‘Direct Life Insurance’ Deal? VS Best Broker Quotes > 15 Secs (2024)*

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Best Buy Life Insurance Directly?

You may believe 💯 100% that it’s best buying Direct Life Cover simply via a Bank or Supermarket, Post Office or Provider. Or Enticed with that “Free Gift” could all SEEM like your Cheapest Option?

FIRSTLY, Before EVEN Thinking of Going Ahead here – We ALL understand the importance in Todays World of always getting ‘Good Value’ Deals.

So as brokers we say ‘BUYER BEWARE’…. Because to only consider Life Insurance via Dealing Direct nowadays, Maybe THE MOST Expensive choice in 2024.

Martin Lewis The Money Saving Expert also agrees here. He comments not to blindly buy into life insurance directly – as this marketplace is unlike other specific types of direct policies like Home, Buildings & Contents or Car insurance cover.

We both advise that you should really consider comparing the whole market via a Broker & ideally getting bespoke professional advice.

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We would add don’t be swayed by popular Influencer promotions, Celebrity endorsements or maybe “AI” generated information.

Or, those online adverts commissioned via Marketing Company promoters all promising special lifecover deals via little known policies.

But then just selling their lead enquiries directly onto those offering insurance sales guidance only via their chosen 1 provider.

Either buying into Direct Term Life Insurance or those heavily advertised no medical Over 50’s / 60’s plans, it could all be costing you £1,000’s MORE + so leaving you worse off & in more ways than one.

Let’s explore this Direct for Life Cover subject more & see if we could also get you a more competitive protection insurance deal. And maybe all for a similar monthly cost.

What’s Direct Term Life Insurance?

What is Direct life insurance is – whereby you purchase a life policy 💯 100% directly through your Bank, Supermarket, Post Office or Provider etc;

This could be instead of just comparing policies here in 15 secs via our broker deals & then getting the benefit of bespoke financial advice.

Term life cover also means that the life insurance plan runs for your set or chosen term eg; 20, 30 or 40 years upto when it then ends (with no cash value).

It’s a cheap and popular solution for covering a repayment style mortgage via decreasing mortgage loan protection over its nominated period.

Or maybe you only wanted some life insurance for the family upto retirement, or the kids leave home etc;

This means it’s unlike whole of life assurance policy which is indefinate rest of life cover (with no end period).

That’s often used for funeral expenses or inheritance tax planning.

Can you buy Life Insurance Directly?

Yes, you can get direct to consumer life insurance easily nowadays in 2024.

Many companies often advertise their various life direct life insurance deals across multiple platforms like TV, Online, Radio or in Newspapers for your business.

Usually their incentive is some type of free gift eg; Money Card or Voucher BUT then accompanied with their T&C’s, hidden all within the small print.

For example, that money card or gift voucher for M&S or Amazon – is sent ONLY after you’ve then paid 6 or 12 successful monthly premiums etc;

BUT as that saying goes – ‘Nothing’s for FREE’. Let’s examine that point further to see what we mean here….

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Is Direct Term Life Insurance Good?

Is Direct Term Life Insurance a Good Deal? Well that’s the million £££ Insurance Question.

So let’s examine this general point further – against a broker life cover application via that same Insurer.

In other words, they may often both use a very similar life insurance application underwriting process.

For Example – Our In-depth Broker research shows many Policies purchased ‘directly’…

• Mostly used just “1 Insurer” – like Aviva or Legal & General
• Their Websites linking directly to their ‘One Stop Deal’
• So ‘Buying Direct’ obviously means… NO “Shopping Around“
• But here’s the Direct Life Reviews Kicker!
• Cross checked over 100’s of monthly Life Cover Quotes
• This firstly offered alot less Life Insurance & Poor Value
• Your loved ones could be £100’s of £1,000’s worse off
• That’s a MASSIVE Amount IF you sadly died
• Or limited options IF they ‘Charged Extra’ for some Health or Lifestyle Problems
• Our Conclusion like Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis Life Insurance view
• We found searching only for ‘Direct Term Life Insurance’
• Maybe a Costly Option when compared against our Broker-Only deals

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L&G Group Also sole life insurance providers for…. Barclays Post Office TSB Nationwide Clydesdale Coop Leeds BS Sainsburys

Aviva Group Also sole life insurance providers for…. RBS NatWest Ulster Bank Santander Yorkshire BS Skipton BS Chelsea BS Direct Line Churchill NFU

Level Term Insurance (Comparison via Same Insurer)
Direct Providers Website vs Broker-Only Deals

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	Age 30 *£25pm = 30 years
LEGAL & GENERAL (Our Broker-Only Deal)	£853,000
LEGAL & GENERAL Website Direct	£525,000
Cover Difference	+£328,000
	Age 35 *£25pm = 30 years
LEGAL & GENERAL (Our Broker-Only Deal)	£545,000
LEGAL & GENERAL Website Direct	£335,000
Cover Difference	+£210,000

	Age 40 *£30pm = 30 years
AVIVA (Our Broker-Only Deal)	£330,000
AVIVA Website Direct	£280,000
Cover Difference	+£50,000
	Age 45 *£30pm = 30 years
AVIVA (our Broker-Only Deal)	£195,000
AVIVA Website Direct	£155,000
Cover Difference	+£40,000

Note: At time of our Broker Only Deals 2 Providers comparison above – there were also several cheaper term life insurance quotes via other Providers like Guardian Insurance, Scottish Widows, Vitality Life or Zurich Insurance that could offer you £1,000’s more protection life cover & potentially even better value.

