How to Make a Life Insurance Claim Step-by-Step Guide

Making a life insurance claim follows the same broad process whether the policy sits with Aviva, Legal & General, Vitality, or any other UK insurer. You don't need legal training to start one, and you don't need to rush. There's no statutory time limit for claiming on a UK life insurance policy, so even if the death happened months ago, you can still make a valid claim today. If you're not familiar with how life insurance works in the first place, it's worth a quick read before you start, since it explains some of the terms the insurer will use. Here's what happens, in order.

• 1. Contact the insurer or your adviser: Call the insurer's claims line using the number on the policy schedule, or if the cover was arranged through a broker such as Money Saving Advisors, contact the adviser first. Brokers keep a record of which insurer holds the policy and can point you to the right claims team even if you've lost the original paperwork, which saves a lot of time when you're already dealing with a lot.
• 2. Gather the required documents: The insurer will ask for a certified death certificate, the policy number, and proof of the claimant's identity as a minimum. See the full document table below.
• 3. Complete and submit the claim form: Most major insurers now offer an online claims portal alongside the traditional postal form, and online submissions are typically processed faster because there's no waiting for mail to arrive and be scanned into the system.
• 4. The insurer reviews and assesses the claim: Straightforward claims with a clear cause of death and a policy that's been in force for several years are usually approved quickly. The insurer may investigate further if the policy is less than two years old or the cause of death is unclear, which is standard practice rather than a sign of a problem.
• 5. The payout is released to beneficiaries: Once approved, the money is paid by bank transfer, usually within a few working days of the decision. If the policy was set up in trust, the payout goes directly to the named trustees rather than the estate, covered in more detail further down this page.

Having the right paperwork ready before you call speeds up the whole process considerably. Insurers can't begin assessing a claim until they've verified who died, who is claiming, and which policy is involved, so missing documents are the single biggest cause of delay. Most of what you need can be requested quickly from the registrar, the insurer itself, or the claimant's own records.

• Certified copy of the death certificate: You'll usually need at least one certified copy, obtainable from the register office where the death was registered, typically costing around £12.50 per copy in England and Wales.
• Policy documents or policy number: If you can't find the original policy schedule, the insurer can usually trace it using the deceased's name, date of birth, and National Insurance number.
• Proof of identity for the claimant: A passport or driving licence is normally sufficient.
• Proof of address: A recent utility bill or bank statement, dated within the last three months.
• Grant of probate: Only required if the policy wasn't written in trust and there's no valid will naming an executor, in which case the estate must be formally administered before funds can be released to it.

If paperwork has gone missing entirely, don't assume the claim is lost. Insurers deal with this regularly and can usually work from the policy number alone or trace the record from the deceased's details.

A straightforward life insurance claim with all the paperwork in order can be paid out in as little as 5 working days. On average, according to Association of British Insurers (ABI) figures, most claims are settled within 4 to 6 weeks of the insurer receiving a complete claim form and death certificate. That timeline can stretch considerably longer where probate is required, typically adding 8 to 16 weeks on top, or where the insurer needs to investigate the circumstances of the death.

• Fastest cases (5 to 10 working days): Full documentation provided upfront, a policy in force for several years, and a clear, uncontested cause of death.
• Average cases (4 to 6 weeks): Some back and forth over missing documents, or a routine verification check with the GP or coroner.
• Slower cases (2 to 6 months): Probate is required, the policy is under two years old and subject to full underwriting review, or the cause of death needs a coroner's report or inquest to conclude first.

If your claim is taking noticeably longer than the insurer's stated timescale, ask for a written update. Insurers are required to keep claimants informed of progress, and a stalled claim is often simply waiting on one outstanding document rather than a sign of a refusal.

Anyone can start the claims process, which is a common source of confusion. A friend, adult child, executor, or funeral director can all pick up the phone and notify the insurer that a policyholder has died. Starting the claim is not the same as receiving the money. Only the people or organisations the policy is legally due to are entitled to the payout itself, and the insurer will verify this before releasing any funds.

• Named beneficiaries: If the policyholder named specific beneficiaries, or the policy is held in trust, the payout goes directly to those individuals, bypassing the estate entirely.
• No named beneficiaries: The payout becomes part of the deceased's estate and is distributed according to their will, or under intestacy rules if there's no valid will. This route almost always requires a grant of probate first, which is one reason trust-held policies tend to pay out faster.
• Joint policies: Who can claim, and when, depends on the type of joint cover in place, covered in more detail below.

