About LV=
LV= (Liverpool Victoria) is a mutual protection, savings and retirement provider, founded in 1843. It has 1.28 million customers – 1.25 million of which are members. LV=’s mission has always been the same: ‘to help people live more confident lives’. As of January 2020, LV= moved away from its friendly society status to become a company limited by guarantee.
LV= life insurance policy features
If you buy life insurance through LV=, your policy is likely to come with the following features:
Guaranteed premiums | The amount you pay every month in life insurance premiums is guaranteed to stay the same for as long as you hold the policy. |
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Guaranteed insurability | This means you’d have the opportunity to increase your life insurance cover after certain life changes. In an LV= policy, this includes: getting married or entering a civil partnership; becoming a parent; getting a significant pay rise; increasing your rent; and taking out a new mortgage or increasing your mortgage. |
Payment delay | You’ll be able to delay the payment of your monthly life insurance premiums beyond your usual pay date – giving you a little extra flexibility, if needed. |
Reinstatement | If you accidentally miss a monthly insurance payment and your life insurance policy gets cancelled, you can reinstate it without having to apply again – as long as you do so within a set period of time. This is a good thing because it means you won’t have to go through medical underwriting again (which could lead to your policy being more expensive). |
Terminal illness benefit | If you fall terminally ill while you hold an LV= life insurance policy – in other words, a doctor has said you have 12 months or less to live – you can claim the lump sum early, on diagnosis. |
Waiver of premium | Most life insurance policies come with this handy add-on that means you won't be required to pay your monthly premiums if you're off work for medical reasons. You usually need to be off for a certain amount of time before you can claim this benefit. |
LV= life insurance extra benefits
LV= life insurance policies also come with extra benefits, outlined below. These features are ‘non-contractual’, meaning they’re not related to the contractual conditions of your own policy, and can be provided by a third party. Everyone is eligible for them – though they’re usually only made available if you buy your LV= policy through an adviser.
Doctor services by Square Health | This benefit gives you access to a number of expert medical services using the latest technology. This includes: up to five GP video consultations per year; private prescriptions; a second medical opinion; video consultations and bespoke treatment plans with a trained physiotherapist; up to five counselling or CBT sessions via video consultation; and 25% off health MOTs. |
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LV= Member Care helpline | This helpline gives you unlimited access to a team of medical professionals for health advice and counselling services; and to qualified solicitors and legal executives for legal advice. |
LV= life insurance claim rates
In 2018, LV= paid out 94.6% of life insurance claims. The 5.4% of claims not paid out were due to misrepresentation (i.e. the customer not providing accurate information about themselves when they took out the policy). Please note: this claim rate includes the LV= Lifetime+ product which is no longer available.
In the same year, LV= paid out 89.1% of life insurance claims made via the terminal illness benefit – a feature which allows the lump sum to be paid out early if you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness (i.e. a doctor says you have 12 months or less to live). 3.3% of these claims were rejected due to misrepresentation and 7.6% because the claim did not meet the required definition.
LV= life insurance prices
The following prices are based on:
- Healthy 25-year old male or female
- £150,000 of level life insurance cover
Term | Non-smoker | Smoker |
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10 years | £8 | £9.70 |
20 years | £8 | £9.70 |
30 years | £8 | £10.80 |
- Healthy 25-year old male or female
- £250,000 of level life insurance cover
Term | Non-smoker | Smoker |
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10 years | £9.10 | £14.40 |
20 years | £9.10 | £14.40 |
30 years | £10.30 | £16.40 |
- Healthy 35-year old male or female
- £150,000 of level life insurance cover
Term | Non-smoker | Smoker |
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10 years | £8.10 | £13.20 |
20 years | £8.70 | £17 |
30 years | £11.20 | £23.30 |
- Healthy 35-year old male or female
- £250,000 of level life insurance cover
Term | Non-smoker | Smoker |
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10 years | £12 | £20 |
20 years | £13.10 | £25.80 |
30 years | £16.90 | £36.90 |
Quoted on 14/02/2020
LV= critical illness cover
As well as life insurance, LV= offers critical illness insurance policies (see our review of LV= critical illness cover). As with life insurance, LV='s critical illness policies come with two extra benefits: Square Health doctor services and the LV= member's helpline. Both of these give you access to a range of expert health services.