Fortis Life Insurance review (Now AIG) Broker deals from £5pm.

Fortis Life Insurance Review

Who are Fortis Insurance?

Fortis Insurance UK story started back in 2000, when Ageas Insurance bought Northern Star Insurance. Their new Head Offices were based outside Southampton, Hants.

Fortis then expanded in Uk via both broker distribution and by partnering up with various high profile brands.

In 2008, Fortis Life UK Ltd was launched as their long-awaited entry into the UK financial services industry. Their marketing line at the time stated that the new Fortis Life brand would give the Uk life insurance market a much-needed boost.

Their various protection products were market competitive among Uk Life Insurers. & branded under the name ‘Your Life’ Plan and sold by their affinity partners, Ifa’s & brokers. 

Fortis Insurance & Ageas

From 2011 and after only a few years, Fortis Insurance UK then rebranded & changed their trading name back to their parent company, Ageas Insurance.

Their life insurance protection plans were also then re-branded from Fortis Life Insurance to a new brand name Ageas Protect.

Ageas Insurance the parent company is one of Europe’s largest banking & insurers, founded back in 1824. Their main international headquarters are located in Brussels, Belgium.

fortis life insurance uk
ageas life insurance | ageas house uk
Fortis Life disappears to become Ageas Protect

Who owns Fortis Insurance now?

Fortis and AIG

However, in 2014 Ageas decided to leave the Uk life insurance marketplace for various economic reasons. They looked to another established insurer wanting to gain a further foothold in UK financial services.

Ageas Insurance chose to sell their ‘Ageas Protect Life Insurance’ brand to AIG, who were looking to expand in the UK. They also changed their brand name to AIG Life Ltd. 

Their menu protection plan products for both personal or business cover also covered life insurance, critical illness, mortgage protection and income protection areas. Similar insurance products and more are available today now via AIG Life UK. 

Ageas Insurance now concentrates on Personal and Commercial insurance instead ie; Home, Business, Car, Van, Motorcyle & Pets. They also are panel general insurance underwriters for Uinsure.

Fortis Life and AIG Life

Insurance FAQ FORTIS LIFE INSURANCE Reviews – Broker FAQ

life insurance aig..Who looks after Fortis Life Insurance now?

Yes, AIG has taken over administration of old life plans for both Fortis Life Insurance and Ageas Protect Life Insurance, under the AIG Life banner.

For Fortis life insurance company phone number, please contact AIG Life customer services for any ongoing old Fortis policy queries. Old policies include a low start policy plus

  • Fortis Real Life Cover – which paid out on death & covered 3 critical illness plus an income payment. Back then, Real Life Cover was an innovation in the protection market. 
  • Fortis Your Life Plan

Can you make changes to your old life insurance policy?

In terms of changing your Fortis life insurance policy, often you can request some of the following via AIG:

  • reduce or perhaps extend the period of cover
  • decrease or increase the amount of lifecover
  • remove indexation option or any specific paid for policy features
  • change the collection date of your usual premiums
  • take off a life assured from a joint policy eg; if a unmarried couple or new parents sadly split up

These changes could be subject to new AIG medical underwriting based on your circumstances at the time & may well affect your premiums.

How do I cancel my Fortis Life Insurance Policy?

You may cancel your existing life insurance plan at any time, if your circumstances change but your death insurance life cover would then end. 

However, if you should cancel the Fortis Life insurance policy, you won’t get anything back because your policy usually has no cash in values at anytime. This also means if your health changed adversely afterwards & you then tried to request a new (now AIG life insurance) policy is put back onto cover again, this maybe declined. 

We suggest you seek professional advice before taking this course of action.

Should I put my Life Insurance policy into Trust?

When a life insurance policy isn’t written into trust, it will be paid to the executors of the deceased’s estate. They will handle the administration, known as probate in N Ireland, England, Wales and confirmation in Scotland. If not, the benefits will fall into your estate if you died prematurely. If you have not made a will, this can then cause further complications with the life insurance monies.

Until probate is fully granted, no monies can be paid out to those named in the will. On average, this can take upto 6 months. By not placing the plan into trust may also swell up the total estate values, leading to potentially Inheritance Tax IHT issues.

So placing a policy in trust can help to ensure that the policy proceeds go to the correct beneficiaries you decide to nominate at that stage. It can also help avoid possible probate delays & IHT costs. Ask the Insurers to kindly provide their available standard trust form wordings & seek legal advice if unsure.

Importance of Disclosure & Claims | (AIG re Fortis)

All Insurers are in business to protect, insure & payout. Insurance cover is therefore based on your full disclosure at the time you took the original fortis insurance policy out ie; being 100% as honest & accurate as possible. It is not always easy to remember all your historic health details when applying. The Consumer Insurance Act 2013 says you must not be acting careless, deliberate or reckless when applying. For example, you don’t advise Insurers you vape, as you think this is classed as not smoking. Or a familial history of high blood pressure or cholesterol. If so, it may not payout!

Should you make a claim, your Insurers will send you a claim form for you to complete. Once received back, they will usually contact your GP to confirm any health details. They will then assess if your insurance claim is valid and cross check if you originally disclosed all the correct details. If you look at the Insurers recent claims payout, you will see that it is Good (but like most Insurers – not 100%).

What if my health or lifestyle changes after I had taken the Life policy out?

Any health or lifestyle changes since, usually does not void your existing Fortis life insurance uk policy, if it wasn’t relevant at that time of initial Fortis underwritten insurance application. It maybe the Insurers request GP reports when you originally apply, to check any health details disclosed. Likewise they may not.

So take care to doubly re-check on your application what you initially disclosed to the Insurers, as this information then stands now and in the future. Please check your original T&C’s.

Article on ‘Fortis Life Insurance Review’ by Martyn Spencer Financial Adviser 2025

fortis life insurance uklife insurance aig
Review: Fortis Life Insurance

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