Choosing a group life insurance provider for your team? Compare eight of the UK's best on cover, free cover limits, added-value benefits, and who each one is best for.
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The right provider depends on your team size, your highest earners, and what you want bundled alongside the core cover. Legal & General leads on FCL. Aviva on wellbeing. Unum on salary multiple. For smaller teams from two employees, Canada Life is the natural starting point. See a snapshot of our full shortlist and what we think of each one:
Most group life insurance providers offer the same core product: a lump sum, a salary multiple, and a trust arrangement. The differences that matter come down to the free cover limit, the minimum scheme size, the added-value services bundled in, and how the renewal process works in practice. For a scaling company, they shape what managing the policy looks like as your headcount grows.
Use the comparison table for an at-a-glance view, or read on for the full breakdown.
As an FCA-regulator broker that places and manages group life cover for scaling companies across the UK, we know which providers suit a team that's constantly growing. Three years in, we've retained almost every customer we've ever signed.
Once you've found a provider that fits, the closing section covers how to broker and manage the policy through Kota, without the broker back and forth or manual admin that typically falls on your team after it's placed.
Here's how each of the eight providers breaks down, from cover structure and free cover limit through to the added-value services your people can use.
Legal & General is one of the UK's largest group life providers, covering almost 2 million employees across almost 8,700 policies as at the end of 2024. L&G places no ceiling on the salary multiple itself, with a total maximum benefit of £10 million per employee.
Any salary multiple, up to a £10 million maximum benefit per employee. Their published free cover limit is £1.8 million.
Employee assistance programme (Spark) via Spectrum.Life, a Wellbeing Advisory Board, bereavement counselling for your employees' families, and a care concierge service for employees managing the care of elderly relatives.
Minimum of 3 employees. Your employees are accepted automatically up to the £1.8 million free cover limit; individual medical underwriting applies above it.
Companies of 3 or more employees, particularly those with higher earners who benefit from a generous, published free cover limit.
Aviva is a large group protection provider, covering more than 2.7 million people across 12,169 policies. In 2024, they paid out over £380 million in group life claims, with an average settlement time of 2.96 days. Their capacity in this space grew further following their acquisition of AIG Life in April 2025, subsequently rebranded as Aviva Protection UK Limited.
Aviva offers flexible benefit structures. Cover multiples are agreed at setup rather than capped at a published figure. The same applies to the free cover limit, which Aviva sets based on scheme size.
Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace (via Square Health) gives your employees access to physical and mental health services through a single app. An EAP is included, provided by HealthHero. Other bundled services include Red Apple Law legal support, cancer care guidance, a mental health line manager toolkit, childhood bereavement support, and fitness club discounts.
Minimum 3 employees. Both registered and excepted policies are available. Aviva's Master Trust is managed by Zedra Governance Ltd at no extra charge.
Employers of 3 or more employees who want a large, established provider with a strong claims record.
Canada Life offers group life insurance through both a standard advised route and CLASS, their online platform for quoting, setup, and renewal. Cover can be structured as a multiple of salary, a fixed amount, or a combination of both, with different benefit levels for different employee groups.
Via CLASS, cover multiples are capped at 8x salary. The standard advised route supports different structures and is not subject to the same caps. Canada Life’s free cover limit for CLASS policies is a minimum of £550,000 and a maximum of £1.25 million per employee.
WeCare gives your insured employees 24/7 access to a UK-based online GP, mental health helpline and counselling, and a fitness programme. myStrength is a separate mental wellbeing app with evidence-based tools for meditation, sleep and everyday stress. Bereavement counselling (24/7 helpline) and a probate helpline are also included.
Minimum 2 employees via CLASS; 5 for the standard route. Canada Life's Registered Master Trust and Excepted Solution are available for online policies.
Employers with two employees upwards, particularly if you want a straightforward online setup and renewal process. The redundancy cover option may also appeal if your headcount fluctuates.
