**Promislife is no longer accepting new customers as of 17 June 2022 but continues to provide cover for existing life insurance customers. You will find alternative over 50 life insurance options in our article, "Which is the best over 50s life insurance?" and term life insurance options in our article, "Best affordable life insurance in the UK".
Promislife is one of many life insurance companies that sell life insurance to cover funeral costs as well as term life insurance designed to protect your family. In this article, we take a look at the pros and cons of Promislife life insurance including how to buy the best-priced life insurance that is right for you.
Who is Promislife?
Promislife is the trading name for Funeral Protection Promis, Over 50s Life Insurance Promis and Life Insurance Promis. It is administered and underwritten by iptiQ Life S.A. UK Branch.
Promislife's recent television advertising campaign sees Debbie McGee urge the British public to talk about death and discuss the bills that will need to be paid.
The three Promislife products that you can buy are promoted by Global Life Distribution (UK) which trades as Promis Life and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Promislife life insurance summary
Promislife offers three life insurance policy types which are:
- Funeral Protection Promis - life insurance that covers you until you die for those aged 30 to 79
- Over 50s Life Insurance Promis - life insurance that covers you until you die for those aged 50 to 79
- Life Insurance Promis - a term life insurance policy that can cover you against death for between 5 and 40 years and is available for 18 to 70-year-olds
Funeral Protection Promis and the Over 50s Life Insurance Promis are almost identical life insurance policies. See below for the key features.
Promislife Funeral Protection & Over 50s life insurance policy summary
| Promislife Funeral Protection & Over 50s life insurance key features | How it works |
| Policy types | Whole of life insurance covers the insured person for the whole of their life and pays out a cash sum on death but accumulates no cash in value before death |
| Qualifying rules |
|
| Age restrictions | Applicants must be aged:
|
| Amount of cover | £1,000 to £20,000 cash sum available depending on age at plan commencement |
| Policy payment |
|
| Increasing cover |
|
| Term of cover |
|
| Restrictions | Choice of 12 or 24-month Accidental death benefit period
|
Promislife Life insurance policy summary
| Promislife Life insurance key features | How it works |
| Policy types | Term life insurance covers the insured person for their chosen number of years and pays out only if death happens within the term
Accumulates no cash value |
| Qualifying rules |
|
| Age restrictions | Applicants must be aged between 18 and 70 years old |
| Amount of cover |
|
| Terminal illness cover | Yes - an early death payment is made when the insured person has been diagnosed with an illness that cannot be cured and a medical consultant confirms that death is likely within 12 months |
| Policy payment |
|
| Increasing cover | Not available |
| Term of cover | Choose between 5 and 40 years of cover, depending on age |
| Options |
|
| Restrictions | Death caused by suicide in the first year of the plan will not be covered |
How much does Promislife life insurance cost?
The cost of Promislife's life insurance is calculated based on:
- the type of plan you choose
- whether you choose an increasing or level premium type
- your age at the time you apply
- your health and lifestyle (only for the term life insurance plan)
Below, we have looked at the cost of the Promislife Funeral Protection and Over 50s life insurance for a 60 year old on an increasing basis and compared this with the cheapest equivalent life insurance policy but where the premiums do not automatically increase each year. The policy in the example below will pay a sum assured of £5,000 after 12 months of paying for the policy and premiums stop when you turn 90.
As you can see from the table below, the Promislife cover becomes more expensive after 7 years and by the time the person reaches 90 they are paying more than double when compared to the cheapest equivalent policy that doesn't increase each year.
Unfortunately, only increasing prices are available when you apply online with Promislife, however, you can call them to arrange a level type of monthly premium if you don't want your premiums to increase each year. Inflation cover is also only available when you phone Promislife to arrange your life cover.
