Construction workers who are thinking about buying life insurance are usually worried about how they will be assessed by a life insurance company due to the higher risks associated with their jobs. Construction sites can be hazardous and working at heights can make them even more so.
The good news is that life insurance can be arranged for construction workers although there is a little work needed to find the right kinds of policies at the best prices.
In this article, we explain how life insurance works and how to make sure you're getting the best rates and the most comprehensive insurance for your needs. We will also look at critical illness and sick pay insurance as these can be the policies that a construction worker is more likely to need and claim on during their working lives.
What is life insurance?
Life insurance is a type of personal insurance policy that pays out a tax-free cash lump sum of money or an income if you die. People in riskier occupations sometimes believe that life insurance won't cover them, especially if they were to die due to an accident at work - this is not the case. Whether you die as a result of your job or not is irrelevant because your life insurance will pay out on death as long as you completed your life insurance application honestly.
You may need life insurance so that you can leave money to look after your family or it may that you would like your debts to be repaid if you died before repaying them but for most people it is a combination of these two concerns.
You should arrange your life insurance in a trust so that you can nominate who the money is to go to upon your death. If you don't then, the money will be paid into your estate to be distributed in accordance with the wishes you stated in your will, if you have one in place.
Term life insurance covers your life for a certain number of years and you can choose between 1 to 40 years of cover and will pay out if you die within that time period.
Whole of life cover protects you until you die, whenever that happens so it continues for as long as you live.
Cashback OfferUp to £100 cashback on life insurance
Our partner LifeSearch will help you get the best and cheapest life insurance.
- Search the market and all the leading insurers
- Free advice with no obligation to purchase
- Up to £100 cashback for new customers
Can construction workers get life insurance?
Yes, it is possible for construction workers to buy life insurance but you need to choose the insurance company carefully to ensure the policy is priced fairly. Your life insurance is assessed using your age, smoker status, health, occupation and lifestyle.
Construction workers who work for an employer should check their employment contracts before buying life insurance. Many good employers will provide some form of life insurance as well as accident benefits within your benefits package. Once you know the details of any existing benefits you have access to, you can then decide whether you need more life insurance.
Which construction occupations are able to get life insurance?
A large number of construction jobs can be covered with life insurance and these include but are not limited to:
- Concrete workers
- Site managers
- Bricklayers
- Labourers
- Plasterers
- Carpenters
- Brick mason
- Electricians
- Engineers
- Surveyors
- Crane operators
What questions will construction workers be asked when buying life insurance?
Your life insurance application will ask you about your past and present health, your lifestyle including your hobbies, whether you smoke and how much you drink as well as your occupation.
Most life insurance application forms will include questions that ask you about:
- Work with hazardous materials (eg. asbestos)
- Work with explosives
- Work at external heights (usually over 40 ft)
- Tunnel or work underground
- Operate heavy plant machinery
Work with explosives and tunnel or underground work are probably the most challenging risks to cover out of this list. However, it is still worth exploring this with a life insurance expert* who will source life insurance solutions based on your specific occupational tasks.
If you answer 'yes' to any of the other high risk activities listed above, you can usually still get life insurance but you will need to provide more details. Factors such as the time spent doing these activities and your specific work environment will have a large bearing on the decision that an insurance company makes.
Although life insurance companies use a book of guidelines to assess your risk, they try to assess each person individually to give the fairest possible decisions. And just because one life insurance company declines your application or increases the monthly premium, it doesn't mean that they all will. Some life insurance providers are more lenient than others.
Which life insurance company offers the best price for construction workers?
Not all life insurance companies use the same guidelines to assess applications from people who may have manual or riskier occupations. For example, a person who works at heights might have to pay twice the normal monthly premium with one company but another insurance company might only increase it by half. Also, if one insurance company declines to cover you due to your job it doesn't mean that another insurance company won't be prepared to insure you.
