If you are comparing life insurance cover, this independent AIG review takes a detailed look at AIG’s life insurance policy - including the types of life cover available, the typical cost of AIG life insurance and the additional benefits it provides.
Personal life insurance can be arranged to provide financial security for your family and repay any debts that are outstanding at the time of your death.
AIG does not sell life insurance directly to customers so you will need to speak to a life insurance broker to access AIG's life insurance policies and you'll benefit from considering other life insurance quotes while you do this. In this article, we explain how to do this and get up to £100 cashback* when you do.
Who is AIG
AIG, or American International Group, was founded in 1919 by Cornelius Vander Starr in China as ‘American Asiatic Underwriters’. The first US office opened in 1926 and the company headquarters moved from Shanghai, China to New York City in 1939. It now has operations in approximately 80 countries and jurisdictions
The first offices in the United Kingdom opened in 1953, and four years later offices opened in Australia. In 1984, AIG began trading on the New York Stock Exchange and in 1992, Lloyd’s of London and AIG agreed to establish the first insurance company underwriting operation located at Lloyd’s.
Seven years later, AIG acquired Sun America Inc, and in 2001 it acquired American General Corporation. Tata and AIG established a joint venture general insurance company in India in the same year. Further acquisitions have included Travel Guard (2006), Ageas Protect (2014), Laya Healthcare (2015) and Validus Holdings (2018).
AIG has been recognised by a number of awarding bodies in the life insurance and illness insurance market. Most recently, in 2023 AIG was highly commended by Cover Magazines for Outstanding Promotion of Protection. AIG also received 'Outstanding Individual Critical Illness' at the Cover Excellence Awards in 2021 and 'Best Support for Unprotected Families' at the 2021 LifeSearch Awards recognising heroic care. AIG received the award for 'Best New Product/Enhancement' for its impact-based critical illness at Protection Review Awards 2021 and 'Best Care & Support Service' awarded for Smart Health by the Protection Review Awards.
1 minute summary
- AIG (American Insurance Group) was originally established in 1919 and established its first offices in the UK in 1953
- It has won many industry awards and is firmly established as one of the top protection providers in the UK
- It provides life insurance and critical illness insurance options as well as income protection to individual customers and businesses looking for group employee life insurance
- Policy types include level term, decreasing term, increasing term cover, whole of life and family income benefit
- It has a minimum age at entry of 17 and a maximum entry age of 86
- You cannot buy AIG life insurance directly as it is only available from a qualified protection specialist* who will check how AIG compares to every major UK protection provider before making a recommendation
- You'll qualify for up to £100 cashback if you take out a policy
AIG Overview
The points below provide a brief overview of AIG’s life insurance policy, including types of life insurance, the insurer’s claims history and some of the additional benefits provided.
- Policy types: Choose from level term, decreasing term, increasing term, whole of life cover, care cover whole of life insurance, family income benefit, as well as Life Start cover (where premiums start low and increase over a period of time) and Instant Life Insurance (allowing you to get cover more quickly). Choose from joint and single policies. Terminal Illness Cover is automatically included and you can combine life insurance with Critical Illness cover.
- Claims record: 2022 – Life insurance 99%, critical illness 97%. 2021 – Life insurance 98%, critical illness 98%. 2020 – Life insurance 99%, critical illness 95%. 2019 – AIG did not publish the percentage of claims it paid and instead chose to share the values – £48 million paid out in life insurance claims; £30 million paid out in critical illness claims and £12 million for terminal illness claims. 2018 – Life insurance 99%, critical illness 94%. 2017 – Life insurance 98%, critical illness 93%.
- Additional benefits: Policyholders have access to Smart Health which offers doctor consultations and mental health support. If you take out critical illness cover with life insurance, children’s critical illness cover is automatically included.
- Up to £100 cashback: If you apply for a policy 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.
