Barclays Life Insurance Reviews 2024
Barclays PLC is a major financial services company backed by more than 300 years of history.
Welcome to our newly updated Barclays life insurance reviews guide.
The company operates in over 50 countries and has over 140,000 employees. It offers lending, investment, protection, and transactional services to individuals and businesses. The banking division was recently named one of the greenest banks on the planet.
Barclays offers insurance products as part of its personal banking services, and these used to include life insurance from Aviva.
However, the bank currently partners with Legal & General to provide these services to their clients. If you’re interested in Barclays Life insurance, you can find all the essential information about this topic in our comprehensive review.
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Top Reasons To Consider Taking Out Life Insurance
- To protect your loved ones in the event of your death
- To help cover final expenses, like funeral costs
- To pay off debts and other financial obligations you may leave behind
- To help replace lost income if you were to pass away unexpectedly
- To fund future financial needs, like college tuition for children or retirement savings
- For peace of mind, knowing that your loved ones will be taken care of financially if something happens to you
- Some employers offer life insurance as a benefit to employees
Who Underwrites Barclays Life Insurance?
As mentioned earlier, Legal & General Assurance Society Limited underwrites Barclay’s Life Insurance. Previously, Aviva was responsible for underwriting different Barclay insurance products, like over 50s life insurance or mortgage life insurance.
If you purchased these products before September 2018, your insurance is still covered by Aviva.
However, all the new clients can expect their insurance to be underwritten by Legal & General.
Barclay’s life insurance products are rated three stars by the Defaqto experts, which means they are of average quality compared to the competitors. What can Barclays policies offer, and are they worth your consideration?
Barclays Life Insurance Offering
Barclays offers their clients two broad types of life insurance policies — Barclays Simple Life insurance and Barclays Mortgage Life Insurance. Both of these insurance offer financial protection in case of passing or other unexpected life events, such as getting diagnosed with a terminal illness.
What type of coverage will you receive with insurance products from Barclay?
Barclays Simple Life Insurance
Barclays Simple Life Insurance is a level term life cover. The level term insurance policy provides a lump sum payout upon the terminal illness diagnosis or death of the insured, designed to provide beneficiaries with financial assistance. The premium and coverage level remain the same during the policy term.
People purchase this insurance for various reasons, the most prominent one being the desire to offer sufficient protection to family and beneficiaries after one’s death or falling ill.
Barclays level life insurance can cover you for up to 50 years, while the minimum length is five years. The policy term must end before your 90th birthday. The maximum age you can be eligible for this insurance is 74.
Barclays life insurance starts from £6 per month. The coverage includes something called Accidental Death Benefit.
The benefit will take effect from the moment you place your application for up to 90 days or until your application is accepted, postponed, or declined. During this time, you are insured against accidents in which you suffered bodily injury that resulted in your death within 90 days of the accident.
There are some circumstances in which this benefit is not applicable, and this includes suicide, taking up risk-inducing hobbies and sports, as well as taking alcohol and drugs. You can access all the essential information about all the requirements for this benefit here.
Simple Life Insurance policy from Barclay comes with Terminal illness coverage. A terminal illness benefit pays a lump sum upon the diagnosis of a terminal illness with an expected lifespan of 12 months or less. Once a terminal illness benefit is paid, the policy will end.
No benefit will be paid upon the subsequent death of the insured. You will not receive the payout if your death has been caused by suicide or intentional and serious self-injury. You won’t qualify for making a claim if the illness you were diagnosed with does not meet the insurer’s requirements.
The policy doesn’t have a cash-in value, and if premiums are stopped, coverage will end within 30 days, and premiums paid will not be refunded.
Other benefits are not available with this plan. Premiums for these plans are based on coverage amount, age, sex, occupation, hobbies, smoking status, address, policy term, medical history, and carrier charges.
The cash benefit may be subject to inheritance tax if the policy is not placed in a trust. Ask us for further information regarding this issue.
As with many other life insurance products, a 30-day window is provided to cancel the policy and receive a refund of the premiums paid. This period starts with the later of the date the insured is informed that the contract is finalised and the day the plan documents are received.
Critical illness cover is not offered within the Simple Life Insurance policy.
Barclays Mortgage Life Insurance
Barclays life insurance for mortgage holders is another type of coverage you can obtain through the bank. This insurance policy is a valuable safety net for your family after your death. It allows you to secure your loved ones by providing them with funds to pay off the remainder of the mortgage.
Generally, you can choose between level or decreasing cover and a single or joint policy.
Level term
Level term mortgage policy works similarly to the Level term life cover, meaning throughout the term of the policy, your premiums will stay the same, and the payout the beneficiaries will receive is going to be precisely the same as it was agreed upon when the policy was being purchased.
Level term life insurance policy is a popular type of policy. It is usually aligned with your mortgage, so it covers the time you’re obligated to pay it off, but it’s up to you to determine the length of your policy.
Your monthly premiums will be calculated based on factors such as health, age, smoking status, and length of the cover, among others. Your family can expect to benefit from this coverage only if you pass away during its term. The payout will not be offered in a situation where you outlive the cover.