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*Review Broker vs Going to Provider?

So looking at these above comparison chart, clearly you can see the massive difference in life cover amounts using a broker vs going direct.

Some quotes we compared being well over £300,000 life insurance difference. Some maybe less & some more all dependant on the age, term & premium quoted.

These quotes also all exclude any pre-existing health or lifestyle issues – things you may then disclose to their chosen Provider.

In other words, it could be their quotes are even more expensive eg; that Insurer then charges extra for a high BMI or Diabetes Type 2 etc;

Plus you may think you have reduced your options by just using that one Provider?

However, it could be we could still refinance your life insurance deal over via that same Insurers onto our broker-only deal (thus saving you money).

Why? Well for us it’s because we work through one of the UK’s biggest Financial Adviser Brokerage – thus passing you on access to any of our discounted offer prices.

Also, we may have lower overheads. Many of these companies may have large staff wages to pay, plus bricks & mortar costs all to help cover.

Please feel free to follow those links for say those companies offering AVIVA – Direct or LEGAL & GENERAL – Direct Deals vs Comparing our Broker-Only quotes.

OR alternatively check out how we could best help maybe refinance & Quote for Life Insurance against their deals.

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*Does Martin Lewis Recommend First Direct Insurance Deals?

Martin Lewis suggests being the Money Saving Expert he is – that you should firstly…

💯 100% “NEVER BLINDLY BUY DIRECT” OR Go with Expensive Life Policy offers. Whether that’s either via your Bank or One Insurer ie; Shop around or use a Broker.

The MoneySavingExpert also said generally remember, not all those insurers plans are either featured on insurance comparison sites. 

So for some you may think here that what he may have meant – was go for life insurance direct instead?

But unlike car or home insurance direct vs life and pensions deals, he comments don’t make this your only or 1st direct life insurance policy choice here.

As in this instance, MSE says lifecover is often best bought via a broker.

As brokers, we would also agree here – so let us help you shop around & compare the life insurers market for your broker only deals.

In terms of the large range of Life Insurance policies available, Money Saving Expert are fully impartial with all their top buy reviews.

As you maybe aware, neither Martin nor MSE never endorse products.

Note: Yes, they mention individual products & services on MSE site, but they make it very clear don’t ‘support’ them.

MSE says ‘Thinking about how your family may cope financially if you were to die isn’t a very cheerful topic, BUT it is an Important One’.

The MoneySavingExpert Martin Lewis comments that he does 💯 ‘100% recommend Life Insurance’, especially if you have any dependants.

So Martin Lewis agrees life insurance is important if anyone is reliant on your Income & would struggle financially without you around ie; an insurable financial interest.

Martin Lewis on life insurance directly comments that YES it’s a cheap financial lifeline – but the ultimate monthly costs choice risk is always yours.

He also discusses the value in other insurance plans if you were off sick, like income protection & critical illness.

Martin Lewis for a good rule of thumb in 2024, his Best Life Insurance formula is ‘THE 10 x RULE’ ie; aim to cover 10 x the Annual income of the highest earner & the main breadwinner until at least any kids have finished their full-time education or other dependants. 

To help you calculate a figure that works for you, Martin Lewis Life Insurance policy says it’s worth ensuring any life insurance policies cover: 

• Outstanding Debts: that need to be paid off eg; mortgage unless covered by a separate plan
• Immediate Outgoings: regular bills dependants would need to pay
• Future Spending: you may have wished to make eg; university fees
• Additional Expenses: a death may trigger eg; funeral costs

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What about Over 50’s & 60’s Life Cover?

If you’re over 50 or 60, you may assume automatically that your main options are any life policy named & marketed specifically at that age bracket?

These no medicals life policies were originally setup back in 1979 by Sun Life Assurance & when average UK life expectancy was only early 70’s

BUT the average life span in the UK today is now around 10 years more, into your early 80’s.

They were often advertised by various golden oldies british seniors like Carol Vorderman, Cilla Black or Michael Parkinson.

It must all make sense… because all those adverts keep telling you so? But again we say here ‘BUYER BEWARE’.

Although these over 50s & 60’s no medical questions whole of life policies were promoted as offering immediate peace of mind, this type of plan is often not actually a get onto cover today life insurance.

What it is actually is having to wait for 1 or 2 years period…before getting onto cover insurance policy. It’s also not the best value.

Although maybe sold as THE lower cost direct over 50’s life insurance option, you could possibly also pay in more than the premiums paid with some plans.

Although being fair, many direct life Insurers stop taking your premiums after age 90 plus – the reality maybe on average uk life expectancy, you may have passed away some years before that.

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What’s Martin Lewis say on Over 50’s Plans?