AIG Policy Summary
The table below highlights the key facts and figures for AIG's life insurance policy:
AIG Life insurance summary
| Type of cover | Life Insurance |
| Options | Level term, decreasing term, increasing term, whole of life, whole of life insurance with care cover, family income benefit. Option to choose Life Start cover where premium payments start low and increase by 3.5% each year (ideal for those on a budget) or Instant Life Insurance which has a short online application and provides cover quickly. |
| Policy Coverage | Single, joint life first event (pays out on first death) or joint life second event. |
| Terminal Illness Cover included? | Terminal Illness Cover is included which pays out if the policyholder is diagnosed with an illness that is likely to cause death within 12 months. |
| Can cover increase over time (indexation)? | If you choose an increasing cover, the sum assured will increase by 5% every year. |
| Waiver of Premium | Waiver of Premium can be added to your policy for an additional cost. This means you won’t have to pay your premiums if you are incapacitated for longer than 26 weeks. |
| Minimum age at entry | 17 |
| Maximum age at entry | 86 |
| Term lengths | Choose between 2 years and 70 years of cover (applicable to AIG term life insurance) |
| Policy Exclusions | Suicide in the first 12 months is not covered. Suicide will also not be covered if you have increased the sum assured in the 12 months prior to death. Terminal Illness Cover will not pay out if the illness does not meet the definition in the policy or if it is not expected to lead to death within 12 months. |
The table below highlights the key facts and figures for AIG's critical illness cover:
AIG Critical Illness Insurance summary
| Type of cover | Critical Illness |
| Options | CIC Start, Core critical illness cover, Enhanced critical illness cover or Key 3 cover |
| Can it be combined with life cover? | Yes, under its Critical Illness with Term Assurance plan. |
| Premium type | Guaranteed. |
| Number of critical illnesses covered | AIG covers for impact rather than condition but is the equivalent of 45 illnesses under core cover and 50 under enhanced cover.
AIG Key 3 is its lower cost option of critical illness cover and covers Heart Attack, Stroke and Cancer* (these 3 illnesses make up around 80% of critical illness claims) |
| Total and permanent disability cover included? | Available at extra cost |
| Children’s core critical illness cover | Pays out a lump sum of the lower of £25,000 or 50% of the adult cover amount for AIG's Group 1 conditions and £25,000 or 25% of the adult cover amount if the child is diagnosed with a group 2 condition. |
| Children's enhanced critical illness cover | Pays out a lump sum of the lower of £50,000 or 50% of the adult cover amount for AIG's Group 1 conditions and £25,000 or 25% of the adult cover amount if the child is diagnosed with a group 2 condition.
Child life cover – £10,000 will be paid out Birth defect payout of up to £5,000 |
| Minimum age at entry | 17 |
| Maximum age at entry | 75 |
| Policy exclusions | No payout will be given if the policyholder is diagnosed with a critical illness that is not covered or the illness does not meet the definition listed in the policy. Payment will not be received if you die within two weeks of being diagnosed. |
*not all cancers are covered
Additional free benefits provided by AIG
- Life insurance includes Terminal Illness Cover which pays out if you are diagnosed with an illness that is likely to lead to death within 12 months.
- Access to Smart Health which provides on-demand consultations with GPs, as well as mental health support, an online health check and fitness programme. This also includes access to the Best Doctors service which can provide second medical opinions.
- Access to a discretionary fund that will pay up to £300 for services such as travel costs and wigs after cancer treatment.
- AIG will pay up to £10,000 of a valid claim in advance to go towards funeral costs.
- Bereaved children have access to specialist support through the charity Winston’s Wish.
- If you choose CIC Start where the cost of the cover will increase by 3.5% each year, pregnancy and children's cover is included automatically and all conditions are covered.
Optional benefits provided by AIG
- Waiver of premium is available for an additional cost. This means your premiums will not have to be paid if you are incapacitated for longer than 26 weeks.
- Option to add Total Permanent Disability cover to critical illness cover which will pay out in one go if you become permanently disabled.
- Adult enhanced critical illness cover is available at an extra cost providing cover against more illnesses and increased benefits.
- Enhanced critical illness includes pregnancy cover which provides £5,000 for specific pregnancy complications
- AIG Care cover is available if you buy whole of life insurance and will pay out 75% of your life insurance cover up to a maximum amount of £300,000
AIG Children's Critical Illness cover summary
- Children are covered from birth up to the age of 21.
- Critical illness claims are paid depending on whether the condition is covered under AIG's group 1 or group 2 conditions. Group 1 conditions receive £25,000 or 50% of the adult cover amount as a payout while group 2 receive £25,000 or 25% of the adult cover amount if you have core cover and £50,000 or 50% of the adult cover amount. A critical illness claim can be doubled if the child is unable to be treated in the UK and has to travel abroad to be treated.
- There is an extra benefit of £5,000 for any child who suffers from a birth defect.
- Children's life cover is also included and would pay £5,000.
- Children's hospitalisation benefit pays £100 per night from the 7th consecutive night in a hospital for up to 30 nights.
