Smart life insurance review

Who is Smart Insurance?

Smart Insurance is a trading name for Neilson Financial Services Ltd which arranges Family life insurance and Guaranteed life insurance policies that are underwritten and provided by Scottish Friendly Assurance Society Ltd. Neilsons Financial Services Ltd is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority while Scottish Friendly Assurance Society Ltd is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Smart life insurance was launched by Neilson Financial Services Ltd in 2012 and has since committed to a large television advertising campaign that tells viewers how easy it is to sort out their life insurance and gain the peace of mind that goes with this.

Smart Insurance overview

Smart Insurance offers three types of life insurance policies to buy and we summarise each type of cover below.

• Policy types - Family life insurance and Guaranteed life insurance
• Claims record - Smart life insurance is underwritten and provided by Scottish Friendly Assurance and they paid 99% of their claims in 2022.
• Additional benefits - Terminal illness benefit included with life insurance; Optional critical illness cover; Optional children's cover
• Incentives - £100 Amazon, Tesco or Argos gift card after you have paid 6 months' premiums (premiums paid must be in excess of £100); 10% of your first year's premiums returned to you as cashback after you have paid your first 12 months of premiums

Smart insurance summary

There are a few different types of family life insurance available with Smart Insurance and we have detailed the key features of these below:

Smart Family Level Life Insurance - Summary

	Smart Insurance Family life insurance - level term life insurance
Amount of life insurance available	Age 18 to 44 - £60,000 to £750,000 Age 45 to 54 - £60,000 to £400,000 Age 55 to 59 - £60,000 to £250,000 Age 60 to 64 - £60,000 to £150,000
Term / No. of years	Choose between 10 and 40 years
Premiums	Fixed at the start of the policy and remain the same throughout the term
Policy coverage	Single-life policies only
Terminal illness cover included?	Yes, terminal illness cover pays out if a medical practitioner confirms that the policyholder has less than 12 months to live
Increasing option	No, any increase or decrease to the cover amount can be applied for but will be subject to an assessment of your health and lifestyle at the time of the change
Qualifying criteria	UK residents only
Minimum age at entry	18
Maximum age at entry	64
Policy Exclusions	Self-inflicted death claims excluded in the first 12 months of the policy

Smart Family Age-Based Life Insurance - Summary

	Smart Insurance Family life insurance - Age-based life insurance
Amount of life insurance available	Age 18 to 44 - £60,000 to £750,000 Age 45 to 54 - £60,000 to £400,000 Age 55 to 59 - £60,000 to £250,000 Age 60 to 64 - £60,000 to £150,000
Term of cover	The cover is renewed annually and you can keep renewing it for the rest of your life or stop the cover if it is no longer needed
Premiums	The monthly premium will increase each year with your age and a further increase will apply if you choose the 5% increase to the sum assured
Policy Coverage	Single life policies only
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.
Increasing option	Yes, if you choose an increasing cover, the sum assured will increase by 5% every year and the premium will be recalculated based on the increase
Minimum age at entry	18
Maximum age at entry	64
Policy Exclusions	Self-inflicted death claims excluded in the first 12 months of the policy

Smart Insurance Guaranteed life insurance summary

	Smart Insurance Guaranteed life insurance
Amount of life insurance available	Choose any amount between £2,000 and £20,000 (dependent on age): Age 30 to 54 - £2,000 to £20,000 Age 55 to 59 - £2,000 to £17,000 Age 60 to 64 - £2,000 to £13,000 Age 65 to 69 - £2,000 to £12,000 Age 70 to 74 - £2,000 to £9,000 Age 75 to 80 - £2,000 to £6,000
Premiums	Monthly premium is fixed for the duration of your policy and no premiums are payable after you reach the age of 95
Policy Coverage	Single or Joint life policies
Qualifying criteria	UK resident aged 30-80 - no medical needed
Benefits included:	Free will kit worth £100 Immediate cover for accidental death Claim amount tripled if death is caused by an accident
Minimum age at entry	30
Maximum age at entry	80
Policy Exclusions	Death due to any cause other than an accident is not covered for the first 24 months of the policy

Optional additional benefits from Smart Insurance

Smart Insurance provides a few optional benefits that you can add to your life insurance to provide extra cover.

