A loading in life insurance is an increase added to the standard premium because the insurer judges the applicant a higher risk than average, for reasons of health, lifestyle or occupation. Insurers also call it a rating or an extra premium, and it is one of several possible outcomes of an application, not a verdict that you cannot be covered.
What a loading would be for you depends on the insurer and the details you give. If you would like your own details put to the insurers it works with, the free enquiry form here brings a call-back from a broker who is FCA-authorised.
How do insurers describe a loading?
VitalityLife's underwriting page for advisers puts it as a premium raised for an applicant who is a higher risk than average, and adds that "the increase to the premium will vary by case, to match the increased risk". Royal London's guide for advisers (June 2026) calls the applicant rated and says it could follow from "medical, lifestyle, family history, residency or occupation".
Legal & General's leaflet Underwriting explained (W10188 09/25) lists "Cover with an increased premium" among its decisions. Aviva's guide to pre-existing conditions (updated January 2025) says a serious, chronic condition can mean higher premiums. On work, Legal & General's adviser page for armed forces and occupations says some occupations may attract premium loadings. The wording differs; the idea is the same.
The reasons are not only medical. Smoking is one lifestyle reason, covered in how much more life insurance costs for smokers, and height and weight in life insurance BMI requirements. The conditions themselves are in life insurance with medical conditions. More on how insurers assess health is in our health and underwriting guides.
What do percentage and per mille loadings mean?
Royal London's guide says it "expresses the increased risks as either additions to standard mortality/morbidity rates (for example 100%) or annual additions for each £1,000 of sum assured (for example £1 per mille)". So a rating is written one of two ways: as a percentage on top of the standard rates, or as a yearly extra for every £1,000 of cover. How either one shows up in the monthly figure on your own quote is something the broker can walk you through on the free call-back.
Royal London's medical guide calls its loadings only suggestions until all the medical information is in, and says that where conditions occur together the final loading may be more than the loads for each added up. Vitality says its increase "will vary by case". So the rating for a given person is set by an underwriter once the evidence is in, and a quote built on your own answers is the figure that counts.
What if the insurer excludes something or postpones instead?
A loading is not the only outcome. Legal & General describes an exclusion as no cover for a specified condition, event or hazardous activity, and says it may use one when a higher premium could not cover the risk. Royal London says the rest of the cover stands, and that an underwriter may combine a rating with an exclusion.
Which of the two an insurer reaches for varies. Vitality's adviser page rules exclusions out on its life cover altogether; where possible it charges an extra premium instead, and it uses exclusions on its serious illness and disability benefits. Another insurer may weigh the same history differently.
Two other outcomes are worth knowing. A postponement means the insurer will not decide yet; Royal London says it may offer terms once a specified period has passed, and Legal & General says it will tell you when it can consider a new application. Both also list a final outcome of no cover at all. If you are turned down, what to do if you are declined for life insurance sets out where to go from there.
A loading can also change the extras. Legal & General says that with an increased premium it may be "unable to offer some of the additional and optional benefits", and that it removes Waiver of Premium whenever it applies an increased premium or an exclusion. It adds that it may be possible to adjust the amount of cover so the premium stays at the level of the original quote.
Can a loading be reviewed or removed later?
Legal & General's answer, on its page about smokers (16 September 2026), is that "your premiums are fixed when you take out life insurance"; if you have stopped smoking, an existing L&G policy and its premiums are unaffected. You might instead "cancel and take out a new policy", which is a fresh application assessed on your circumstances at that time. Its policy terms (QGI12849, October 2026) describe guaranteed premiums as ones that "stay the same unless you make changes to your policy", and warn that making changes "might change your premiums".
One income protection plan, not a life policy, does have a review route: the July 2026 plan details for Royal London's Personal Menu Plan Income Protection say that where cover was accepted on non-standard terms "you can ask us to review the terms for that cover". Ask the broker on the free call-back whether a given life policy offers anything similar.
Replacing a policy is a bigger step: the new one is priced afresh, at your current age and health, and any cover you cancel is gone. On timing, that L&G smokers page suggests letting the new cover start before you cancel the existing policy.
How do you compare offers that carry a loading?
Compare what you are being offered, not just the price. Ask each insurer or the broker:
- Is the offer standard terms, a higher premium, an exclusion, or a mix, and what exactly is excluded?
- Is the loading on the life cover, the critical illness cover, or both?
- Have any extras, such as Waiver of Premium, been removed because of it?
- Is there a way to ask for a review later, and on what evidence?
- If the cover amount was cut to hold the price, how much less would be paid out?
Two insurers can reach different decisions on the same application, which is why one offer with a loading is not the whole picture. A broker can put your details to the insurers it works with and compare the decisions side by side; the quote form here starts that, free, though nobody can promise what any insurer will offer.
Whatever you are offered, the answers behind it must be right. Where inaccurate information was given through carelessness, Legal & General's terms say that if it "would have issued the policy with higher premiums had the accurate information been provided, we may reduce the amount of cover to reflect the higher premiums that would have applied". What counts as careless or deliberate is in what you must disclose when you apply, and how the assessment works in what underwriting means.
Frequently asked questions
Does a loading mean I have been declined?
No. A loading means the insurer is offering cover at a higher price than standard; a decline means it is not offering cover at all. Vitality lists decline as a separate decision from a loading.
Is there a life insurance loading calculator?
A loading is set by the underwriter from your answers and any medical evidence, case by case, so the reliable way to see its effect is a quote. To see one for your own details, the form lets a broker approach insurers for you.
Can a job cause a loading?
It can with some insurers. Legal & General's adviser page on armed forces cover names bomb disposal, diving and aviation among occupations that may attract premium loadings. Life insurance for pilots covers one example.
Sources
- Legal & General, Underwriting explained (W10188 09/25), read 21 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
- Royal London, Information on our underwriting guidelines: Measuring Risk (for financial adviser use only, June 2026, P8G0011/15), read 21 October 2026. royallondon.com
- VitalityLife, Underwriting (adviser page, undated), read 21 October 2026. adviser.vitality.co.uk
- Legal & General, Life insurance for smokers (16 September 2026), read 21 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
- Royal London, Plan details for The Personal Menu Plan Income Protection (July 2026, PCP8P10012/13), read 21 October 2026. royallondon.com
- Legal and General Assurance Society, Life Insurance Policy Terms and Conditions (QGI12849 2026/10, within QGI14872), read 21 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
- Legal & General, Occupation and armed forces (adviser page, undated), read 21 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
- Aviva, Can you get life insurance with a pre-existing medical condition? (updated 7 January 2025), read 21 October 2026. aviva.co.uk