AIG Care Cover with Whole life insurance
AIG provide an option to choose Care Cover with its whole of life insurance contract. The Care Cover allows the policyholder to claim up to 75% of the sum that is covered if they become unable to care for themselves. An AIG care cover claim has to be supported with evidence that the insured person suffers from a permanent and irreversible failure of three or more stated activities that include washing, dressing or feeding themselves as well as lack of continence or mobility. AIG care cover will also pay out in some cases of severe cognitive impairment.
How much does AIG insurance cost?
To give you an idea of how much you could pay each month for AIG life insurance, the below tables show monthly premiums for £250,000 of level term life insurance over a 20-year term.
We’ve broken the figures down for both a non-smoker and smoker in different age groups and compared them to the cheapest and most expensive premiums across a range of life insurance companies with equal quality in the market.
AIG life insurance price comparison – £250,000 over 20 years (Non-Smoker)
| AIG premium | Cheapest premium | Most expensive premium | |
| 25-year-old non-smoker | £7.84 | £5.42 | £9.25 |
| 35-year-old non-smoker | £11.13 | £9.61 | £13.59 |
| 45-year-old non-smoker | £21.75 | £20.76 | £28.54 |
| 55-year-old non-smoker | £57.09 | £54.96 | £71.23 |
AIG life insurance price comparison – £250,000 over 20 years (Smoker)
| AIG premium | Cheapest premium | Most expensive premium | |
| 25-year-old smoker | £10.26 | £8.93 | £12.72 |
| 35-year-old smoker | £21.53 | £18.47 | £24.39 |
| 45-year-old smoker | £52.50 | £49.99 | £65.26 |
| 55-year-old smoker | £155.19 | £146.39 | £218.25 |
NB – all premiums are quoted on a monthly basis
How much you, as an individual, will pay for your life insurance premiums will depend on a range of factors, including your age, health and lifestyle (including 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.
As part of the process of applying, you may be required to attend a medical exam or AIG may write to your doctor for further information about your medical history. These are things that you should discuss with an independent insurance specialist who can guide you and advise on the right policy for you. Below we explain how you can also qualify for up to £100 cashback if you take out a life insurance policy.
Is AIG life insurance any good?
AIG life insurance policies have 5-star and 4-star Defaqto ratings which means that they are a comprehensive option when compared with similar policies available through other insurers. Trustpilot, the customer review website, rates AIG as ‘average' with 3.1 out of 5 stars based on over 140 customer reviews. A number of the 1-star reviews cite issues with delays and claims that have been declined while many of the 5-star reviews are based on customers who have experienced swift decisions and payouts for their insurance claims. With 99% of claims paid in 2022, AIG do pay out for the vast majority of claimants and it would be fair to take the negative Trustpilot reviews within the context of this statistic.
AIG is a reputable insurance company that provides a flexible range of life insurance, critical illness and income protection options to its customers while boasting higher than average payout rates. Although customers cannot apply for personal insurance policies directly with AIG, you can access AIG's life insurance options through a life insurance broker who will ensure that its options are the best for your particular needs and budget. Insurance companies like AIG that offer core and enhanced illness insurance products allow customers to choose the best options based on how much they wish to spend as well as the quality of the benefits that are included.
Best way to buy AIG life insurance?
If you are considering buying a life insurance policy with AIG, you will need to speak with an independent insurance specialist such as LifeSearch as AIG does not sell life insurance directly to customers. Independent specialists can access quotes from across many insurance companies to compare life insurance and help ensure you are choosing the right life insurance policy and/or critical illness cover. They can also advise you on how much cover you need, and help you complete your application forms.
Should you choose to put your policy into trust, an independent insurance specialist will be able to provide support to ensure that any payout is received by your beneficiaries tax free. They will also be on hand if you need to make a claim in the future. To get a quote, simply fill in this short form*. There is no obligation to take out a policy, but if you do, you will qualify for up to £100 cashback.
AIG life insurance summary
- AIG was established in 1919.
- In 2022, AIG paid out 99% of life insurance claims as well as 97% 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 included with CIC Start and available with core and enhanced critical illness cover.
- Policyholders have access to Smart Health, which provides virtual prfivate GP consultations, mental health support and second medical opinions.
- AIG offers a discretionary fund that will pay up to £300 to support those having cancer treatment. It will also pay up to £10,000 for funeral costs.
- AIG life insurance premiums may not necessarily be the cheapest for you as the amount you pay will depend on a range of factors. To ensure you get the right policy at the right price, it is best to shop around and compare deals carefully.
- If you buy a life insurance policy through LifeSearch*, you will receive up to £100 cashback. Simply click on the link and complete the short form to be called back at a suitable 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