What does MSE Martin Lewis say about Over 50 life insurance plans in general?

He does see their lucrative value IF you are in Poor Health & with a Reduced Life Expectancy. As brokers we may agree here on that point.

So conversely he also means, Over 50’s lifecover is a less lucrative bet IF you have reasonable Good Health.

Therefore overall, he is not a big fan of these no medicals style schemes it seems.

Martin Lewis says…‘Let me be blunt: this means that if you’re likely to die sooner than the average, these Over-50’s plans can be lucrative’.

This marketplace is characterised they say by Insurers offering their life insurance with free gifts. Or TV adverts promoted by some well known current or past TV celebrities.

For Martin Lewis best Over 50 Life Insurance Money Saving Expert advice, however he says many people waste a fortune on this ‘no medical’ style of policy.

Commenting on over 50’s plans, he says they are often sold to you often on the basis of help toward covering funeral costs.

Maybe more importantly, Martin Lewis on Over 50 Life Insurance he points out that on certain plans, you could potentially pay in more in policy premiums than the life cover value is worth.

So in their Money Saving Expert review, he spends a long time putting down these no medicals life cover schemes.

Therefore as Brokers we may agree here to some extent reviewing his comments ie; no medical Over 50 deals are not the best value out there if in average to good health.

There are alternative options, which we will now review further.

*So what’s your Options?

So, you’ve decided you are now just looking only for a whole of life assurance cover policy.

You have dismissed the other option of a direct term life insurance upto say age 85/90, as your possibly cheaper ‘back-up plan’ – as you think you’ll live to over 100+ plus.

Let’s assume in this example – you are now age 50 or age 60, and have slightly raised BMI.

You’ve also on medication for High Blood Pressure & cholesterol for a while.

Both these conditions are all under control & you have been seen at least annually by your GP for last few years or more.

So you may assume your only option is NOT to be asked any Health or Lifestyle questions here to get your life insurance best deal…Wrong.

As brokers we point out to many clients that UK Whole of Life Insurers accept that when we do get to a certain age, things may not all be 100% with our health.

Therefore, their insurance underwriting parameters widen here to take all this into account.

However, from experience we can confirm many underwritten whole of life application once explained, often could be accepted at their standard price rates.

Worst case, the Insurer may apply a small health premium rating.

BUT the benefit to you is potentially Day 1 Cover & often higher levels of life cover.

(See Direct vs Broker whole life comparison chart below & all via those same Insurers)…

Whole Life Assurance (Comparison via Same Insurer)
Direct Providers Website vs Broker-Only Deals

	Age 50 *£30pm
LEGAL & GENERAL (Our Broker Whole of Life Deal)	£20,530 (Day 1 Cover)
LEGAL & GENERAL Over 50’s – Website Direct	£9,172 (1 year Wait)
Cover Difference	+£11,358
	Age 60 *£60pm
AVIVA (Our Broker Whole of Life Deal)	£33,500 (Day 1 Cover)
AVIVA Over 50’s – Website Direct	£14,200 (1 year Wait)
Cover Difference	+£19,300

Note: At time of our Broker Only Deals 2 providers comparison above – there were also several cheaper whole of life assurance quotes via other Providers like Vitality Life or Zurich Insurance that could offer you £1,000’s more protection life cover & potentially even better value.

Note: Many Over 50 Insurers no medical questions schemes will often limit the maximum cover or premium you can take out with them, usually based upon age.

Also, most Insurers generally will also still ask your smoker status? (so at least one medical lifestyle question check here).

Although many promote 100% claim payouts – should they find out upon a death claim you were a smoker then invariably they have the right to adjust their claim payout lower & is if you had advised this upfront.

For example: Legal & General over 50’s policies for a 50 year old would only allow upto £32pm premium*.

Aviva over 50’s policies alternatively would allow upto £100pm*. Other over 50 life policy Providers T&C’s maybe different. (*10/24)

There are also a few companies that state their life policies that have no medicals or blood tests requirements (so no waiting period). However, they do ask some health & lifestyle questions to offer Day 1 cover.

Typically, these also offer ‘limited’ life cover lump sum levels all dependant on age eg; upto £22,000. Overall these are still poor value against our broker deals.

These are also unlike broker whole of life assurance deals that are generally not restricting their cover levels or premiums to these lower amounts.

Conclusion: Direct Life Insurance Offers Less?

Comparing Direct Life vs Broker-Only deals if looking at both schemes – as that saying often goes – ‘You Get What You Pay For‘.

So whether that’s looking at deals on:- Family Level Term Insurance, Mortgage or Business Protection. Family Income Benefit or alternatively Over 50’s & 60’s Whole of Life Assurance – we can help.

Should direct life insurance be your first choice? Should you be swayed here by that incentive of that free gift? NO, if you wish to potentially get more choice & options and not less on Life Insurance for your money…

Compare Best Life Quotes in 15 Secs >> Get Bespoke Advice UK Life Insurance Brokers.

Article on Life Cover Direct UK by Martyn Spencer Financial Adviser (2024)*

For reassurance re health for men & women – we review many of the Best Life Insurers selling Life Insurance UK (inc NI)