Monthly cost for £5,000 Promislife's Funeral Protection or Over 50s Life insurance
| Cost of £5,000 cover for a 60-year-old | Promislife monthly price which increases by 3% each year | Cheapest equivalent price that doesn't increase each year |
| Monthly price year 1 | £17.21 | £20.00 |
| Monthly price year 2 | £17.73 | £20.00 |
| Monthly price year 3 | £18.26 | £20.00 |
| Monthly price year 4 | £18.81 | £20.00 |
| Monthly price year 5 | £19.37 | £20.00 |
| Monthly price year 6 | £19.95 | £20.00 |
| Monthly price year 7 | £20.55 | £20.00 |
| Monthly price year 8 | £21.17 | £20.00 |
| Monthly price year 9 | £21.80 | £20.00 |
| Monthly price year 10 | £22.46 | £20.00 |
| Monthly price year 11 | £23.13 | £20.00 |
| Monthly price year 12 | £23.82 | £20.00 |
| Monthly price year 13 | £24.54 | £20.00 |
| Monthly price year 14 | £25.27 | £20.00 |
| Monthly price year 15 | £26.03 | £20.00 |
| Monthly price year 16 | £26.81 | £20.00 |
| Monthly price year 17 | £27.62 | £20.00 |
| Monthly price year 18 | £28.45 | £20.00 |
| Monthly price year 19 | £29.30 | £20.00 |
| Monthly price year 20 | £30.18 | £20.00 |
| Monthly price year 21 | £31.08 | £20.00 |
| Monthly price year 22 | £32.02 | £20.00 |
| Monthly price year 23 | £32.98 | £20.00 |
| Monthly price year 24 | £33.97 | £20.00 |
| Monthly price year 25 | £34.98 | £20.00 |
| Monthly price year 26 | £36.03 | £20.00 |
| Monthly price year 27 | £37.11 | £20.00 |
| Monthly price year 28 | £38.23 | £20.00 |
| Monthly price year 29 | £39.38 | £20.00 |
| Monthly price year 30 | £40.56 | £20.00 |
| Total payable over 30 years | £9,825.27 | £7,200.00 |
Promislife pros and cons
Pros
- Simple to buy
- No medical questions to answer for Funeral Protection & Over 50s life insurance
- £100 Love2shop gift card available after 6 months of premiums paid
- Multi-policy discount available
Cons
- You may get back less money than you paid depending on how long you live
- Increasing premiums are likely to end up costing more than a level premium over the course of the policy
- The level premium and inflation fighter options are not available to buy online
- The inflation fighter option increases your cover amount by 3% but the premium goes up by 4.5%
- No additional services such as virtual GP access, grievance counselling or other therapies
Promislife's customer reviews
Independent financial review site Feefo rates Promislife 4.7 out of 5.0 stars based on 1,216 reviews and many commend the easy and simple process of buying life insurance, as well as the non-pushy customer service.
However, Trustpilot rates Promislife just 1.5 out of 5.0 stars based on around 100 reviews with some customers expressing frustration at their premiums going up each year.
Is Promislife life insurance any good?
Promislife offers some basic life insurance products that can be simple to understand and purchase. However, Promislife does not offer advice and will not provide you with guidance about whether its life insurance is suitable for your particular circumstances - you must decide this for yourself.
When it comes to a whole of life insurance policy such as the Promislife Funeral Protection or Over 50s life insurance, these are unlikely to offer a young or healthy person good value for money.
Some life insurance policies, especially ones that cover your life until death, can pay out less money than you pay in, as shown in our cost comparison table above. This is something you should consider carefully.
However, the upside to Promislife's Funeral Protection and Over 50s life insurance policies is that the money paid upon death is paid to your beneficiary, unlike a prepaid funeral plan which pays the funeral service provider directly. Promislife is not unique in this but this is preferable for most people, ensuring the funeral arrangements are carried out by friends and family.
The best way to check that you're buying the right life insurance at the best price is to speak to a specialist life insurance adviser*. Specialist life insurance advisers are not tied to one life insurance company and can search life insurance policies across the market to find the one that is right for your circumstances and offers the best price.
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 or take advantage of any exclusive offers - Howden Life & Health
