.
Sources
- Legal & General, Life Insurance and Critical Illness Cover Policy Summary (QGI14786 - 2026/10; direct version), read 26 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
- Legal & General, How are life insurance premiums calculated? (guide dated 15 May 2026), read 26 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
- Legal & General, Over 50s Fixed Life Insurance Policy Summary (QGI12836 11/2025; direct version), read 26 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
- Aviva, Life Insurance Plan Policy Summary (DA03008 05/2023; linked from Aviva's Life insurance page), read 26 October 2026. static.aviva.io; Aviva's Life insurance page
- Aviva, Over 50 life insurance (web page, undated), read 26 October 2026. aviva.co.uk
- LV=, Life Protection Policy Summary (49029-2020 04/26), read 26 October 2026. lv.com
- Zurich, Zurich Life Protection key features (NP720500009 (02/25)), read 26 October 2026. zurich.co.uk
- Scottish Widows, Scottish Widows Protect Personal Protection Policy Summary (61041 01/26; adviser site), read 26 October 2026. adviser.scottishwidows.co.uk