**On 4 April 2023 it was announced "that Aegon UK will close to all new protection business and has reached a sale agreement with Royal London, to transfer all existing protection customers and policies. It is withdrawing from the Individual life insurance and critical illness market. Existing policyholders will continue to be covered under their policy terms.** - For information about alternative life insurance providers, speak to an independent specialist life insurance adviser*.
If you’re thinking about buying a life insurance policy, our independent review takes a look at Aegon life insurance, including the types of cover on offer, the typical cost of monthly premiums, as well as any additional benefits.
Who is Aegon?
Aegon started life as Scottish Equitable in 1831 in Edinburgh, where its headquarters remain. In 1994 Scottish Equitable plc was created and Aegon N.V. took a 40% stake. This increased to 100% four years later.
In 1999 Aegon UK set up as a holding company and acquired Guardian Life and Pension. In 2016 the company bought BlackRock’s UK-defined contribution and platform business, and a year later, Cofunds and IPS, the UK’s largest investment administration service, became part of Aegon. The company currently has around three million customers in the UK.
In 2021, Aegon won the 'Best Business Protection' award at the Moneyfacts Awards. It has also won the 'Best Protection Service' award from the Investment Life and Pensions Moneyfacts Awards for 5 years in a row, 2017-21. In 2021, Aegon was awarded a Defaqto five-star rating for its protection menu, critical illness protection and whole-of-life products.
Aegon Overview
Below is an overview of Aegon’s life insurance policy, including types of cover available, the insurer’s claims history and additional benefits of taking out a policy.
- Policy types: Choose from level term, decreasing term, increasing term, renewable, whole of life cover, gift inter vivos* and family income benefit. Choose from joint and single policies. Terminal Illness Cover is automatically included and you can combine life insurance with critical illness cover or buy critical illness cover as a standalone policy too.
- Claims record: 2021 - Life insurance 95%, critical illness 93%. 2020 - Life insurance 96%, critical illness 93%. 2019 - Life insurance 96%, critical illness 94%.
- Additional benefits: Accidental death benefit is automatically included which offers cover from when your application is received for up to 90 days. Free life cover is also included if the policyholder dies before a property purchase is completed. (not applicable to gift inter vivos policies)
- Up to £100 cashback: If you apply for life insurance through LifeSearch* (simply click on the link and complete the short form), you will receive up to £100 cashback. You can find out more below.
*a gift inter vivos policy is a life insurance policy specifically designed to protect against the potential inheritance tax payable on a gift made during your lifetime.
Aegon Policy Summary
The key facts and features of Aegon’s life insurance policy are highlighted below:
Aegon Life insurance summary
| Type of cover | Life Insurance |
| Options | Level term, decreasing term, increasing term, renewable, whole of life, gift inter vivos or family income benefit. |
| Policy Coverage | Single, joint life first event (pays out on first death) or joint life second event cover. |
| Terminal Illness Cover included? | Terminal Illness cover is automatically included at no additional cost and pays out if you are diagnosed with an illness that is expected to cause death within 12 months. |
| Can cover increase over time (indexation)? | If you choose the indexation option, the sum assured will rise in line with the Retail Prices Index (RPI) each year. This is limited to a maximum increase of 10% and a minimum increase of 0%. Your premiums will go up each year at 1.5 times the increase in the RPI. |
| Waiver of Premium | Can be included for an additional cost. This means you won’t have to pay your premiums after 26 weeks if you are unable to work due to incapacity. |
| Minimum age at entry | 18 |
| Maximum age at entry | 83 |
| Policy Exclusions | Suicide within the first 12 months is not covered. |
The key facts and features of Aegon’s critical illness cover are highlighted below:
Aegon Critical illness insurance summary
| Type of cover | Critical Illness |
| Can it be combined with life cover? | Yes |
| Premium type | Guaranteed or Reviewable. |
| Number of critical illnesses covered | 39 full payout conditions are covered as well as 12 conditions that will provide a partial payment of the lower of 25% of the sum assured or £25,000 |
| Total and permanent disability cover included? | Available at an extra cost |
| Children’s critical illness cover included? | Yes - automatically included and will pay the lower of £25,000 or 50% of the benefit amount per child. |
| Minimum age at entry | 18 |
| Maximum age at entry | 74 |
| Policy exclusions | No payout will be received if the illness does not meet the criteria listed on the policy. Critical illness cover will not pay out if the insured person does not survive at least 10 days after first meeting the criteria for a critical illness. |
Additional free benefits provided by Aegon
- Terminal Illness Cover is automatically included with life cover and will pay out a lump sum of cash equal to the life insurance value if you are diagnosed with an illness and your life expectancy is less than 12 months.
- Accidental death benefit provides up to £300,000 of life cover from the date the application is received for up to 90 days.
