The main types of whole life insurance in the UK split first on how the premium behaves: guaranteed (it stays put) or reviewable (the insurer can change it), with increasing cover, joint options, investment-linked versions and over-50s plans layered on top. Which varieties are on sale differs by insurer, and an FCA-authorised broker can say which ones an insurer would offer at your age and health. Send a few details through the form beside this guide and a broker rings you back at no cost.

What the cover is sits in what whole of life insurance is, whether it is worth having in its pros and cons, and prices in what it costs. Other kinds of cover are under types of policy.

Guaranteed or reviewable premiums: the choice that shapes every plan

A guaranteed premium is fixed; a reviewable one can move. Aviva's policy summary for Whole of Life Insurance+ (February 2026) says "Your premiums are guaranteed": the amount stays the same unless you add increasing cover or alter the policy. Zurich's key features (February 2025) say the same of its plan. Legal & General's summary (June 2025) offers guaranteed premiums as a choice only where that option is put to you at application.

Reviewable is the other side. Vitality's plan summary (February 2025) lists the premium type as "either guaranteed or reviewable", and says reviewable premiums are looked at periodically and may be changed, judged on emerging claims experience and not on your individual health. On Royal London's current plan (web page read October 2026), reviewable payments are an option you can choose; otherwise the monthly payment is level unless you add increasing cover.

On a reviewable plan even the payout is fixed only up to the next review date: Royal London's page for people who already hold one says the cost is set for an initial period and then reviewed, and at a review you may pay more to keep the cover or keep the payment for less cover. How each basis moves the price over the years is on what whole of life costs.

Insurer and documentPremium type it describes
Aviva, Whole of Life Insurance+ (February 2026)Guaranteed; changes only with increasing cover or changes to the policy
Zurich, Whole of Life (February 2025)Guaranteed; changes only with Increasing Cover or a change to the cover
Legal & General, Whole of Life Protection Plan summary, June 2025Guaranteed premiums, if offered at application
Vitality, Personal Protection Plan (February 2025)Guaranteed or reviewable, as chosen
Royal London, current Whole of Life page (read October 2026)Level payments unless reviewable payments or increasing cover is chosen

The table shows what each document describes, not the whole market. Premiums usually run for life, and Aviva notes the total paid could exceed the payout; that trade-off sits in the pros and cons.

Increasing cover, Premium Step and joint policies: the flexible options

Level cover keeps the payout the same; increasing cover raises it each year, and the premium rises with it. Aviva (February 2026) offers two increasing versions, a fixed 3% or 5% a year or a rise tracking the Retail Prices Index (RPI) up to 10%, and takes increasing cover off if you skip the increase three years in a row. Zurich's and Legal & General's documents describe increasing cover too, each with its own rule for how far the premium climbs.

Vitality's Premium Step (February 2025) is a different trade. It is available only with guaranteed premiums, and the initial premium starts lower than the same cover without it, then rises by 2.5% at each plan anniversary. So a guaranteed premium is not always a flat one.

Joint plans put two people on one policy, and the basis is the variety that matters: first death pays when one of the two dies, second death only once both have. Legal & General's summary uses exactly those labels, joint life first death and joint life second death; Zurich's version of each also pays on a terminal illness diagnosis. The detail is in what a joint life policy is and joint or individual cover.

Some plans can be altered later. Aviva says that six months after the policy starts you can remove increasing cover or waiver of premium and change the cover amount, with more health and lifestyle questions if you want to increase it. A level and an increasing version of the same cover can be set side by side by the broker who rings back once you submit your details.

Unit-linked and with-profits whole of life: the investment-linked varieties

Some whole of life policies have an investment fund behind them. Royal London's reviewable-plan page (read October 2026) explains that "A unit-linked plan means your payments are used to buy units in an investment fund", and that the plan value moves with the performance of those investments. Even so, it calls the plan "mainly for protection" and not a savings plan, so on that page a fund sits inside a reviewable plan.

With-profits is an older form. HMRC's manual (updated October 2022) describes a with-profits policy as a minimum sum assured that is added to through bonuses, and says the popularity of with-profits policies has declined somewhat. Royal London's guide for existing Whole Life policyholders (April 2026) says the value of the investments behind a policy may go up or down, but it guarantees a minimum payout on death. Bonuses are different: none is guaranteed in any particular year. The same guide says that on surrender the payout may be lower than the amount guaranteed on death.

Both Royal London pages are written for people who already hold one of these plans, and the reviewable page points anyone wanting new cover to its current Whole of Life plan. That current plan, like Aviva's and Legal & General's, has no cash-in value; which policies can be cashed in is covered in can you cash in a life policy. Whether any insurer still sells an investment-linked plan today is a question the broker can answer on the free call-back.

Over-50s whole of life plans: fixed payout, no medical questions

Over-50s plans are whole of life cover built differently, and they belong in this list because the premium and payout are both fixed. Legal & General's Over 50s Fixed Life Insurance summary (November 2025) says it "provides cover for the whole of your life, as long as you keep paying your monthly premiums", and the cash sum stays the same. A UK resident aged 50 to 80 is accepted without medical questions, and the summary caps the cash sum at £10,000 across all the Legal & General over-50s policies you hold.

The same document sets out the trade-offs plainly. Premiums stop at age 90. If the person insured dies in the first year, the premiums paid are refunded, though accidental death is paid in full. Depending on how long you live, the premiums can add up to more than the payout, and because the sum is fixed, inflation will reduce its buying power.

These plans are compared in guaranteed life insurance, the best life insurance over 50 and over-50s life insurance cost.

Whole of life set up for an inheritance tax bill

Inheritance tax is the use the insurers name most. Aviva's summary lists a potential inheritance tax liability among the reasons to take the policy out, Legal & General says its plan can help fund one, and Royal London's current page mentions inheritance tax beside leaving a legacy.

That use shapes the variety chosen: Legal & General says a joint plan taken out for inheritance tax purposes must be set up on "a joint life second death basis". The insurers tie keeping the payout out of the estate to a suitable trust; how that works, and the thresholds, are in whole of life insurance and inheritance tax, with trusts themselves in life insurance trusts. Tax rules can change, and whether to use a trust is for a solicitor or tax adviser.

Frequently asked questions

What are the different types of whole life insurance policy?

The insurer documents on this page sort them by premium (guaranteed or reviewable), by cover (level or increasing), by who is covered (one person, or two paid on the first or second death), by fund (unit-linked or with-profits) and by buyer (fixed over-50s plans).

Is there a flexible whole of life policy?

Flexibility depends on the plan. Royal London says that on its reviewable plans you can usually reduce your cover at any time, and Aviva allows a change to the cover amount after six months, with more health questions if you ask for an increase. Either change can alter what you pay, since Aviva's guarantee covers the premium only while the policy is unchanged.

Is level term insurance the same as whole of life?

No. A term policy runs for a fixed period, while Aviva's whole of life policy "doesn't have a set term". On whole of life plans "level" only describes the cover amount, which Legal & General says stays the same throughout the policy. For term cover, see level term life insurance.

What is modified or variable whole life insurance?

Those are American names for US products. The UK insurer documents on this page describe their options instead as guaranteed or reviewable premiums, unit-linked or with-profits funds, and level or increasing cover.

What is guaranteed under an investment-linked whole of life policy?

It depends on the kind. Royal London says its with-profits policies guarantee a minimum payout on death but not bonuses in any particular year, while on its reviewable plans the cover holds only to the next review date and, where a plan is unit-linked, its value can fall as well as rise.

Which of these varieties an insurer would put to you is what the broker's free call-back answers, and it starts when you send your details here.

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