Life Insurance Without a Medical: How Much Cover Can You Get? (2026 Guide)
Contents
Most applicants are not automatically asked for medical evidence. Under age 30, all five UK insurers reviewed for this guide will consider up to £1 million of life cover with no automatic medical evidence based on age and cover amount alone. The amount falls as you get older, and by 75 it can be as low as £25,000 at one insurer and £100,000 at another.
No medical doesn't mean no questions. You still answer a health questionnaire, and your answers are what actually decide the outcome. What these limits control is whether the insurer automatically asks for a GP report, a nurse visit, a blood test or a doctor's examination on top.
If you are considering more than £1 million, the companion guide to high value life insurance explains the additional medical and financial evidence that may be requested.
Contents
- Do you need a medical for life insurance?
- How much cover can you get without a medical?
- Compared: five UK insurers by age
- Why the same age gives different answers
- What the insurer might ask for instead
- What triggers each type of evidence?
- Will they test you for smoking?
- Critical illness cover has much lower limits
- Income protection works differently
- Does no medical mean you're covered whatever your health?
- How to avoid a medical if you can
- How Eleos can help
Do you need a medical for life insurance?
Often not automatically, especially at younger ages and common cover amounts.
UK insurers publish what they call non-medical limits or medical evidence limits. These are grids setting out, for each age band and amount of cover, what evidence the insurer will automatically request. Below the line, the amount alone does not trigger evidence. Above it, the published grid calls for one or more checks.
Two things follow, and they surprise most people.
The limits are high. A 32-year-old applying for £500,000 sits below every threshold reviewed here, so the amount and age alone would not automatically trigger a nurse screening.
Nothing is guaranteed by the grid. These limits govern what is requested automatically. If your answers to the health questions raise something, an insurer can ask for a GP report at any amount, including well below the published limit. The grid is a floor for routine cases, not a ceiling on underwriting.
An insurer may also select an application for a routine information check. One reviewed guide says a randomly selected GP report does not imply that there is a concern with the application.
How much cover can you get without a medical?
Here is the pattern across the five insurers, using the most generous and least generous published figure at each age.
Life cover with no automatic medical evidence
Under 30 ████████████████████████████████████████ £1,000,000 (all five agree)
30-34 ██████████████████████████████████ £825,000 – £1,000,000
35-39 ██████████████████████████████ £750,000 – £900,000
40-44 ██████████████████████ £550,000 – £600,000
45-49 ███████████████████ £450,000 – £550,000
50-54 ██████████████ £300,000 – £400,000
55-59 ███████████ £250,000 – £300,000
60-64 ██████ £100,000 – £150,000
65-69 ████ £50,000 – £100,000
70-74 ███ £25,000 – £100,000
75+ ██ £25,000 – £100,000
Two things stand out.
Every insurer reviewed lands on exactly £1 million for the youngest band. Complete agreement.
Then they diverge, and the gap widens with age. At 50–54 the spread is £100,000. By 70 and above, one insurer's threshold is four times another's.
Compared: five UK insurers by age
Largest amount of life cover with no automatic medical evidence, from each insurer's published adviser documentation.
| Age | Aviva | Legal & General | Royal London | Scottish Widows | Zurich |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 30 | £1,000,000 | £1,000,000 | £1,000,000 | £1,000,000 | £1,000,000 |
| 30–34 | £825,000 | £1,000,000 | £900,000 | £1,000,000 | £1,000,000 |
| 35–39 | £750,000 | £900,000 | £800,000 | £750,000 | £750,000 |
| 40–44 | £550,000 | £600,000 | £600,000 | £550,000 | £550,000 |
| 45–49 | £500,000 | £550,000 | £500,000 | £450,000 | £500,000 |
| 50–54 | £300,000 | £400,000 | £400,000 | £350,000 | £300,000 |
| 55–59 | £300,000 | £300,000 | £250,000 | £250,000 | £300,000 |
| 60–64 | £150,000 | £150,000 | £100,000 | £150,000 | £100,000 |
| 65–69 | £100,000 | £100,000 | £100,000 | £100,000 | £50,000 |
| 70–74 | £100,000 | £75,000 | £50,000 | £100,000 | £25,000 |
| 75+ | £50,000 | £25,000 | £25,000 | £100,000 | £25,000 |
Important. These figures come from publicly available adviser documentation and are indicative, not binding. They show what each insurer says it requests automatically in routine cases. They are not an offer, a price or a guarantee of cover, and any insurer can request more evidence based on your answers. Figures are current as of August 2026 and change without notice.
Reading the table. Scottish Widows is the most generous at older ages, holding £100,000 from age 66 upward, where Zurich drops to £25,000 from 70. At 30–34, Legal & General, Scottish Widows and Zurich all stay at £1 million while Aviva has already stepped down to £825,000.
None of this makes one insurer better than another. It shows that the automatic evidence threshold depends on your age, the amount and the insurer. The eventual underwriting decision depends on the whole application.
Why the same age gives different answers
Part of the spread is genuine underwriting appetite. Part of it is more basic: the insurers don't measure your age in the same way.
| Insurer | How age is measured |
|---|---|
| Aviva | Current age at the time of application |
| Zurich | Age attained |
| Royal London | Current age attained |
| Legal & General | Age next birthday |
| Scottish Widows | Age next birthday |
You are 39 years old today
Aviva, Zurich, Royal London → 35-39 band
Legal & General, Scottish Widows → 40+ band ◄ one year older on paper
So a 39-year-old is in the 35–39 band at three insurers and the 40-plus band at the other two. Comparing published bands without knowing this can give you the wrong result.
