Post Office life insurance is two separate products from two insurers: a term plan for people aged 18 to 70, underwritten by Scottish Friendly, and Over 50s Life Cover for people aged 50 to 80, underwritten by Aviva. How Post Office life insurance works therefore depends on which of the two you are looking at, and mostly on your age and what the money is for.
Two plans for two age groups can be a lot to take in, so an FCA-authorised broker will talk both through if you ask. Arranging that needs only the form on this page, your contact details and a minute or two.
Who is behind the Post Office name
The Post Office does not insure anyone itself. It introduces customers to a firm called Neilson Financial Services, which arranges and sells both plans when you buy by phone or through the Post Office website. Buy through a price comparison site instead and, according to the Post Office, the policy is arranged and sold by the firm that runs that site.
| Product | Who can apply | Underwritten by |
|---|---|---|
| Post Office Life Insurance (term cover) | UK residents aged 18 to 70 at the start of the policy | Scottish Friendly Assurance Society Limited |
| Post Office Over 50s Life Cover | UK residents aged 50 to 80 | Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited |
The Post Office's own pages put it in these words for the older plan: "Post Office Over 50s Life Cover is underwritten by Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited and jointly administered by Neilson Financial Services Limited and Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited." For the term plan they say: "Post Office Life Insurance is underwritten and administered by Scottish Friendly Assurance Society Limited." Neilson helps with the administration of that one too.
Post Office Limited is an appointed representative of Post Office Management Services Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 630318). The Over 50s key facts document adds that the Post Office receives a commission from Neilson for the introduction, and that "You will not receive advice or a recommendation from us nor will we charge a fee for these services." You then make your own choice about how to proceed, and the Post Office offers Over 50s Life Cover from Aviva alone.
How the Post Office term plan works
The term plan pays out if you die, or are told you are terminally ill with under 12 months to live, within the term you chose. You pick the amount, up to £750,000 depending on your age, and pay a fixed monthly premium. The minimum term is 5 years and cover must end before your 90th birthday.
There are three ways the cover can behave: level cover, where the payout stays the same; decreasing cover, where it reduces over time, which the Post Office says suits a debt such as a repayment mortgage; and increasing cover, where the payout and the premium both rise each year. For how the three differ in general, see level term cover, decreasing term cover and increasing term cover.
Terminal illness cover applies from day one, and monthly payments stop at the earliest of the end of the term, your death or the insurer accepting a terminal illness diagnosis. The wider subject is covered in terminal illness benefit in life insurance.
Unlike the older plan, this one asks about your health and lifestyle, so what you say matters. The Post Office's page warns: "If you don’t tell us something or give us incorrect answers to our application questions that affects your cover, we may reduce the amount we pay for a claim or at worst cancel your cover and not refund your monthly payments." It also says: "If you miss payments, you will no longer be covered under the policy."
Which health conditions Scottish Friendly asks about, and how it would weigh yours, are worth raising when the broker phones.
How Post Office Over 50s Life Cover works
This is a whole of life plan with guaranteed acceptance: if you live in the UK and are aged 50 to 80 when it starts, Aviva guarantees to accept the application, and no questions are asked about your health. You choose a fixed sum between £1,000 and £10,000, and the ceiling is lower for people who apply from age 70.
Aviva pays the chosen sum for a death after the first 12 months, and twice that for an accidental death at any time; a death from any other cause in the first 12 months returns 1.5 times the premiums paid instead. Premiums are fixed unless you add the increasing option, and stop at the policy anniversary on or after your 95th birthday while cover carries on. The plan has no cash-in value, and the Post Office's over-50s page warns: "Depending on how long you live, you could pay more in monthly payments than the cash sum we pay out when you die." A fixed sum also loses value to inflation.
The dedicated page on Post Office Over 50s Life Cover goes through acceptance, the first-year rule and the Protected Benefit in full; Aviva's own over-50s plan is a different policy. If a funeral fund is the aim, a broker can set this plan against other routes with you. Requesting it takes the form on this page, plus a phone number.