If you search for life insurance online, using comparison websites, you will be shown a price that only takes account of your age and whether you smoke or not. The quote price can change once you complete a full application but most people prefer to know upfront if they will get the life cover they're looking for and how much it will end up costing them.
To save time and work out which life insurance company will give you the best price you should speak to a life insurance expert*, for free, and they'll go through all steps with you over the phone and direct you to the most suitable and cost-effective life insurance policy.
How much does construction workers’ life insurance cost?
The cost of your life insurance should be the same as anyone else of your age and smoker status unless you work with hazardous materials or explosives, work at external heights or if you work underground or operate heavy plant machinery.
This means that the cost of your life insurance should normally be based on the level of cover you want, how long you want to be covered for, your health, whether you smoke or not and your lifestyle. The table below gives some indicative prices for a construction worker who is not involved in the hazardous tasks mentioned above.
Cost of £250,000 of level term assurance for a construction worker over 25 years
| Monthly Premium Non-smoker | Monthly Premium Smoker | |
| 25 year old | £5.82 | £9.80 |
| 35 year old | £10.50 | £20.06 |
| 45 year old | £22.58 | £54.76 |
| 55 year old | £60.02 | £162.68 |
How to find the cheapest life insurance for construction workers
At Money to the Masses we provide you with information so that you can understand the options available to you but there is a great deal of value in speaking to an expert. Construction workers can end up paying more than they need to or even get declined for life and illness insurances. Online comparison quotes don't sort options on the basis of your occupation and you can end up going through lengthy application forms before you realise the real price or worse still, get a letter to say you've been declined.
A specialist life insurance adviser will not only find the best value life insurance for your occupation but they will also ensure that the policy is correct to protect your family and any other financial needs you may have giving you the peace of mind that you need.
A life insurance adviser can help build a tailor-made life insurance solution taking account of any benefits you have through your employer so that you don't spend more money than you need to. We have vetted the services of a life insurance advisory firm* that can help. You don't have to take the advice you're given but it is free of charge. If you do end up arranging your insurance you'll get up to £100 cashback if you use the link above or you can call them on 0203 764 0275.
Other insurances construction workers should consider
As well as life insurance there are other types of insurance that a construction worker should consider.
Sick pay insurance for construction workers
Construction workers are at a higher risk of being unable to work through incapacity because of two reasons.
- Being in a physical job puts you at a greater risk of injury
- You are less likely to be able to work if you are incapacitated through injury or illness
Sick pay insurance is a way to provide a replacement income if you find yourself unable to work through injury or illness. Again, construction workers, especially those working at heights or working with machinery will need to seek out specialist income protection policies. Income protection is the name commonly used to describe sick pay insurance. There are life insurance companies that provide better levels of cover for those people in manual jobs and don't automatically increase the costs. Always ensure that your sick pay insurance will pay out if you can't do your 'own' job because some insurances will only pay you if you can't do 'any' job. This can get complicated but is vital that you get it right so do speak to a sick pay insurance specialist* to guide you to the best policies.
Critical illness insurance for construction workers
Critical illness insurance provides you with a tax-free lump sum of money if you are diagnosed with a serious illness, such as cancer.
Critical illness insurance can seem expensive but it reflects the fact that you're around 5-7 times more likely to claim against it compared with a life insurance policy. Critical illness insurance pays out on diagnosis of specific serious illnesses - unsurprisingly, the conditions that cause the largest numbers of claims are cancer, heart attacks and strokes. The policies do vary between different insurance companies and some will provide more comprehensive terms and conditions compared with others so don't just go on price here. You can read more about critical illness insurance "Critical illness insurance: What are the pros and cons?".
Cost of £250,000 of life insurance with £100,000 of critical illness insurance for a construction worker over 25 years
| Monthly Premium Non-smoker | Monthly Premium Smoker | |
| 25 year old | £20.95 | £29.26 |
| 35 year old | £42.31 | £67.98 |
| 45 year old | £97.89 | £175.63 |
| 55 year old | £172.35 | £327.61 |
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
