What happens to a joint life insurance policy after divorce depends on the insurer's own terms. You can keep it running, ask the insurer to replace it with single policies where its terms allow that, or cancel it and take out new cover. Divorce alone does not tell you which of those is open to you.

Once you know what you want, an FCA-authorised broker can ask insurers how they would view each of you on your own. Filling in the form here costs nothing and passes your details to one.

What happens to a joint policy when a couple divorces or separates?

A joint policy is one contract on two lives. MoneyHelper's guide to insurance and wills during divorce (archived September 2025) puts it plainly: "When you separate, you can’t divide a life insurance policy – one of you has to take it over or it needs to be cancelled. That means the other partner could be without life insurance." How joint cover works to begin with is in what is a joint life insurance policy.

Some insurers' terms add a replacement route: the joint policy ends and one or two single policies start in its place. That does not divide the old contract, so it sits alongside that guidance rather than against it. Whether your policy has such an option, and on what conditions, depends on its own wording; three versions follow.

Can a joint life policy be split into two single policies?

Some insurers' terms say it can, on conditions. Legal & General's Life Insurance terms (QGI12849, October 2026) set out a separation option:

"If you take out a joint life policy, you can separate it if you get divorced or you dissolve your registered civil partnership. You can also separate the policy if one of you takes over an existing mortgage in one name or takes out a new mortgage in one name. You must make the request within six months of the event being finalised. We'll then cancel this policy and start a new single life policy for each life insured."

It cannot be used once either person has had a valid life insurance or terminal illness claim. The insurer asks for evidence such as a decree absolute, both people's consent, and a short health questionnaire from each; a "yes" to any question means a full application, and cover may then not be offered to both. The new policies carry the same cover, up to £1,000,000, on the premiums and terms available when you make the change, and end on the 70th birthday or one year after the original would have ended, whichever comes first.

Aviva's Life Insurance booklet (EDCO2264 0126, January 2026) words it differently and ties it to mortgages:

"If you have joint life insurance, you can ask us to change your insurance to one single life insurance or two separate single life insurances. The total amount of the new single life insurance or across both new single life insurances cannot be greater than 100% of your original insurance. You can only make this change within six months of separating and taking out new mortgages, and no later than three years before your insurance is due to end. Both people must agree to this change and we’ll ask to see evidence of the separation and the new mortgages."

Its Life Insurance+ summary (AL50001, February 2026) calls this "separation benefit" and says "You won’t need to answer any extra health and lifestyle questions", with "some limits on how and when you can use this benefit" that it leaves to the policy conditions. The two documents differ on cover too: the booklet caps the total across the new policies at 100% of the original, while the summary says "The cover amount on each new policy can be as much as the cover amount on your existing policy, at the point when you split it." They describe different products, so read the one that matches your policy.

Royal London's conditions for a whole of life plan taken over from Scottish Equitable (printed May 2025) say that if the insured persons divorce or dissolve a civil partnership, "providing neither of them have reached their 71st birthday, you might be able to split a joint-life policy into two separate single-life policies without us having to be given more medical information or evidence". The option may not be available because of either person's medical history or circumstances, in which case the policy schedule says so, and an extract copy of the decree absolute or dissolution certificate is needed, not a photocopy. The booklet sits among Royal London's historic policy conditions, so it describes plans already held, not necessarily what is sold now.

These versions differ on deadlines, evidence, cover and health questions, and other insurers' terms may differ again, so check the date of your decree absolute or final order against your own policy early.

Should you keep, cancel or replace the policy?

Keeping it. The practical questions are who pays the premium and what the insurer will accept. Legal & General's terms list "remove one person from the policy (if you chose a joint policy)" among changes you might be able to ask for, with a health questionnaire and a possible new application, and warn that a change can alter premiums.

