You cannot cash in a Scottish Widows Protect or Plan & Protect Life Cover policy, because Scottish Widows' policy summaries say neither has a cash-in value, but you can cancel either one at any time. You do that by contacting Scottish Widows, and any money back depends on how long the policy has run.
An FCA-authorised broker can run through replacement cover for you ahead of any cancellation. That call is booked from the form on this page, and carries no charge.
Can you cash in a Scottish Widows life insurance policy?
Not for the two policies Scottish Widows sells today. The Scottish Widows Protect Personal Protection policy summary (print code 61041 01/26) says:
The policy has no cash-in value at any time. This means you won’t get any money back if you cancel it before the policy’s end date.
The Plan & Protect Life Cover summary (print code 60292(D) 10/25) uses the same sentence. Lloyds Bank's existing-customers page, writing about the cover sold through Lloyds, puts it this way: "Scottish Widows life insurance products have no cash-in value at any time." Lloyds adds that a policy ending without a claim returns nothing, and that missed payments stop the cover with nothing back.
The reason is how this type of cover works. Both are term policies that pay only if a claim is made before the end date; neither is a savings plan. The general picture of which policies ever have a surrender value is on can you cash in a life insurance policy. Some older policies with a savings or whole of life element can carry a value, and what that is depends on the policy's own terms. Scottish Widows' existing-customers page also lists Protection for Life, My Life Insurance and policies bought through Clerical Medical or an adviser; if yours is one of those or another older plan, Scottish Widows can tell you which kind it is and what, if anything, it is worth.
Is any of your money refunded when you cancel?
The Protect summary and the Plan & Protect Life Cover summary give the same rule:
- Within 30 days of the start date shown on your policy schedule, you can change your mind and Scottish Widows refunds the payments you have made so far.
- After that, you can still cancel, but the summaries say Scottish Widows will not refund any payments you have made.
The Plan & Protect summary words it: "You can of course cancel the policy any time after this period has ended but we won’t refund any payments you’ve made." Halifax's existing-customers page, for its Scottish Widows cover, says "You can cancel your policy at any time, free of charge", and Lloyds Bank's page says the same about the cover it sells.
If you want to keep some protection but pay less, ask before you cancel. Prices usually rise the older you are and the more your health has changed, and a broker can work out where you now stand during the free call arranged through this page's form.
The 30 days run from the start date on the schedule, not from when you decided to cancel. The wider rules on cooling-off periods are on the cancellation period for life insurance, and what happens afterwards on what happens if you cancel life insurance.
What if the person who held the policy has died?
Then the question is a claim, not a cancellation. Scottish Widows' existing-customers page puts "tell us that someone’s died" at the top of its list, and the Plan & Protect summary gives a separate number for it, 0345 601 4179, though the number on your own policy papers is the one to use. There is no cash-in step and nothing to cancel first. How a claim starts is covered on the Scottish Widows life policy page.
Does it matter if you bought it through Halifax, Lloyds or Bank of Scotland?
The policy is Scottish Widows cover whichever way you bought it. Halifax's life insurance page says "Our life insurance is provided by Scottish Widows. They're a part of Lloyds Banking Group, like us.", and the Lloyds and Halifax existing-customers pages both repeat the 30-day refund rule above. Who sells what under each bank name is on Halifax and Lloyds life insurance, and day-to-day changes such as a new address or bank details are on managing a Scottish Widows life policy. Cancelling with other insurers is covered for Royal London and Legal & General.
Who do you contact to cancel, and on which number?
Contact Scottish Widows. Its existing-customers page lists "cancel your policy" among the things to contact it about, alongside updating an address and changing bank details. The Protect summary says that for questions or changes you can phone, write or visit its website; the Plan & Protect summary gives a phone number and a postal address.
| Policy | Phone number in the summary | Hours the summary gives |
|---|---|---|
| Scottish Widows Protect (61041 01/26) | 0345 030 6572 | 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday |
| Plan & Protect Life Cover (60292(D) 10/25) | 0345 608 0378 | 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday |
Both summaries give the postal address as Scottish Widows Limited, PO Box 24171, 69 Morrison Street, Edinburgh EH3 1HL. Check the number on your own policy documents before you call, since numbers change and these come from the summaries. Whether your particular policy can be cancelled through your online account is a question for Scottish Widows.
Have your policy number and the name of each person covered to hand. The names on a joint policy matter if you are not the only policyholder; cancelling a joint policy on your own is covered separately.
What needs sorting out before the cover ends?
Whether the policy is in trust. For Scottish Widows Protect policies, the trustees page says that "if you want to cancel the policy we’ll need signatures from all the trustees." So where there is more than one trustee, one of them cannot cancel alone. There is more on cancelling a life insurance policy in trust.
Whether you have something to replace it. A new policy is assessed on your age and health now, so its price and terms may differ from the one you hold. Putting the new cover in place before the old one ends avoids a spell with no cover at all.
Stopping the payments is not the same as cancelling. The Plan & Protect summary says: "If you miss three months’ payments, we’ll cancel the cover three calendar months from the date of the first missed payment. We won’t refund any payments you’ve made." Cover carries on until then. What a lapsed policy means is explained separately.
If money is the problem, Scottish Widows' existing-customers page lists "let us know you can’t afford your premium" among the reasons to contact it, which is worth doing before you cancel.
A broker works from the insurers it deals with and can show how a new policy would look for you before your Scottish Widows cover stops. Before you ring Scottish Widows, the form on this page lines up that broker conversation free of charge. More on changing cover is under reviewing and switching.
Frequently asked questions
Will Scottish Widows give my money back if I cancel after several years?
The summaries say no payments are refunded after the first 30 days, and that there is no cash-in value at any time. The premiums you paid bought the years of cover you had.
Does it cost anything to cancel?
Halifax and Lloyds, both describing the Scottish Widows cover sold through them, say there is no charge for cancelling. The 30-day refund and the rule after it are the ones in the section above.
Do I get anything if the policy simply reaches its end date?
Lloyds' pages say that if a Scottish Widows policy ends without a claim, you will not get any money back. The cover was there for the term, which is what the premiums paid for.
Can I cancel a policy that is in trust?
For a Scottish Widows Protect policy, Scottish Widows says it needs signatures from all the trustees. The trustees have to agree, not only the person who pays the premiums.
Can I reduce or change my Scottish Widows cover instead of cancelling?
For Protect, the existing-customers page says to speak to your financial adviser about changes; for Plan & Protect it says the level of cover cannot be changed but you can take out another policy. Whether a smaller or different policy would suit you is something a broker can weigh up with you when they ring.
Sources
- Scottish Widows, Scottish Widows Protect Personal Protection Policy Summary (61041 01/26), read 20 October 2026. scottishwidows.co.uk
- Scottish Widows, Plan & Protect Life Cover Policy Summary (60292(D) 10/25), read 20 October 2026. scottishwidows.co.uk
- Scottish Widows, Existing life insurance customers, read 27 October 2026. scottishwidows.co.uk
- Scottish Widows, Trustees, read 27 October 2026. scottishwidows.co.uk
- Lloyds Bank, Existing Customers: Life Insurance, read 27 October 2026. lloydsbank.com
- Halifax, Life insurance, read 27 October 2026. halifax.co.uk
- Halifax, Existing Life Insurance Customers, read 27 October 2026. halifax.co.uk