Zurich's group life product has one of the more distinctive underwriting terms on this list. For schemes of 50 or more members, once cover is accepted, Zurich will not make further medical enquiries until a member's benefit exceeds £5 million. Claims are typically processed within 48 hours. Zurich can usually verify a UK-registered death online, meaning the original death certificate is rarely required.
Lump sum as a multiple of salary or a fixed amount, for employees aged 16 to 74. Redundancy and early retirement cover are both available as optional extras. Zurich offers an automatic acceptance limit below which individual underwriting is not required, though they do not publish the specific threshold.
With Zurich, your employees and their dependants get access to a virtual GP, physiotherapy, and dietitian service. Zurich also offers a Second Medical Opinion service, Precision CancerCare, eldercare support, bereavement and probate support, and a suicide prevention toolkit.
The Zurich Registered Group Life Master Trust and Excepted Group Life Trust Solution (with Zedra Governance as trustee) are both available.
A good fit if you want thorough wellbeing support alongside life cover. The forward underwriting feature makes it particularly efficient for your scheme once you reach 50 or more members.
Unum's group life product lets you set cover multiples up to 12x annual salary (higher than most providers on this list) or as a fixed lump sum. Alongside standard Registered and Excepted Group Life policies, Unum also offers Simplicity Life, a stripped-back registered product for employers setting up group life for the first time.
You can set cover up to 12x annual salary, or opt for a fixed sum. Minimum 3 employees, up to 250 via UnumOnline. Unum does not publish a specific free cover limit.
Your insured employees get access to remote GPs, mental health support, and a full integrated EAP at no extra charge to you. Personal bereavement counselling, cancer support, and manager-facing bereavement workshops are included too.
You can choose a Registered or Excepted policy. Unum's Master Trust (covering both types) uses an independent trustee.
Employers of 3 or more who want a higher salary multiple and a comprehensive digital health platform. If this is your first group life scheme, Simplicity Life is a practical entry-level option.
MetLife brands their group life product as Group Life and Legacy, and the “Legacy” half is what sets them apart. Alongside standard death in service cover, your employees get access to an online will writer, a secure cloud-based digital vault for personal documents, and a dedicated funeral adviser service.
Cover is paid as a multiple of salary. Quotes for schemes of 3 to 499 members can be generated through MetLife's Accelerate online portal. For schemes of 500 or more, quotes are handled directly by MetLife's team. The Flexible Benefits upgrade raises the free cover limit to up to £2 million for schemes of 500 or more lives.
Your employees get 24/7 same-day access to a virtual GP and, where appropriate, private prescription booking. The Wisdom app provides in-the-moment support across mental, physical, and financial wellbeing. Bereavement and probate counselling includes up to six sessions and a 24-hour helpline.
Registered Group Life policies can be placed under the MetLife Master Trust. You complete a Deed of Participation included in the proposal form. For schemes switching providers, the Flexible Benefits product includes a 3-year rate guarantee.
Employers who want group life cover that goes beyond the payout. Particularly if you’re looking to give employees estate planning tools and bereavement support before a loss occurs.
RAM is a specialist group risk provider offering Registered Group Life, Excepted Group Life, and Relevant Life policies in the UK. One distinction you need to note is that RAM does not carry risk as a standalone insurer. It operates as a Lloyd's Coverholder, with 100% of its risks placed through Lloyd's of London syndicates via a binding authority arrangement.
Cover is structured as a multiple of salary or a fixed lump sum. The scheme minimum is 10 employees with no upper limit, and the maximum sum assured is £4 million per member. Eligible ages run from 16 to 74, with cover ceasing at 75. RAM typically offers a two-year rate guarantee.
All insured members and their immediate families get access to Health Assured's Employee Assistance Programme. .
The EAP covers stress and anxiety, bereavement, financial wellbeing, debt, and relationship issues, with up to eight face-to-face counselling sessions per issue per year. Family cover extends to spouses, partners, and children aged 16 to 24 in full-time education living in the same household.
