Zurich says it paid 99.8% of its life insurance claims in 2025, and a claim starts with a call or an email to Zurich from the policyholder or from whoever is dealing with their affairs. If someone with a Zurich policy has died, this page sets out who to contact, what Zurich is likely to ask for and what its published payout record does and does not tell you.

There is no need to have every document to hand before you make contact. Perhaps cover for yourself is on your mind for later. If you would like to discuss it, the form on this page gets a no-cost phone call going with an FCA-authorised broker.

Who do you tell at Zurich, and how?

The key features for Zurich Life Protection (print code NP720500009 02/25) say: "To make a claim, you, or the person dealing with your affairs, should contact us using the details below." As printed in that edition, the claims contacts are:

  • telephone 0370 240 0073, Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, excluding bank holidays;
  • email zurichmulticlaims@uk.zurich.com;
  • online, through Zurich's customer portal (www.zurich.co.uk/customer-portal) or the claims page of its website (www.zurich.co.uk/life-insurance/claim).

Zurich can change a number or its hours, so look at your policy papers or its website for the current details before you ring. The claims line is not the number that document gives for questions before buying a policy, so check you are ringing the right one.

The same document says "We’ll confirm what information we need to process the claim as quickly as possible.", so the first call is mostly about telling Zurich what has happened and finding out what it needs next.

What will Zurich ask for?

Zurich's terms for Personal Protection, a separate Zurich policy whose terms sit on its website for financial advisers, say that when you get in touch Zurich will tell you or the person dealing with your affairs "exactly what information we'll require and any forms which must be completed". They list the sort of evidence it may ask for:

  • medical evidence;
  • evidence of death;
  • proof of who owns the policy.

That list says "may", and it comes from the Personal Protection terms rather than Life Protection's, so treat it as a likely starting point rather than a checklist for every claim. You do not need to track down a form before you get in touch either: Zurich says it will tell you which forms must be completed. The policy documents Zurich sent at the start include a 'Confirmation of terms', and the terms say to look at it "to see what you're covered for before making a claim", because a policy may not include every benefit described.

The same terms say that if false or inaccurate information is given and fraud is identified, the policy will be cancelled and the case may be referred to the police and fraud prevention agencies. For an ordinary claim the practical point is simply to answer accurately and keep copies of what you send.

How long does a Zurich life insurance claim take?

Zurich's terms give no number of days. They say: "We always try to pay all valid claims as soon as possible and we'll keep you, or the person dealing with your affairs, informed of how the claim is progressing." That is a promise to try and to keep in touch, not a deadline.

Other steps around a death, such as probate and any trust, can also affect when money reaches the right person. What happens to life insurance when someone dies gives the wider picture, and Aviva's payout timing page covers what one insurer says slows a claim down. For an update on a claim already under way, Zurich's claims team, on the phone line or email above, is the one to ask.

Who receives the money, and how much?

Under Zurich's Personal Protection terms, if Zurich accepts a claim it pays "the person who is legally entitled to receive it". That may be the policyholder, trustees, personal representatives or a named beneficiary, so the answer depends on how the policy was set up. If the policy was written in trust, see the Zurich life policy guide and what a life insurance trust is.

The amount is the policy's sum assured. On Level Cover that is the figure chosen at the start; Zurich Life Protection can also be Increasing Cover, which can go up each year, or Decreasing Cover. Zurich's key features describe the way a policy pays out as a "One off lump sum payment" and say "The policy will end after we pay the sum assured." On a joint policy, the sum assured is paid when the first person dies or has a covered illness.

The policy type matters. With Decreasing Cover, Zurich's key features warn that "how much we pay out on a claim might be more or less than the amount you owe", because the cover falls on a set schedule rather than with your actual mortgage balance. Our level against decreasing cover guide explains the difference. Zurich's Personal Protection terms also let someone with Family Income Cover choose a cash lump sum instead of monthly payments, a decision they say can only be made at the start of the claim; see taking family income benefit as a lump sum for what that trade involves. Whether a payout is taxed is answered in is a life insurance payout taxable.

What do Zurich's payout rates show?

Zurich's own "Claims paid 2025" summary says: "We paid 99.8% of life insurance claims in 2025." It puts £228.6m beside its life insurance line, out of over £390m it says it paid in individual protection claims during 2025. The summary is Zurich's own publication, hosted on its intermediary website, and carries the print code LIFTM167 6/26.

Read it as one insurer's description of its own year. The one-page summary does not explain how the percentage is worked out. It is not a prediction for any one claim. To see how published rates from different insurers are put together and why they are hard to compare, read life insurance claims statistics for the UK.

When might Zurich not pay, or not pay in full?

Zurich's key features for Life Protection list four situations in which a claim "may not be accepted or paid in full, or the policy may be cancelled, or its terms may be changed". In summary, these are where:

  • the questions at application, at an increase in cover or at claim were not answered fully, honestly and accurately;
  • Zurich was not told about something that was wrong or had changed before the policy or increase started;
  • premiums that were due had not been paid;
  • the illness is not covered or does not meet the policy definition exactly.

Life Cover also carries one fixed exclusion in the key features: Zurich will not pay where a death in the first 12 months of the policy, or of an increase in cover, results from suicide or intentional self-inflicted injury (what that exclusion means for a family). Zurich adds that the full terms list every situation in which it will not pay, and that any specific exclusions on a policy are shown on its Confirmation of terms. Why insurers decline claims more generally is the subject of this guide on refused life insurance claims.

Frequently asked questions

Where do I get a Zurich claim form?

Zurich's terms say it will tell you which forms it needs once you make contact. Use the claims phone line, email or website details above to ask.

Can an executor make the claim for a Zurich policyholder who has died?

Zurich's key features say the claim can be made by the policyholder or "the person dealing with your affairs". What proof of that role it asks for is something it confirms when you get in touch.

Is every Zurich life claim paid?

No insurer promises that, and Zurich's terms set out situations where a claim may not be accepted or paid in full. Its own 2025 summary reports a 99.8% paid rate for life insurance claims, which is a past-year average rather than a promise.

Can I claim on Zurich life insurance online?

The key features point to Zurich's customer portal and to the claims page of its website, alongside the phone and email details. Which route suits a death claim is for Zurich to say when you ring.

What amount does a Zurich policy pay on a death?

The sum assured, paid as a lump sum. On Level Cover that is the amount chosen at the start; on Increasing Cover it may have gone up each year, and on Decreasing Cover it will have come down. The policy documents or Zurich can confirm the figure on the date of death.

Some people reading this are weighing up cover of their own as well; an FCA-authorised broker will ring them for free if they use the form on this page.

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