How long does a life insurance claim usually take in the UK?

In its November 2024 review of 15 insurers, the FCA found averages of about 20 days for over-50s plans, about 36 days for group life, about 53 days for whole of life and between 53 and 122 days for term life, measured from start to finish. These are averages, so an individual claim can be quicker or slower.

Why do term life claims take longer than over-50s plans?

Term policies usually cover larger sums and were taken out on a health questionnaire, so the insurer may check that answers were complete, which can involve obtaining medical records from third parties. Over-50s plans are simpler products with lighter checks. The FCA acknowledged that insurers face real difficulties gathering the evidence they need.

Do I need probate before a life insurance company will pay?

It depends on who owns the policy. If it is not in trust, the money is paid into the estate and the insurer will usually want a grant of probate first. If it is written in trust, the trustees can generally claim directly without waiting for a grant. Check the policy documents or ask the insurer.

What documents are needed to make a claim?

Typically the policy details, an official copy of the death certificate, information about the cause of death, identification and proof that you are entitled to the money. Medical records may be requested too. Exact requirements vary by insurer, so use the claim form and send everything at once to avoid restarting the process.

Can I speed up a claim as a family member?

Mostly by being organised: notify the insurer promptly, supply a complete set of documents and respond quickly to requests. In advance, the policyholder can write the policy in trust and make sure the family knows the insurer and policy number. A cash buffer is sensible because the payout is unlikely to arrive in days.

What can I do if my claim is taking too long?

Ask the insurer for a named contact and a clear list of what it is waiting for. If you are unhappy with the delay, you can complain to the insurer and, if it is not resolved, take the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. The FCA has said it expects insurers to avoid unnecessary delays.

How long does a life insurance claim take to pay out in the UK?

By Denissindependent developer, not a financial adviserPublished 21 October 2026 · How we research these guides

Most people assume a life insurance payout arrives within a couple of weeks. The regulator's own review suggests the real wait is usually measured in months for term cover. That matters, because the people claiming are often a partner or children who need to pay a funeral bill and keep a household running in the meantime.

This guide sets out the timings the Financial Conduct Authority actually published, what causes delay, and what you can do in advance to shorten the wait for the people you leave behind.

What the FCA found

In November 2024 the FCA published a multi-firm review of how life insurers handle bereavement claims. It used data from 15 insurers covering more than 75% of the life protection market. The average time to process a claim from start to finish was:

Product	Typical time, start to finish
Over-50s plans	about 20 days
Group life cover (through an employer)	about 36 days
Whole of life	about 53 days
Term life insurance	between 53 and 122 days

Three caveats are worth knowing before you quote these numbers.

They are averages, not promises. An individual claim can be faster or slower, and the review does not say that any given insurer will pay within these windows.
Measurement was patchy. The FCA noted that few firms recorded end-to-end times. Some split the process into stages, including steps handled by outside providers, which made the total harder to see. For group life, most firms left out the time the employer spends passing information on, so the true figure may be longer than 36 days.
The standards were often set too low. The FCA said some insurers missed their own service standards for extended periods, and that even when they met them, the benchmarks were frequently not demanding enough to give bereaved families a good outcome.

The FCA's insurance director said the regulator expects all life insurers to act on the findings and avoid unnecessary delays, and that it would check progress and take action if it did not see improvement. I could not find a published follow-up report while researching this guide, so treat the 2024 figures as the latest hard numbers rather than a current league table.

Why term policies tend to be slower

An over-50s plan is a simple product: a modest sum, light underwriting, few questions at claim. A term policy usually involves a larger sum and was often taken out years earlier on the strength of a health questionnaire. When someone dies during the term, the insurer will often want to check that the answers given at the start were complete. That can mean requesting medical records, which depend on the GP, the hospital and the family's consent, none of which the insurer controls. The FCA's review itself recognised that firms face genuine difficulties in gathering the evidence they need.

The same mechanism links this topic to why life insurance claims are declined: the checks that slow a claim down are the same checks that look for non-disclosure at application.

What a claim usually needs

Requirements differ by insurer, so the claim form and policy documents are the authority. In general, expect to be asked for:

the policy number and the details of the person who died;
the death certificate, which has to be an official copy;
information about the cause of death and, for a recent policy or a death shortly after the start, possibly medical records;
proof of who is entitled to the money, and identification for the person claiming.

Sending a complete set on day one is the single biggest thing a claimant controls. Missing documents restart the clock more often than anything else.

Where probate fits in

This is where the policy's ownership matters. A policy that is not written in trust pays into the deceased's estate, and the insurer will usually want to see a grant of probate (or confirmation in Scotland) before paying out. Getting that grant can take weeks to months, longer for a complicated estate.

A policy written in trust generally sits outside the estate. The trustees can claim directly, and the payout does not have to wait for a grant. Trust deeds are commonly provided by the insurer, often at no charge, and are easiest to put in place at the point of application. The mechanics, and the inheritance tax side of it, are covered in using life insurance in trust to pay an inheritance tax bill. For the wider tax picture, see is life insurance taxable in the UK.

A practical point: many people believe their policy is in trust when it is not. If the paperwork is not in the folder, ask the insurer to confirm in writing.

How to shorten the wait for your family

Check whether the policy is in trust, and if you are the policyholder, set that up while you are healthy. A trust set up after a serious diagnosis can raise different questions, so take advice.
Tell your family the policy exists. Insurers cannot pay a claim nobody makes. Keep the insurer name and policy number somewhere your partner can find.
Answer health questions fully at the start. An insurer that finds nothing to query later has less to investigate.
Do not rely on the payout for the first month. Treat the money as arriving in a matter of months, and keep a cash buffer for funeral costs and bills. If you are sizing cover, how much life insurance you need is the place to include that buffer.
Check what your employer provides. Group cover, covered in death-in-service explained, averaged faster in the FCA data, but the scheme trustees' discretion and the employer's own paperwork can still add time.

This is general information, not financial or legal advice.