Cancelling. Aviva's booklet says that after the first 30 days you can stop at any time; on monthly payments cover ends the day before the next payment is due and "Any payments made to this date won’t be refunded", while annual payers get the unused balance back. Cancelling a joint policy ends cover for both people. What other insurers' documents say is in what happens if you cancel life insurance, and whether one person can act alone is in can one person cancel a joint life policy.

Replacing it. A separation option, where there is one, is itself a replacement. The alternative is a fresh policy elsewhere, where the insurer assesses you as a new applicant. A new policy is priced on your age and health today, so it can differ from what the joint policy cost. See how to switch life insurance companies, joint vs individual life insurance and our guide to types of policy.

A broker can ask several insurers how they would treat each of you separately and talk through the routes open to you. The form here is the way in, and there is no charge.

Who gets the money, and can you change the beneficiary or trust?

Aviva's booklet says it pays whoever is legally entitled to the money, and that who that is depends on the circumstances and on whether the policy has been assigned or put in trust; for a trust it pays the trustees. It also says "Professional guidance should be sought before any type of assignment or changed ownership is undertaken." So the question is rarely just who is named on a form: it is whether the policy sits in a trust or has been assigned, and what that arrangement says. Naming and changing a beneficiary is covered in changing a life insurance beneficiary.

Where a policy is in trust, how far beneficiaries can change depends on the type. Legal & General's protection trusts page says the beneficiaries of its absolute trust are named people who cannot be changed later, and gives as one example that a spouse cannot be taken off after a divorce. Trust types are in what is a life insurance trust, the steps in how to put a life insurance policy in trust, and joint policies in joint life insurance in trust. Whether to change a trust or an owner is for you and a solicitor.

Can a divorce settlement or financial order involve life insurance?

GOV.UK's guidance on money and property when you divorce or separate (page last updated February 2025) says that if you and your ex-partner agree, you "need to apply for a consent order to make it legally binding"; if you cannot agree, a court can make a financial order. An order "will describe how you’re going to divide up assets like" pensions, property, savings and investments, and can include maintenance payments, which can run for a limited period or "until one of you dies, marries or enters into a new civil partnership". There are different options in Scotland and Northern Ireland, so this is the general picture for England and Wales.

Whether an agreement or order includes a term about life cover is a question for your solicitor or the court. MoneyHelper's guide says that if you receive spousal maintenance (periodical allowance in Scotland) or child maintenance, you might "consider taking out life insurance to cover your ex-partner’s life", using "a policy that pays a lump sum, or one that pays you an income for a specific length of time (perhaps until the payments were due to end)". An income-paying policy is family income benefit; see what family income benefit means and joint family income benefit.

On timing, the same guidance says it is usually simpler to ask for approval before your final order or decree absolute, because "if you ask after this, there may be financial consequences, particularly for pensions". If a settlement points to cover on an ex-partner's life, ask the insurer what it would need from the person whose life would be covered.

Questions to ask your insurer

  • Does this policy have a separation or splitting option, and what is the deadline?
  • What documents do you need, and must both of us agree?
  • Will either of us answer health questions again, and what if the answers change?
  • Is the policy in trust or assigned, and who would need to sign any change?

Frequently asked questions

Is joint life insurance still valid after divorce?

In the insurers' terms quoted above, divorce opens options you can ask for, such as separation, within their limits. What else changes depends on your own policy wording, so check it with your insurer.

What is separation benefit on a life insurance policy?

It is Aviva's name, in its Life Insurance+ summary, for the option to cancel a joint policy and take out single policies if you separate or move your mortgage into one name. Legal & General calls its version "joint life policy separation". Other insurers may use other names and conditions, so check your policy wording.

Can life insurance cover child support or maintenance after divorce?

MoneyHelper's guide suggests considering cover on an ex-partner's life if you receive maintenance, as a lump sum or an income for a set period. How long the cover would need to last depends on the maintenance arrangement itself.

If you would like single cover priced on your own age and health, the form here is the place to start: a broker will call to talk it through, with no obligation to buy.

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