Decreasing term
The decreasing term policy also provides a lump sum payout upon death or diagnosis of a terminal illness. However, the coverage level decreases each year. This insurance is designed to cover loans or a repayment mortgage where the balance declines each year and the coverage level decreases in line with the amount owed.
The lump-sum benefit is guaranteed to cover the intended outstanding loan, subject to several conditions. A joint life policy is available but will only pay a benefit upon the first death.
Joint life insurance
A joint life policy is available but will only pay a benefit upon the first death. The advantage of such a policy is that you can simultaneously ensure two individuals.
There’s only one application process involved, and you can save money on monthly premiums, as joint policies are cheaper than two separate policies. After the passing of one partner, the policy ceases to exist.
Barclays critical illness insurance
Critical illness cover can be added as a benefit to a Barclays Mortgage life insurance policy. This comes with an additional cost, though. Both standard and decreasing Life Insurance with Critical Illness cover offer a minimum term length of 5 years.
The maximum age you can be eligible for this benefit is 64, and the maximum length of the policy can amount to 40 years. The life insurance policies must end before you turn 70.
Additional requirements must be met to qualify for critical illness insurance with Barclay. Predominantly, the terminal illness you are diagnosed with must meet the Legal & General’s definition.
The condition must be verified by a consultant at a hospital in the UK specialising in the field related to the cause of your claim.
Only after this verification process may you become eligible for the payout. It’s important to familiarise yourself with the definitions of illnesses and conditions in your policy.
We invite you to read through the Barclays Policy Summary document to understand better what is and is not included in Barclays Critical Illness Insurance.
How Much Does Barclays Life Insurance Cost?
As mentioned earlier, Barclays life insurance starts from £6 per month, but the exact cost of your policy will depend on various circumstances.
Factors that are considered when calculating the price of insurance are:
- The insurance term
- The amount you want to insure yourself for
- The type of policy you’re choosing
- Age
- Health history
- Smoker status
- Occupation
- Lifestyle and additional risk factors that might be present
This information is used by the life insurance provider, in this case, Barclay, to estimate how big of a risk you pose and, consequently, how expensive your premiums should be.
Barclay’s Life Insurance Pros and Cons
If you’re considering whether or not to apply for Barclay’s insurance, here are some of the benefits and drawbacks of these products:
Pros
- Affordable policies that start from £6 per month
- Accidental death benefit, which offers your loved ones a full payout within 90 days from the application date
- Option to add critical illness cover to your mortgage protection policy
- Reputable brand with many years of experience in the industry
Cons
- Average quality insurance, rated three stars by the Defaqto experts
- No option to buy critical illness insurance with your life insurance policy
- The whole of life insurance, income protection insurance, and over 50s life insurance are also unavailable for purchase
Important Criteria for Barclay’s Life Insurance
What are the main criteria to be eligible for Barclay’s Life Insurance?
- You must be at least 18 years old.
- You cannot be older than 74 when applying for life insurance cover.
- You must be a UK resident.
How To Cancel Barclays Life Insurance?
The cancellation process can be initiated at any point during your policy term. If you decide to resign from your policy within the first 30 days of its term, you will receive your premium back.
When you want to cancel your policy after the initial 30-day period, you won’t get repaid for any payments you’ve already placed.
To start the cancellation process, you should write to the following:
Claims or Cancellations Department, Legal & General Assurance Society Limited, City Park,
The Droveway, Hove, East Sussex BN3 7PY
or call the number: 0370 010 4080.
If your policy is underwritten by Aviva, you can contact them by calling on 0800 158 3066.
Barclays Life Insurance Review – Summary
Barclay’s level and decreasing term policies from Legal & General are designed for consumers who want basic life insurance coverage at an excellent price.
Before completing our online quote request form, consider whether you want level term or decreasing term coverage. Each carries a different premium.
If you wish, request a quote for both types of insurance to see what you can afford. Letting us do the research makes things much easier for you. Simply review the quotes and policy details we provide and contact us to apply for the desired plan.
Barclay’s Contact Details
Barclays Life Insurance Reviews: Further Information:
Barclays Simple Life Insurance and Life insurance for mortgage holders are provided by Legal & General Assurance Society Limited, which is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
Head Office: 1 Churchill Place, London, ENG E14 5HP
https://www.barclays.co.uk/insurance/life-insurance/
For Life Claims:
Call: 0800 0083 032
life.claims@landg.com
For Cancellations:
0370 010 4080
Barclays Life Insurance FAQs
Can I make changes to my Barclays policy?
Yes, you can make changes to your policies. To do so, you should contact Barclay’s associates and present them with your request. You will need to get their approval, and your terms and premiums may be subject to change.
Do banks offer free life insurance?
No, banks don’t provide their clients with free life insurance. Some companies include life insurance products in their offering, which makes it possible for their clients to purchase them via the bank.
Is the lump sum payment taxable?
The lump sum you or your family will receive as a claim is not subjected to income tax and capital gains tax for UK residents, but you might be obligated to pay inheritance tax.
