Is Life Insurance Different for Men and Women?
For new UK life insurance policies, insurers cannot charge different premiums simply because one applicant is male and another is female.
That has been the position for new insurance contracts since 21 December 2012, when the previous insurance exception allowing sex to be used in calculating premiums and benefits was removed from the Equality Act framework. Current Equality Act guidance continues to distinguish older contracts entered into before that date from newer insurance arrangements.
That does not mean two people of the same age will receive the same life insurance quote.
Premiums can still vary significantly because insurers assess the individual risk presented by each applicant. Age, health, smoking status, medical history, occupation, lifestyle and the amount and length of cover can all affect the price.
So the useful distinction is not men versus women. It is one individual's circumstances versus another's.
Why did men and women historically pay different premiums?
Before the rules changed in 2012, insurers could use sex-based actuarial information when pricing some insurance products.
Because average life expectancy and mortality patterns differed between men and women, that could result in different life insurance premiums.
The rules changed following the European Court of Justice's decision on the use of sex in insurance pricing. The UK subsequently removed the relevant Equality Act exception from 21 December 2012, meaning new individual insurance premiums and benefits could no longer differ simply because of sex.
For somebody applying for a new life insurance policy today, therefore, being male or female should not itself produce a different premium.
What affects life insurance premiums instead?
Insurers still need to decide how likely it is that they will have to pay a claim during the policy term.
They do this through underwriting.
The insurer looks at information relevant to the particular applicant and the cover requested. Our guide to how insurers assess risk for life insurance explains that process in more detail.
Two people can therefore request exactly the same amount of insurance and receive different prices without sex being the reason for the difference.
Age can make a significant difference
Age is one of the most important factors in life insurance pricing. All other things being equal, somebody taking out cover at 30 would normally be expected to present a different mortality risk over the policy term from somebody applying at 55. That is why premiums generally become more expensive as applicants get older.
The difference is based on the age at which each person applies rather than whether they are male or female. You can read more about this in our guide to why life insurance becomes more expensive as you get older.
Health and medical history matter
Your current health and previous medical history can also affect underwriting.
An insurer may ask about diagnoses, medication, treatment, previous hospital care and ongoing medical investigations. Conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, previous cancer or other medical problems do not automatically mean somebody cannot obtain life insurance. The insurer normally looks at the individual details surrounding the condition.
Severity, treatment and stability can all matter. If you have an existing medical history, our life insurance with pre-existing conditions section explains how this part of underwriting works.
Lifestyle can affect the price
Lifestyle factors can also influence the premium.
Smoking is a particularly important example. Somebody who meets an insurer's definition of a smoker will commonly pay more for life insurance than an otherwise similar non-smoker because the expected mortality risk is different. That applies regardless of whether the applicant is male or female. Our guide to how smoking affects life insurance premiums explains why insurers ask about cigarettes, vaping and other nicotine use.
Alcohol consumption can also be relevant, particularly where consumption is high or there is an associated medical history. You can read more in our guide to life insurance and alcohol consumption.
Occupation can affect underwriting
What you do for work can matter if your occupation exposes you to unusual physical risks. For many ordinary jobs, occupation will have little unusual effect on a life insurance application. However, an insurer may ask additional questions where somebody works offshore, regularly works at significant height or has another occupation involving increased danger.
The assessment is normally based on what the person actually does rather than simply their job title.
Our guide to life insurance for people with high-risk jobs explains this in more detail. Again, the principle is the same for men and women. It is the occupational risk being assessed.
Hobbies can matter too
Some hobbies can also affect the insurer's assessment. Activities such as mountaineering, private aviation, motorsport, scuba diving or parachuting may lead to additional questions. The insurer may consider how often you participate, your experience and the level at which you take part. So two people of the same age with similar health could still receive different decisions if one participates regularly in a high-risk activity and the other does not.
That is an individual risk difference rather than a sex-based pricing difference.
Can a man and woman still receive different quotes?
Yes. Imagine two people who are both 40 and want the same £250,000 life insurance policy for the same term. One does not smoke, has no significant medical history and has a relatively low-risk occupation. The other smokes and has a medical condition that requires additional underwriting. Their premiums could be different. But the relevant difference is the insurer's assessment of their individual risk factors, not the fact that one is male and the other female.
The reverse could just as easily apply. A healthy male non-smoker could receive a lower premium than a female applicant with medical or lifestyle factors that increase the assessed risk.
What about pregnancy?
