Frequently asked questions

If you’re struggling to make your life insurance payments due to the impact of coronavirus on your livelihood, please get in touch – we’re here to help.

Don’t wait until you miss a payment and please don’t cancel your Direct Debit (it could result in you being left uninsured). Instead, speak to our team of specialists. They’ll chat to you about your individual circumstances and will do what they can to help. For instance, we may be able to move your payment dates or defer payments in the short term.

Our customer telephone lines are open as normal, you can access your account online by signing in, and we are also available by email and webchat. We’re monitoring the situation closely and will update our website if there are any changes to our services.

Yes, in the unfortunate event a Virgin Money Life Insurance customer dies from coronavirus, it would be covered under our Life Insurance policy. If you need to make a claim, please visit our making a claim page.

Unfortunately, coronavirus is not a listed condition specified within the terms and conditions of our critical illness product. You can find out more about what is covered with our critical illness cover.

We will assess each applicant on an individual basis, our decision will be based on the answers you provide in your application. A range of scenarios relating to coronavirus will be considered and may impact the outcome of your application.

Yes, you can re-apply one month after your symptoms have stopped or you’ve made a full recovery, you will be required to complete a new application including the coronavirus questions.

If you have tested positive for coronavirus, our decision will be based on the answers you provide in your application and may result in a longer postponement period. Unfortunately, in some cases we may be unable to offer cover due to requiring medical evidence at this time.

If you have any queries, please feel free to contact us.

Yes, Life Insurance is available to health professionals who can confirm that the only contact with someone who has been diagnosed with, or suspected of having coronavirus is because of your work as a health professional – this applies to anyone employed by a recognised health provider.

If you have tested positive for coronavirus, our decision will be based on the answers you provide in your application and may result in a longer postponement period. Unfortunately, in some cases we may be unable to offer cover due to requiring medical evidence at this time.

If you have any queries, please feel free to contact us.

Life insurance is available to anyone aged between 18 and 64 with a maximum end age of 80 subject to our acceptance criteria. The length of cover can be set between 5 and 40 years depending on your age.

Life insurance with Additional Critical Illness Cover is also available to anyone aged between 18 and 64 with a maximum end age of 80.

All applicants must be a permanent resident of the United Kingdom (excluding the Channel Islands and Isle of Man).

Yes. You can apply for one plan that protects you and another person for example you and your spouse or someone you share a financial commitment with. The cash sum is payable on the first death.

A joint life policy is available with either Level or Decreasing Cover.

Yes, this is where two people are covered by a single policy. If a claim is paid for a critical illness, the cover will cease and no further critical illness claims will be paid.

If you include Additional Critical Illness Cover a cash sum is payable if you’re diagnosed with a critical illness as defined in our policy. The sum assured is a fixed amount which won’t decrease over time. That part of your policy ends but the life element continues until the first death.

If you take your policy through a comparison website where your life cover and critical illness policy are combined this means there is only one payout. You can only make one claim, so if a claim is made upon diagnosis of a critical illness then your entire critical illness and life insurance policy will cease; a claim can therefore be made in either instance of death or diagnosis of a critical illness.

We only cover the critical illnesses we define in our policy. You can view the list of conditions insured by our Critical Illness Cover in the Policy SummaryContent opens in new window.

Our cover is not directly linked to your mortgage, as a claim cannot be guaranteed to cover the amount of debt. However we have a Decreasing Cover option that pays out a decreasing amount over time – similar to the way a repayment mortgage balance reduces.

If you have an interest-only mortgage, your mortgage amount stays the same until you repay it all at the end of the mortgage term. Level Cover could therefore be an option for this type of mortgage.

Please remember Decreasing and Level Term types of insurance only pay out in the event of death or terminal illness. It is your responsibility to have an appropriate repayment strategy in place to pay off the capital at the end of the mortgage term.

Terminal illness doesn't pay out if you're in the last 12 months of your policy.

Everyone's needs will be different, and there is no right or wrong answer to this. Some people will have no dependants and feel they need very little or no cover – other people may have dependants and need cover to maintain their family’s lifestyle – and some will set the level of cover to premiums they can reasonably afford.

Here are some things to consider:

• How much your family would need to support themselves without your salary.
• The size and term of your mortgage.
• Any other outstanding debts.
• How much cover you already have.

If you are unsure about the amount of cover you need or type you may want to seek independent financial advice.

The maximum sum we offer is £750,000. However, the amount you can cover will vary depending on your age and circumstances.

This is up to you. People often take out insurance until the date they intend to retire, their mortgage is paid off, or their children grow up and leave home.

Working back from an important date is one way of deciding how many years of insurance you need. If you are unsure on how long you should get cover for you may want to seek independent financial advice.

No. Once your cover has started your monthly payments will stay the same for the full term.

Writing a policy in Trust makes it potentially exempt from Inheritance Tax. When you die, if the value of the things you own (your estate) is over the tax inheritance threshold limits applicable to your circumstances, you will be liable for inheritance tax at 40% on everything above these amounts. Your estate is all your assets, including any life insurance payment.

Writing the policy in Trust means life insurance payments may not be considered part of your estate and incur any inheritance tax.

There are two important benefits of putting your policy in Trust:

• No Inheritance Tax
  When you die, if the value of the things you own (your estate) is over tax inheritance threshold limits applicable to your circumstances, you will be liable for inheritance tax at 40% on everything above these amounts. Your estate is all your assets, including any life insurance payment.
  
  Writing the policy in Trust means life insurance payments may not be considered part of your estate and do not incur any inheritance tax.
• The payment to your loved one will be quicker
  If you don’t leave a policy in Trust, it’s included as part of all the things you own when you die (your estate) and goes through the legal procedure for distributing your assets (probate). Probate can take a long time, especially if you do not have a Will and have a complex estate. This would delay the life insurance payment.
  
  If your life insurance is written in Trust, your loved ones (the beneficiaries) can get access to your money more quickly compared to when not written in Trust.

If you’d like to put your policy in Trust, you can use our free online Trust tool. Once your policy is set up sign in to your Online Account to access the Trust tool.

The information provided above is based on current tax rules.

If your policy isn’t written in Trust, the proceeds may form part of your estate on death, and inheritance tax could be payable. If you’re concerned about inheritance tax, you might want to discuss this with a tax expert.

Yes, we have partnered with Will writing specialists to provide every new customer the opportunity to use our free Will service.

A Will is a legal document which deals with your estate and details how you would like to distribute your assets, such as what or how much you would like to leave each individual. It can also set out any wishes you would like carried out after you die.

There are both simple and complex Wills. A simple Will is a Will that disposes of the customer’s estate to a maximum of six beneficiaries without the use of trusts or tax planning. A complex Will builds on a simple Will but with more complexity, often involving the use of trusts and a more intricate distribution of assets.

It’s important to remember that if you don’t leave behind a Will, your assets will be settled according to the law of intestacy and not according to you or your family’s wishes.

Life Insurance Terms and conditions apply Content opens in new window. Get in touch when your policy is set up and we will help you arrange this.

The number to call is 0800 294 7576 to talk through making a claim.

We're here from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm Saturdays.

Of course - just call 0800 294 7575. There is no cash value if you cancel your policy at any time.

We're here from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm Saturdays.

If we can’t give you a quote immediately, we always aim to get back in touch within two working days. We will then either provide an initial decision to offer you cover, or ask some further questions to help us make a decision.

If we are unable to give you a decision within two working days we promise to keep you regularly updated.

While you are waiting for a decision, you are covered by our free £100,000 Accidental Death Benefit.

Read more about Accidental Death Benefit