- Free life cover if the policyholder dies before their property purchase completes.
- Joint life separation cover means you may be able to split a policy where benefits are provided on a joint life, first event basis, into two single life policies without having to provide further medical information.
- Children’s critical illness cover is automatically included if you take out your own policy. It will pay the lower of £25,000 or 50% of the benefit amount per child. A lump sum of £5,000 will also be paid if a child dies.
- Access to Aegon’s health and wellbeing service which provides you and your immediate family with support, counselling and online tools through Health Assured. You’ll also have access to a second medical opinion service through RedArc.
- Aegon will pay the funeral director or funeral home an advance claim payment of up to £10,000 on valid life protection claims, where probate causes a delay.
- Aegon's Funeral payment pledge ensures that a death payout can help clients with sickness protection policies too.
Optional benefits provided by Aegon
- Waiver of premium is available for an additional cost and means you won’t have to pay your premiums after 26 weeks if you cannot work due to illness or injury.
- Total permanent disability cover can be added to a critical illness policy for an additional charge.
How much does Aegon insurance cost?
To give you an indication of how much you could pay each month with Aegon life insurance, the tables below show monthly premiums for £250,000 of level term life insurance over a 20-year term.
The figures cover both a non-smoker and smoker in various age groups and premiums have been compared to the cheapest and most expensive in the market.
Aegon life insurance price comparison - £250,000 over 20 years (Non-Smoker)
| Aegon premium | Cheapest premium | Most expensive premium | |
| 25-year-old non-smoker | £7.21 | £5.42 | £9.71 |
| 35-year-old non-smoker | £11.24 | £9.61 | £13.59 |
| 45-year-old non-smoker | £23.16 | £20.76 | £28.54 |
| 55-year-old non-smoker | £58.64 | £54.96 | £71.23 |
Aegon life insurance price comparison - £250,000 over 20 years (Smoker)
| Aegon premium | Cheapest premium | Most expensive premium | |
| 25-year-old smoker | £9.70 | £8.93 | £12.72 |
| 35-year-old smoker | £19.90 | £18.47 | £24.39 |
| 45-year-old smoker | £53.24 | £49.99 | £65.26 |
| 55-year-old smoker | £153.15 | £146.39 | £218.25 |
Keep in mind that the amount you pay for life insurance will depend on a range of factors such as your age, your health, whether you smoke, your occupation, how much cover you choose and the length of the term. The above figures should therefore only be used as a guideline.
To give you a better idea of how much monthly premiums could cost you and to help ensure you choose the right policy, it is worth speaking to an independent insurance specialist first. Below we explain how you can also qualify for up to £100 cashback if you decide to take out a life insurance policy.
Aegon life insurance reviews - is it any good?
Aegon UK receives 3.4 stars out of a possible 5 stars from the Trustpilot review site which is based on nearly 1,500 customer reviews of Aegon's various products including life insurance. Defaqto's review of Aegon term life insurance products rates them with 5 stars though which indicates that they are "excellent products with a comprehensive range of features and benefits".
Best way to buy Aegon life insurance?
If you are thinking of buying a life insurance policy with Aegon, it’s worth first talking to an independent insurance specialist such as LifeSearch*, as they will be able to access life insurance quotes from all major insurance companies. They can also match you with an insurance provider who will view your application more favourably.
In addition, independent specialists can advise you on the following:
- how much cover you need
- which type of policy is best for you
- how to complete your application forms
- how to put your policy into trust
- how to make a claim in the future
Simply complete this short form* to receive a callback at a time that suits you. There is no obligation to take out a policy but if you decide to, you will qualify for up to £100 cashback.
Aegon life insurance summary
- Established in 1831.
- In 2021, Aegon paid out 95% of life insurance claims and 93% of critical illness claims.
Life insurance automatically includes Terminal Illness Cover and can also be combined with Critical Illness cover. - Children’s critical illness cover is automatically included if you take out your own policy.
- Policies include accidental death benefit and life cover if you die before a property purchase is completed.
- Policyholders have access to Aegon’s health and wellbeing service which provides support, counselling and online tools, as well as a second medical opinion service.
- Aegon life insurance may not necessarily be the cheapest option for you as the amount you pay will depend on several factors. To ensure you get the right policy at the right price, it’s important to shop around and compare deals carefully.
- If you buy a life insurance policy through LifeSearch*, you will receive up to £100 cashback. Click on the link and fill in the short form to be called back at a convenient time.
If a link has an * beside it this means that it is an affiliated link. If you go via the link, Money to the Masses may receive a small fee which helps keep Money to the Masses free to use. The following link can be used if you do not wish to help Money to the Masses and do not wish to qualify for the cashback referred to in the article - LifeSearch