• Smart Insurance critical illness cover - an optional extra benefit that will pay a lump sum of money if you are diagnosed with one of the illnesses covered by the policy.
• Smart Insurance children's cover - an optional extra benefit that will pay a lump sum of money if your child is diagnosed with one of the illnesses covered by the policy and is also covered for death if they die within 90 days of an accident.

Below is a summary of the optional covers with Smart life insurance and these can be added to either the Family level life insurance or the Family Age-based life insurance.

Smart Insurance optional children's cover summary

	Smart Insurance Children's cover
What is covered	Bacterial meningitis resulting in permanent conditions Blindness – permanent and irreversible Deafness – permanent and irreversible Encephalitis resulting in permanent conditions Loss of hands or feet due to permanent physical severance Paralysis – total and irreversible Traumatic head injury resulting in permanent symptoms Death - if death happens within 90 days of an accident that takes place after the start of the policy
The amount you can insure	Between £10,000 and £30,000 per child
Qualifying rules	Each child must be covered separately Children must be financially dependent on the policyholder and UK residents
Claims	Payable once for each child covered under the policy
Age limit	Under the age of 21
Exclusions	Any condition that was present at birth Symptoms presented before the start of the policy or within 3 months of the start of the policy If the child dies within 28 days of being diagnosed with one of the insured illnesses

Smart Insurance optional critical illness cover summary

	Smart Insurance Critical illness cover
What is covered	Cancer – excluding less advanced cases Coronary artery by-pass grafts – with surgery to divide the breastbone Heart attack – of specified severity Stroke – resulting in permanent symptoms
The amount you can insure	Maximum of 50% of your life insurance amount or limited to: Age 18 to 44 - £30,000 to £375,000 Age 45 to 54 - £30,000 to £200,000 Age 55 to 59 - £30,000 to £125,000
Qualifying rules	The option must be added to your life insurance and you must be a UK resident
Claims	Any benefit paid under critical illness cover will reduce your life insurance amount by the same
Age limit	18 to 64 (cover will end following your 64th birthday even if your life insurance continues)
Exclusions	Any illness that does not meet the definition of one of the critical illnesses covered If the critical illness is directly or indirectly a result of an intentional self-inflicted bodily injury or attempted suicide The insured event resulting in a claim occurs before or is related to an event occurring before, the start date or occurs during the first three months from the start date

Smart Insurance optional accidental death cover summary

Smart insurance optional extra benefit:	Accidental death cover
What is covered	Accidental death cover benefit amount paid in addition to the life insurance benefit if, whilst covered under the policy, you die within 90 days of an accident which occurred after the start date of your policy
Amount you can insure	Age 18 – 44 at the start of the policy - up to £650,000 Age 45 – 64 at the start of the policy - up to £500,000
Qualifying rules	The option must be added to your life insurance and you must be a UK resident
Age limit	18 to 64 (cover will end following your 74th birthday or when your cover ends)
Claims	The benefit is paid in addition to your life insurance benefit
Exclusions	If you suffer an accidental death directly or indirectly as a result of: the consumption of drugs or alcohol engaging in criminal acts engaging in any professional sport engaging in any motorsports as a rider, driver or passenger war, invasion, hostilities (whether war is declared or not), civil war, rebellion, revolution or taking part in a riot or civil commotion being a pilot or crew member of any aircraft, or engaging in any flying activity, other than as a passenger in a commercially licensed aircraft.

How much does Smart Insurance cost?

Smart Insurance's life insurance starts at £3.57 per month for the Guaranteed Life Insurance option and £6.89 per month for the Family Life Insurance option.

The monthly cost of your Smart life insurance is dependent on the options you select and your personal circumstances including your age; whether you smoke; your health, lifestyle and occupation.

