AIG Life Insurance review

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: 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.

Best way to buy AIG life insurance?

If you are considering buying a life insurance policy with AIG, it’s worth first talking through your options with an independent insurance specialist such as LifeSearch. Independent specialists can access quotes from all major 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

• Established in 1919. In 2020, AIG paid out £69.4 million in life insurance claims, £27.17 million in critical illness claims and £17.8 million for customers who were diagnosed as terminally ill.
• 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 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