The Wisdom App, also from Health Assured, is available on mobile and desktop and covers mental health tracking, resilience, and everyday wellbeing.
RAM includes a Master Trust for both Registered and Excepted policies. Optional redundancy cover is available for up to 12 months.
RAM does not publish a free cover limit. It is set on a scheme-by-scheme basis and confirmed at the quote stage.
Employers of 10 or more looking for Lloyd's-backed group life cover with an EAP that extends to your people’s immediate families.
Generali's UK employee benefits arm is part of a major European insurance group. Their group life product includes features not commonly found in domestic-focused providers. It includes unlimited cover for your internationally travelling employees.
Both registered and excepted policies are available. Cover multiples and free cover limits are not published on their product page. Their catastrophic event limit (the maximum paid across a single incident affecting multiple employees) is £130 million.
Your employees and their families get 24/7 virtual GP access, Second Medical Opinion, and mental health support through Teladoc Health. Their EAP includes up to six face-to-face or virtual counselling sessions per issue, and the Bereavement and Probate Support Service (in partnership with TELUS Health) adds dedicated bereavement and probate guidance alongside Winston's Wish support for children and young adults.
Medical underwriting is applied once per member, limiting the amount of evidence required over time. Once-only medical underwriting is available for schemes with 20 or more members. Different benefit levels for your different employee groups are supported at no extra charge.
Employers of 20 or more with complex benefit structures or internationally mobile staff. Also for those looking to incorporate UK death in service cover into a wider globally coordinated arrangement.
The core product is the same across every provider on this list. What differs is the detail, and some of that detail matters more than others. Here's what to compare as you shortlist:
For most scaling teams, four of these factors are straightforward to compare. The free cover limit is the one that catches people off guard. It only becomes a problem when your first senior hire joins and needs individual underwriting, often when you least expect it. Confirm it before you compare premiums, not after.
The right provider comes down to which of the five factors matters most to your scheme. Once you know that, the shortlist narrows quickly.
Whichever provider you settle on, you can set up the policy and manage it through Kota. With Kota, you can:
Standard broker commissions are offset against the platform fee. Book a free benefits review to see how Kota handles your group life insurance end to end.
Yes. The terms are just used interchangeably across the UK market. Group life is the term insurers and HR teams tend to use; death in service is how employees are more likely to know it. Both refer to the lump sum paid to an employee's nominated beneficiaries if they die while employed by you.
The free cover limit (FCL) is the level of benefit up to which your employees are automatically accepted onto the policy, without individual medical underwriting. Below the FCL, your employees are accepted automatically with no medical exams or questionnaires. Above it, the insurer may require individual medical underwriting before extending cover. For employers with high earners, a higher FCL means fewer exceptions to manage and a simpler experience for your people.
Premiums are shaped by your workforce's age profile, the cover multiple you choose, your scheme size, and the industry your people work in. There is no single market rate. The same employer can receive meaningfully different quotes from different insurers. A broker will run quotes across providers on your behalf so you can make a like-for-like comparison before committing.
Yes. Writing the policy in trust means the payout goes directly to your employee's nominated beneficiaries without forming part of their estate. That keeps it outside of probate and away from inheritance tax. Most providers on this list include a master trust arrangement at no extra charge, so you don't need to set one up independently. Your broker can confirm which trust structure is appropriate for your scheme at the point of setup.
When someone joins your team, they need to be added to the policy so their cover is active from the right date. When someone leaves, they need to be removed. An ex-employee left on the policy is costly. Most insurers reconcile membership once a year through a renewal sweep. You provide an updated employee list, and the premium is adjusted accordingly. Kota handles this automatically through a direct sync with your HRIS, so every policy updates when your headcount does, removing the need for you to manually notify the insurer every time.
Senior benefits consultant at Kota, bringing 25+ years of experience working in employee insurance benefits.
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