• Smart Family Life Insurance - the premiums are paid monthly by direct debit and they are fixed from the outset of your policy until the end date.
• Smart Family Life Insurance with age-increasing premiums - the premiums start off lower than an equivalent fixed premium policy but increase on the policy anniversary each year in line with your increased age and a further increase will apply if you have chosen increasing cover
• Smart guaranteed life insurance - the premiums are paid monthly and remain the same until a claim is made unless any changes are made to the policy
• Optional benefits (children's cover and critical illness cover) - the premiums are paid via an additional monthly premium that does not change and remains fixed for the duration of your life insurance policy

Is Smart Insurance family life insurance worth it?

The cost of Smart Insurance's family life insurance is relatively high when compared to the rest of the market. We compared the cost of the Smart family life insurance with the cheapest level term assurance policy available in the market and found that Smart Insurance costs almost twice as much as the cheapest equivalent policy with a leading life insurance company. Both policies provided the same benefits, namely if you die within the period of time that you are insured or are given less than 12 months to live, the policy will pay out the sum of money that is insured.

Below is an example comparison based on a 40-year old person buying £300,000 of level term life insurance over 25 years.

Smart life insurance price comparison - Family level term life insurance - £300,000 over 25 years

Based on a person:	Smart Insurance monthly premium*	Cheapest monthly premium* on the market	Difference in cost over 25 years
Aged 40 non-smoker	£40.49	£19.96	£6,159 more for Smart Insurance

*Monthly premium based on a healthy non-smoking 40-year old person 

Is Smart Insurance Age-based Family life insurance worth it?

On the face of it, the Smart Insurance age-based family life insurance is fairly good value when compared with the cheapest life insurance policy that we sourced from across the market.

It is worth bearing in mind however that premiums will increase each year. This could result in some policyholders reaching a stage in the life of their insurance where the premium goes up so much that they just can't afford to keep the policy and at that point, there is no money back or cash-in value.

Smart life insurance price comparison - Age-based Family life insurance - £300,000

Based on a person:	Smart Insurance monthly premium* (increases with age each year)	Cheapest monthly premium* on the market (premium won't change)	Difference in cost over 25 years
Age 40 non-smoker	£26.04	£19.96	£1,824^

*Monthly premium based on a healthy non-smoking 40-year-old person 

^The actual difference in cost will be higher as the Smart Insurance premium will increase each year

How much will my Smart Insurance Family Age-based life premium increase each year?

Based on a 40-year-old person with £300,000 of life cover with the Smart Insurance age-based family life insurance, the monthly premiums would change as follows:

The increasing cost of Smart Insurance Family Age-based life insurance

Year of the policy	Monthly premium* for £300,000
1	£26.04
5	£35.02
10	£51.59
15	£79.33
20	£123.43
25	£192.96

*Monthly premiums based on a healthy non-smoking 40-year old person 

When buying a life insurance with a monthly payment that increases every year, the question you have to ask yourself is whether you would be able to afford £192 per month when you're 65 (in the above example) with the prospect of the premium continuing to increase every year thereafter.

Is Smart Insurance Guaranteed life insurance worth it?

Smart Insurance guaranteed life insurance does provide good value for money when we compare it with equivalent types of life insurance available in the market. This is especially true if you are a smoker because Smart Insurance does not ask about your smoking habits for the guaranteed life insurance product.

Smart Insurance Guaranteed life insurance price comparison

Age	Monthly premium for £10,000 Smart Insurance Guaranteed life insurance - Smokers and Non-smokers	Cheapest equivalent non-smoker premium for £10,000 cover	Cheapest equivalent smoker premium for £10,000 cover
50	£25.01	£24.00	£33.00
60	£34.76	£33.00	£50.00

This type of life insurance is commonly sold to over 50s, especially if they have health concerns, as it is generally linked to a need to cover the cost of a funeral. So it may not be suitable for young, healthy people who are likely to get better value from a term life insurance policy. Reading our article, "What are the pros and cons of term life insurance?" will help you to work out which type of policy is better suited to you.

