To convert term life insurance to permanent cover means using an option in a term policy to turn some or all of it into whole of life cover, so it no longer ends on a set date, by right rather than through a new application. Only a policy that includes the option can be converted, and at Zurich, for one, the option has to be chosen when the policy starts.
If you would like to know whether a plan you hold or are comparing carries a conversion option, and what it would mean for you, put its name in the form on this page. The call back comes from an FCA-authorised broker, costs nothing, and can go over the policy wording with you.
What changes when term cover becomes whole of life?
A term policy pays out only if you die within its term; once the end date passes, the cover stops. Whole of life has no end date: Royal London's guide to the types of life insurance describes it as designed to cover you for the whole of your life, no matter what age you die. Converting moves cover from the first kind of policy to the second.
In the version Zurich sets out for its Personal Protection policy (key features and terms, both April 2026), three things shift at once. The cover lasts for life instead of for a term. The premium goes up, based on your age when you convert. And the new policy runs on the insurer's whole of life terms in force on the day you convert, not on the terms of the plan you started with.
The option matters most where health is concerned. Someone whose health has changed since buying term cover may find a fresh application harder; a conversion option is meant to let them move to lifelong cover without being asked about those changes. For what whole of life pays, and when, see what whole of life insurance is; the two kinds of cover are set side by side in term versus whole of life, with every other kind of cover gathered under types of life insurance policy.
How does a conversion option work in a current UK policy?
Zurich's Personal Protection policy is sold through financial advisers, and the key features (PW720494014) and terms and conditions (PW720480017) a customer receives set out how its Conversion Option works. The main points:
- Added at the start only. Options are chosen when the policy begins: "you’re unable to add them later but you can remove them."
- Which cover qualifies. Life cover only, on level or increasing cover. It cannot be added to decreasing cover, family income cover or a joint life second event policy.
- All or part. You can convert the whole policy or a slice of it. Converting part lowers the term policy's sum assured and its premium so that your total cover stays the same; converting all of it ends the term policy.
- The deadline. Any time during the term, up to the day before your 84th birthday.
- Health. In Zurich's words, "we won’t ask you about changes to your personal circumstances when we issue your new policy."
- Other conditions. You must be living in the UK when you use it, and if the policy covers someone else's life, you have to show again that you would suffer financially if they died.
That is one insurer's design. Another insurer's option, where one exists, may run to a different age, apply to different cover or work in another way, so the policy summary for the plan in front of you is what counts.
Does converting to whole of life cost more?
In Zurich's case, yes, in two places. The option itself is one of the extras the key features list as available "at an extra cost". Then, on conversion, the key features say "your premiums will rise as they will be based on your age when you use the option." The terms add that any extra premium or specific exclusions applied to the original policy because of your personal circumstances also apply to the new one. The option spares you new questions; it does not undo terms already set.
Whole of life is also priced as whole of life. Royal London's guide says it "can often be more expensive than other policies, particularly if you are in poor health or have a history of medical conditions." A conversion option takes the health assessment out of the step, but the cover you move to is still the lifelong kind. How age feeds into price generally is covered in whether life insurance premiums increase with age, and the case for and against lifelong cover in whole life insurance pros and cons.
For real figures, whether for term cover with the option, for converting a policy you have, or for buying whole of life outright, the form is the place to start, as a broker can ask insurers for quotes when they ring.
Convertible, renewable or whole of life from day one: which does what?
| Convertible term (Zurich key features, April 2026) | Renewable term (Zurich key features, April 2026) | Whole of life from the start (Royal London guide) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it leads to | Whole of life cover for all or part of the policy | A new term policy when the term ends | Cover for the whole of your life, no matter what age you die |
| When | Any time in the term, up to the day before your 84th birthday | At the end of the term; renewals before age 70, with the term ending before 90 on life cover only | From the start; no fixed term |
| Questions at that step | None about changes in your personal circumstances | None about changes in your personal circumstances | No later step |
| Premium | Rises, based on your age when you use the option | Likely to rise | Can often be more expensive than other policies |
Zurich's key features also say you can't include both the Conversion Option and the Renewal Option on the same policy, so with this insurer, at least, the choice between them is made when you buy. Renewal keeps you on term cover for another stretch; how it works across insurers is the subject of renewable term life insurance.
Whole of life itself comes in guaranteed and reviewable forms, set out in types of whole life insurance. Cover that stays level or falls over the term is in level term life insurance and decreasing term cover.
How can you tell whether a policy can be converted?
Royal London's own guide to life insurance makes the point that only some term policies can be extended or turned into permanent cover, and tells readers to check the small print for theirs. Zurich's key features say its Confirmation of terms shows the details of the cover you choose, so that is the page to look at for one of its policies.
Some insurers describe a different route altogether. Legal & General's guide to outliving a policy (13 May 2026) says you can apply to extend the length of a policy, and that it would assess any change request on your circumstances at the time: a request it considers, not a right you already hold. What happens when a term simply runs out is on how long term life insurance lasts.
When reading any policy summary, the points that matter are the ones covered above: whether the option has to be chosen at the start, the last age for using it, whether part of the cover can be converted, whose whole of life terms apply, and whether existing extra premiums or exclusions carry across. Availability varies between insurers and plans, and which of the plans a broker can arrange include it is something they can check for you during the free call.
If your health has already changed and the policy has no option, life insurance with a medical condition explains how new applications are assessed, and adding cover to an existing policy is covered in increasing term life insurance cover.
Frequently asked questions
How do you convert a term life insurance policy?
You tell the insurer you want to use the conversion option, which works only if the policy includes it and you are inside its age limit. Under Zurich's terms the new whole of life policy is issued on the whole of life terms it applies at that time, and converting all of the cover ends the term policy.
What does life insurance available for conversion mean?
It means the policy carries a right to switch it into another kind of cover, such as whole of life, on the terms the option sets. Whether a particular policy has that right is shown in its own documents, not in any general rule.
Can a term policy be both renewable and convertible?
Not with Zurich, whose key features rule out having both options on one policy. Other insurers set out their own options in their policy documents, so read each separately; the renewable side is explained on the renewable term page.
Can you convert if your health has got worse?
That is the situation the option is built for: under the Zurich terms described above, you are not asked about changes in your circumstances when you convert. Any extra premium or exclusion you were given at the start carries over, though, and the new premium reflects your age at the time.
Can you convert only part of your cover?
Zurich allows it: the converted part becomes whole of life, while the term policy's sum assured and premium are reduced so your total cover stays the same. Other insurers' options may not offer a partial switch.
If you would like help working out which options a plan includes, or what converting might cost, those are two questions for the FCA-authorised broker who calls, free, after the form on this page is filled in.
Sources
- Zurich Assurance Ltd, Key features of the Zurich Personal Protection policy (PW720494014, April 2026; policy sold through financial advisers, document served from Zurich's adviser site), read 21 October 2026. zurichintermediary.co.uk
- Zurich Assurance Ltd, Terms and conditions of the Zurich Personal Protection policy (PW720480017, April 2026), section 8.5, read 21 October 2026. zurichintermediary.co.uk
- Royal London, What is life insurance? (undated), read 21 October 2026. royallondon.com
- Royal London, Life Insurance - which type is best for you? (undated), read 21 October 2026. royallondon.com
- Legal & General, Outliving life insurance (13 May 2026), read 21 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com