If you're not sure whether you're entitled to the payout, contact the insurer directly. They'll confirm what documentation is needed to establish your claim.

Two common policy structures change how a claim actually plays out in practice: whether the policy is held in trust, and whether it's a joint policy. Both are worth understanding before you claim, because they affect who gets paid and how quickly.

Policies held in trust. Putting your policy in trust can help your claim bypass probate entirely, because the payout legally belongs to the named trustees rather than to the deceased's estate. That means the money can often be released within days of the claim being approved, rather than waiting weeks or months for probate to complete. It also generally keeps the payout outside the estate for inheritance tax purposes. Read the full breakdown on life insurance in trust.

Joint life insurance policies. How the claim works depends on the type of joint cover. A joint-life-first-death policy pays out once, on the first death, and the cover then ends, with the surviving policyholder needing to arrange new cover if they still need protection. A joint-life-second-death policy (more common in inheritance tax planning) only pays out after both policyholders have died. Understanding joint life insurance policies and how first-death claims work matters if you're unsure which type you're dealing with, since claiming on the wrong assumption can hold things up.

Only a small minority of UK life insurance claims are declined, but it's worth knowing the common reasons so you understand what an insurer is checking for during assessment, and so you can avoid the mistakes that cause it at application stage. Most declined claims trace back to something that happened when the policy was taken out, not the claim itself.

• Non-disclosure at application: Failing to disclose a pre-existing medical condition, smoking status, or relevant lifestyle factor when the policy started is the most common reason a claim is refused. Insurers can investigate this at claim stage even if it wasn't picked up at the time. See our guide on non-disclosure of a pre-existing medical condition for what counts and what doesn't.
• Lapsed policy: If premiums stopped being paid and the policy lapsed before the date of death, there's no valid cover in place, so no claim can succeed.
• Exclusion period: Some policies carry a suicide exclusion clause, typically 12 to 24 months from the start date, meaning a claim may be declined if death occurs within that window for that specific cause.
• Excluded activities: A small number of policies exclude death caused by certain high-risk activities disclosed and excluded at underwriting, such as specific hazardous sports.

A declined claim isn't necessarily the final word. Insurers are required to explain their decision clearly, and there's a formal, free route to challenge it if you believe it was wrong. Knowing the escalation steps in advance can save weeks of uncertainty.

• Ask for a written explanation: The insurer must set out exactly why the claim was declined and which policy terms it relies on. If anything is unclear, ask them to clarify it in writing.
• Request an internal review: Every UK insurer has a formal internal complaints process. Submit any additional evidence or context that supports the claim, such as medical records that contradict the insurer's non-disclosure finding.
• Escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service: If the internal review doesn't resolve things, the Financial Ombudsman Service provides a free, independent complaints route. It typically takes a few weeks for simpler cases and can extend to several months for complex disputes, but there's no cost to you and its decisions are binding on the insurer if it rules in your favour.

Throughout this process, keep copies of every letter, email, and call reference number. A clear paper trail makes any escalation faster to progress.

If you know which insurer holds the policy, contacting their dedicated bereavement or claims team directly is usually the fastest way to get things moving. Claims lines are typically staffed by specially trained teams who deal with bereavement calls every day, and most now support both phone and online claim submission. If the policy was arranged through a broker, it's still worth telling your adviser too, as they can chase progress on your behalf and flag anything unusual in the file.

Most comparison sites describe the claims process only in general terms, without giving you an actual number to call, which wastes precious time when you're trying to reach someone during a difficult week. The table below lists direct claims contact details for eight of the UK's largest life insurance providers, covering the large majority of active policies in the UK market. Contact details change from time to time as insurers restructure their claims teams, so always double-check the number against the insurer's own published claims page before calling if this guide is more than a few months old.

If you're not currently dealing with a claim but researching how the process works before buying a policy, that's a sensible step to take. Knowing that the claims process is well-defined and that the large majority of claims are paid without dispute is exactly the kind of due diligence worth doing before you commit to a provider, and you can compare life insurance quotes from leading UK providers when you're ready to arrange your own protection.

For anyone working through an active claim, this guide provides general information to help you understand the process, not personalised legal, tax, or probate advice. Every estate and every policy is different, and if your claim involves a contested will, a complex estate, or documentation that simply can't be located, it's worth speaking directly to the insurer, a solicitor, or the free guidance service at MoneyHelper. They can advise on your specific circumstances in a way that a general guide like this one is not able to.