Cost of Smart Insurance Guaranteed life insurance 

	Monthly premium for a payout value of:
Age	£2,000	£6,000	£10,000	£20,000	Maximum life cover available
30	£3.57	£8.72	£13.86	£26.72	£20,000
40	£4.61	£11.84	£19.07	£37.13	£20,000
50	£5.80	£15.40	£25.01	£49.01	£20,000
60	£9.44	£26.32	£43.19	n/a	£13,000
70	£14.85	£42.56	n/a	n/a	£9,000
80	£27.76	£81.29	n/a	n/a	£6,000

Cost of Smart Insurance Children's cover

Amount of cover	Additional monthly premium*
£10,000	£1.47
£20,000	£2.94
£30,000	£4.41

*Monthly premium based on a healthy non-smoking 40-year old person 

Cost of Smart Insurance critical illness cover for 25 years

Amount of cover	Additional monthly premium*
£30,000	£9.77
£40,000	£13.02
£50,000	£16.28

*Monthly premium based on a healthy non-smoking 40-year old person 

Smart Insurance reviews

Reassured is rated 4.8 out of 5.0 stars from over 3,000 reviews on independent customer review site Trustpilot, ranking it as 'Excellent' overall. Over 90% of reviewers rate it as either 'Excellent' or 'Great' with many praising the friendly staff and efficiency of the service received. 3% of the total reviews rate it as 'bad', with some mentioning that the TV advert doesn't match up to the reality when buying life insurance through Smart Insurance. Others complain of delays in claims and the increasing cost of age-based family life insurance.

Best way to buy Smart Insurance life insurance

You can only buy Smart life insurance by speaking to a Smart Insurance broker over the phone. Once you complete your basic information on the website, a Smart Insurance adviser will call you to discuss your needs further.

You will be asked for the following information:

• Name
• Contact information
• Date of birth
• Occupation
• Height and weight
• Smoker status
• Health
• Participation in dangerous hobbies

Your health history and lifestyle will be checked over the phone by the Smart Insurance adviser. Once you complete this process, the adviser will tell you how much your life insurance will cost.

Smart Insurance does not provide you with a quotation for your life insurance without going through the full application process by answering all the health questions and questions about your occupation and lifestyle. In some ways, this is useful because you can judge the real cost of life insurance that is provided. Contrastingly, many life insurance companies will provide a quotation for life insurance based on just your age and smoker status before assessing your health and lifestyle through a full application process once you decide that you wish to buy the insurance.

Smart Insurance life insurance alternatives

Smart Insurance demonstrates great customer service and they have received the Fairer Finance gold ribbon award for their customer service. That being said, the Smart Insurance level term life insurance product is far more expensive than the cheapest quote that we could find with a leading life insurance company.

When you speak to Smart Insurance, they can only provide you with their own price and so the alternative is to search the whole market. A price comparison allows you to find the most competitively priced insurance for your needs.

Speaking to a qualified life insurance specialist with access to life insurance providers across the market will provide you with the cheapest price for the life insurance that you need.

We have personally vetted a leading life insurance broker* that provides bespoke advice free of charge for all their life insurance customers. It goes a little further than Smart Insurance, providing advice and support when completing a trust form, enabling you to nominate your beneficiaries and avoid any inheritance tax charges that may apply to the sum that is paid out when you die. They will also search the whole market before recommending a policy that suits your needs and fits within your budget.

Complete this simple form* to arrange a callback at a time that suits you and you'll receive up to £100 cashback if you decide to buy a life insurance policy this way.

Smart Insurance summary

Smart Insurance:

• Provides a level term family life insurance to provide a level amount of life cover over a set period of time.
• Provides an age-based family life insurance that will get more expensive each year with your age.
• Provides a guaranteed life insurance that provides full cover after the first 24 months of payments
• Offers children's cover which is optional and costs extra
• Offers critical illness cover which is optional and costs extra
• Offers a £100 Amazon, Tesco or Argos gift card after you have paid 6 months' premiums amounting to £100 or more.
• Offers 10% of your first year's premiums back after you have paid 12 monthly premiums.
• Can be more expensive when compared to other products that provide the same benefits.
• Provides good customer service and has won Fairer Finance awards for customer service.

 

 

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. This 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