Pregnancy should not be treated as a reason simply to charge women a different life insurance premium because of their sex. However, life insurance underwriting can still consider relevant medical information. If there are significant health complications associated with a pregnancy, those circumstances may require additional medical information in the same way that other health conditions can. Pregnancy therefore should not be confused with sex-based pricing. For somebody considering protection as their family changes, our guide to [life insurance when you're pregnant](/article/life-insurance-when-you-re-pregnant) looks specifically at arranging cover around that stage of life.
Are life insurance payouts different for men and women?
No. The amount payable under a life insurance policy is determined by the policy terms and the insured amount, not by whether the insured person is male or female. If two people each have £250,000 of valid life insurance cover and each policy results in a successful full claim, the insured amount does not become larger or smaller because of sex.
The important factors are whether the policy was in force and whether the claim meets its terms.
What about joint life insurance?
A joint life insurance policy normally covers two people under one contract. Most joint term life policies are designed to pay following the first death during the policy term and then end. The premium is based on the insurer's assessment of the people being covered and the policy being requested. It is not simply a case of the man's rate or the woman's rate being used. If one person has a more complicated medical history, is older, smokes or presents another relevant underwriting risk, that can influence the overall cost of the joint arrangement.
Our guide to how a joint life insurance policy works for couples explains the structure in more detail.
Is joint life insurance always the best option for couples?
No. Some couples prefer a single joint policy because it can be simple and may suit a specific shared need such as protecting a mortgage. Others prefer two individual policies because each person retains their own cover.
With two single policies, one policy can pay following the first person's death while the surviving person's policy remains in place. That can be particularly relevant where children are still dependent on the surviving parent. For couples comparing those structures, our guide to life insurance for couples: joint vs single policies looks at the differences.
Do both parents need life insurance?
The question should not be based simply on which parent earns the most. A lower-earning or non-earning parent can still make a significant financial contribution to the household through childcare and other unpaid responsibilities. If that parent died, the surviving household could face new costs even though it had not technically lost the larger salary.
That is one reason family protection should be considered around the financial impact of each person's death rather than assumptions about men, women or traditional household roles.
Our family life insurance hub looks at these wider protection questions.
Does the amount of cover differ between men and women?
There is no reason that it should differ simply because of sex. The amount of insurance required should depend on the financial need. Someone may want cover for a mortgage, children, household income, other debts or a combination of those responsibilities. If one partner earns considerably more, it may make sense for that person to have a different insured amount.
Equally, replacing childcare or unpaid support can create a substantial financial requirement even where one person earns less. The calculation should be based on what the household would lose financially, not whether the person being insured is male or female.
Can existing health conditions affect men and women differently?
The underwriting outcome can differ between individuals because their medical histories differ. What matters is the information relevant to the particular applicant. An insurer considering high blood pressure, for example, may look at recent readings, medication, other cardiovascular risks and how well the condition is controlled. The same principle applies to diabetes and other medical conditions. A diagnosis should therefore not be interpreted in isolation.
Different applicants can receive different outcomes because their medical circumstances are different, even when the condition has the same name.
How can you keep life insurance costs sensible?
The most useful starting point is to buy cover for a genuine financial need rather than simply choosing the largest policy available. The amount of insurance, the policy term and the type of cover can all affect the premium. Age also matters, so somebody who already has a clear protection requirement may find that delaying an application results in a higher premium later.
But that does not mean everybody should buy life insurance as young as possible simply because it is cheaper. The financial need should come first. Accurate disclosure is also important. Giving incomplete information about health, smoking or lifestyle in an attempt to reduce the premium can create significant problems later.
Why this matters for families
Life insurance is ultimately about financial consequences. If one parent or partner dies, the surviving household may still face a mortgage, childcare costs and everyday living expenses. Those financial problems exist regardless of whether the person who died was male or female.
The useful questions are therefore:
Who relies on this person's financial or practical contribution?
What would it cost to replace that contribution?
How much protection is already available through savings, workplace benefits or existing insurance?
Those questions provide a much stronger basis for choosing life insurance than making assumptions based on sex.
The bottom line
For new UK life insurance policies, men and women should not receive different premiums simply because of their sex. The insurance exception that previously allowed sex-based differences for relevant new contracts was removed from 21 December 2012.
That does not mean everybody pays the same price. Life insurance premiums can still vary according to factors such as age, health, medical history, smoking, lifestyle, occupation and the amount and duration of cover requested.
So the real distinction is not male versus female.
It is one individual's risk, needs and circumstances compared with another's.
