Finder Life Insurance Customer Satisfaction Awards 2021

We asked customers of the UK’s major life insurance companies about their experience and whether they’d recommend their insurer to a friend or family member. We crunched the numbers to decide our Finder Life Insurance Customer Satisfaction Awards 2021.

You can see our winners below, plus a full table of the results. The winners are based on both overall satisfaction scores (that is, star ratings) and recommendation scores (the percentage of customers who said they’d recommend the brand to a friend). More on this below.

Our life insurance winners

Winner, Best Life Insurance:

Aviva

Aviva’s roots go back to 1696, and many still remember its previous incarnation as Norwich Union. The brand became Aviva in 2009 and is the UK’s biggest insurer, with well over 15 million customers. In our survey, many respondents praised Aviva’s great service, wide range of products and clear, transparent information.

Read our review of Aviva life insurance

Highly Commended, Life Insurance:

Royal London

Royal London is one of the largest life insurance and pensions companies in the UK. It was founded in 1861 and has been operating for more than 150 years. Common among responses in our survey was praise for Royal London’s service team: “easy to deal with”, fast and convenient.

Read our review of Royal London life insurance

Our 2021 life insurance customer satisfaction league table

We asked policyholders to rate their satisfaction with their life insurance company, and whether they’d recommend it to a friend. We’ve shown both for each brand in the table below. Our independent survey of 798 life insurance customers was carried out in December 2020.

Overall satisfaction	Customers who’d recommend	Insurer	Review
★★★★★	79%		The largest general insurer in the UK, Aviva offers term life insurance, critical illness cover and over-50s life insurance. Life insurance customers in our poll praised Aviva’s great customer service and clear information.	View deals
★★★★★	80%		Royal London has five different types of life insurance policies on offer, including one for people aged 50-95. Customers reported the company was easy to deal with and service was good.	View deals
★★★★★	79%		There are four policies to choose from with Legal & General, with the maximum age for application being 80. Several customers in our latest survey felt service was “reliable” and prices were “fair”.	View deals
★★★★★	77%		SunLife’s roots go back to 1810. It specialises in products for people aged 50 and over, with the maximum age for cover being 85. Customers reported a “simple” application process and good service.	View deals
★★★★★	75%		Better known as a bank, HSBC offers life cover, and cover for critical illness and income. For critical illness, cover must end before you’re 70. Customers in our poll felt it was “reliable” and “dependable” but some flagged issues with service.	View deals
★★★★★	76%		Customers surveyed called Post Office Money reliable and easy to use, but some felt it was pricey. One major advantage it offers is that if you have children under four years old, you can take out cover for a year for free.	View deals
★★★★★	73%		Scottish Widows was founded in the early 1800s and has around 6 million customers. It offers life cover for a term, or as lifetime cover, and it offers critical illness with life cover. Many customers were positive but a few reported service issues.	View deals
★★★★★	71%		Last year’s winner dropped a few places in our latest survey. Many customers still praised “easy”, “helpful” service, though a few were less enthusiastic about their experience. LV= offers term life insurance, up to age 79, and term life with critical illness cover up to age 64.	View deals
★★★★★	67%		Zurich offers term life, and term life with critical illness as its options for life cover. There are often perks such as shopping vouchers when you sign up. Some customers in our survey felt prices were low, but service wasn’t as good as it might be.	View deals
★★★★★	67%		Beagle Street is part of the BGL Group and offers level term, decreasing term and critical illness cover. Several customers highlighted low prices and joining perks, and were generally positive about the service.	View deals
★★★★★	66%		AIG offers a wide range of options for life insurance cover, including term life and critical illness policies. Customers in our poll highlighted “affordable” prices and “straightforward”, “helpful” service.	View deals
★★★★★	59%		It’s hard to miss Vitality’s bright pink branding and dachshund mascot. Vitality offers three types of life cover, plus serious illness cover. Last year, the brand was highly commended. This time, scores were lower but customers felt generally positive, and several praised the rewards programme, which benefits those who live a healthier life.	View deals
★★★★★	68%		Direct Line has several options for life insurance, including a specialist over-50s life insurance policy for customers aged 50-85. Views about its service were mixed in our survey, but several customers felt the policies were good value.	View deals
★★★★★	65%		Canada Life offers level cover, increasing cover and decreasing cover life insurance, and the maximum age for applicants is 80. There are perks via its rewards app. Customers overall were neutral about the service, with a few praising it.	View deals
★★★★★	62%		Aegon offers life insurance, critical illness and income protection. Several customers in our survey highlighted Aegon’s rates as a good deal.	View deals

Customer satisfaction ratings methodology

In December 2020, we ran a customer satisfaction survey on insurance providers and other financial service companies; 798 people told us about their life insurance provider.

The survey asked respondents how satisfied they were with their current insurance company (on a scale from one to five), and also whether they would recommend the brand to a friend or not. We turned the results into star ratings and shortlisted the top-performing brands for our awards. When there was a draw, we used the recommendation score (that is, the percentage of customers who said they would recommend the brand to a friend) as a tie-breaker.

Full details of our star ratings for this sector are on the insurance ratings methodology page.