What Post Office life insurance costs a month
The Post Office publishes illustrations for each plan, not a price list. Each is for a non-smoker and is a starting point, not what any reader will be quoted. For the term plan, the figures are for a healthy non-smoker on a 21-year level term, and the Post Office says they are "for illustrative purposes".
| Age | Term plan: cover and monthly cost |
|---|---|
| 31 | £100,000 from £7.54 |
| 41 | £100,000 from £15.51 |
| 51 | £100,000 from £37.88 |
| 61 | £100,000 from £93.09 |
For Over 50s Life Cover, the illustration is for £5,000 of cover:
| Age | Over 50s plan: monthly premium for £5,000 |
|---|---|
| 50 | £18.99 |
| 60 | £25.20 |
| 70 | £39.69 |
| 80 | £76.63 |
The two tables use different amounts and different kinds of cover, so they are not a comparison of prices. On the term plan the Post Office says the cost depends on age, health, lifestyle and the amount of cover, and in some cases on dangerous hobbies or high-risk jobs. On the older plan the Post Office's key facts list the benefit amount, your age, whether you smoke and whether you add the increasing option. For a wider look at pricing in later life, see what over-50s plans cost.
Gifts, add-ons, claims and cancelling
A few points sit outside the policy itself, and each has its own page:
- The Post Office advertises a gift card or an experience with both plans, subject to a qualifying period and minimum premiums; the details are on the gift card and experience offer, and it is not a reason to pick one plan over another.
- Critical illness and children's cover belong to the term plan, covered in add-ons for Post Office life insurance.
- Who handles a claim differs by plan: claiming on a Post Office policy.
- Cancellation rights and contact routes also differ: contacting the insurer and cancelling.
The Post Office also offers a free GP and wellbeing service with both plans, run by MediPartner Limited. It says this is separate from the policy contract and may be withdrawn at any time, so do not count on it when choosing cover. On the older plan, a Funeral Benefit Option gives the family a discount of up to £250 with Co-op Funeralcare at no extra cost; for how funeral cover compares more broadly, see the best over-50s plans compared and how waiting periods work.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Post Office do life insurance?
Yes, through two plans: a term plan from age 18 to 70 and an over-50s plan from 50 to 80. It introduces customers to Neilson Financial Services, and the insurers behind the plans are Scottish Friendly and Aviva respectively.
Is Post Office life insurance good?
That depends on whether the terms suit your age, health and purpose, which no page can judge for you. The Post Office says it was named Best Over 50s Life Insurance Provider at the YourMoney.com Awards 2026; that is its own statement about an award, not a verdict on the cover. Its pages also say Aviva paid 100% of Post Office over-50s claims received in 2025, and Scottish Friendly 98.47% of the life insurance claims it received that year.
Will Post Office life insurance want to know about my health?
Not on Over 50s Life Cover, which asks no health questions. The term plan asks about your health and lifestyle when you apply, and answers that are wrong or incomplete can reduce a claim or end the cover.
Can I get Post Office life insurance over 70?
Applicants to the term plan must live in the UK and be 18 to 70 when the policy starts. Over 50s Life Cover takes applications up to 80, with a lower maximum sum from age 70.
Does Post Office life insurance last for life?
Both exist. The term plan lasts for the length you choose, and the Over 50s plan continues for the rest of your life while you keep paying, or under the Protected Benefit rules.
What happens to a Post Office policy if payments are missed?
On the term plan, the Post Office says that if you miss payments you will no longer be covered. On Over 50s Life Cover, two consecutive missed payments cancel the policy, but at least half the benefit amount is still paid if you were at least halfway through the payments due.
Working out which kind of cover fits is quicker with someone on the line: leave a number and a broker will ring you at no charge.
Sources
- Post Office, Life Insurance from £5 a Month (undated web page), read 27 October 2026. postoffice.co.uk/life-cover/life-insurance
- Post Office, Over 50s Life Insurance (undated web page), read 26 October 2026. postoffice.co.uk/life-cover/over-50s-life-insurance
- Post Office, Over 50s Life Cover: Key Facts and Policy Terms and Conditions (document code PO 050 KF v2.9; no printed date), read 22 October 2026. postoffice.co.uk (PDF)