The practical effect. If you are close to a birthday that crosses a band, the application date can change which automatic evidence threshold applies. Check the insurer's age basis before making a decision about timing.
Policy design can matter too. One reviewed insurer publishes higher no-evidence limits for joint life cover that pays on the second death than for single life or joint cover that pays on the first death. For applicants aged 29 and under, its figures are £1.375 million and £1 million respectively. This is product-specific, so compare the correct type of cover rather than assuming every joint policy uses the same threshold.
What the insurer might ask for instead
If you go over a threshold, the request is usually far less onerous than "a medical" implies.
| Evidence | What actually happens |
|---|---|
| GP report | With your consent, the insurer asks your GP for relevant medical information. Waiting for the surgery to respond can add time to an application. |
| Nurse screening | A nurse may visit you or you may attend a clinic. The screening can include height, weight, blood pressure and samples. |
| Blood profile | A blood sample, usually taken at the nurse appointment rather than as a separate trip. |
| Doctor's examination | A fuller examination by a doctor. Requested at the highest amounts, or at older ages. |
| Exercise ECG | A heart trace taken during exercise. Reserved for very large sums assured. |
When an insurer requests medical evidence, it will normally arrange and pay for the required check. Confirm the process before arranging any test yourself.
The one to plan around is the GP report. It depends partly on how quickly your surgery responds, which is outside the insurer's control. Remember that staying below the automatic threshold does not prevent a GP report being requested because of an answer or a routine information check.
What triggers each type of evidence?
Roughly, in the order they appear as the sum assured rises:
£0 £10m+
├──────────┬─────────┬──────────┬─────────┬────────┬──────────┤
Nothing GP Nurse Blood Doctor HIV, Individual
report screen profile exam cardiac consideration
tests,
financial
evidence
The exact sequence and figures depend on age and insurer. Common milestones in the reviewed documentation include:
- HIV testing enters at £1,500,001 in three reviewed insurers' grids
- NT-proBNP, a blood test for heart problems, appears from around £1,000,001 at older ages
- Financial questionnaires enter at £2,000,001 at one insurer
- Exercise ECG appears between £2,500,001 and £3,000,001 depending on age
- Third-party verification of your finances enters at £3,500,001 at one insurer
- One insurer moves applications above £10 million to individual consideration, while another says cover above that amount may need additional evidence
At older ages the sequence can shift down substantially. In one critical illness grid, a doctor's examination appears from just over £80,000 at age 70-plus. Life-cover thresholds are different, so always check the grid for the benefit you are applying for.
Will they test you for smoking?
Yes, and this is worth knowing before you answer the question.
Every insurer reviewed adds a cotinine test to nurse and doctor examinations for declared non-smokers. Cotinine is what your body makes from nicotine. Zurich states it applies to non-smokers and ex-smokers. Scottish Widows and Royal London say the same in different words.
Two practical points:
It only happens if you're examined. Below the non-medical limits, there is no test because there is no appointment. But you have still declared your smoking status on the application, and that declaration stands.
Check the insurer's definition. Nicotine rules vary. For example, the Eleos term life definition includes vaping and nicotine-replacement products and looks back over the previous 12 months. Answer the wording on your own application rather than relying on a general label such as "non-smoker".
Answering inaccurately is not a clever shortcut. A misstatement can mean a claim is not paid, or the policy is amended or cancelled: which is exactly what the application warns.
Critical illness cover has much lower limits
If you're adding critical illness, expect evidence far sooner. The thresholds are roughly half those for life cover at the same age.
| Age | Life cover, no evidence | Critical illness, no evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Under 30 | £1,000,000 | £500,000 |
| 35–39 | £800,000 | £500,000 |
| 40–44 | £600,000 | £350,000 |
| 45–49 | £500,000 | £300,000 |
| 50–54 | £400,000 | £150,000 |
| 55–59 | £250,000 | £100,000 |
| 60–64 | £100,000 | £50,000 |
One insurer's published figures, shown to illustrate the relationship. Others differ in detail but follow the same shape.
Critical illness covers a different event from life insurance and has its own underwriting limits. In the reviewed grids, evidence generally begins at lower amounts. At older ages, prostate testing for men can also appear earlier in the critical illness grid than in the life-cover grid.
Income protection works differently
Income protection isn't assessed on a lump sum, because there isn't one. It's assessed on your annual income, and the amount you can cover without evidence falls steeply with age.
| Age | Annual income with no automatic evidence |
|---|---|
| 39 and under | £75,000 |
| 40–44 | £40,000 |
| 45–49 | £30,000 |
| 50–54 | £18,500 |
| 55+ | £15,500 |
One insurer's published limits. Its maximum income protection benefit is £250,000 a year.
A 52-year-old earning £40,000 is over this income protection threshold, while the same person's age and a life-cover amount of several hundred thousand pounds may not automatically trigger evidence.
Does no medical mean you're covered whatever your health?
No, and this is the most important paragraph in this guide.
Avoiding a medical is not the same as avoiding underwriting. You still complete a full health questionnaire. Your answers are assessed, and they can lead to a higher price, an exclusion, a postponement or a decline: with or without an examination.
What "no medical" removes is the automatic evidence gathering, not the assessment.
There are three ways an application gets scrutinised regardless of the limits:
- Your answers. Declare a condition and the insurer may request a GP report at any sum assured.
- Your build. Height and weight are common application questions. One insurer's published table can apply a rating from BMI 31 and declines at BMI 46 and above, depending on age, without an examination being needed to use the table.
- At claim. Insurers can check the accuracy of what you told them. This is why answering fully matters more than answering favourably.
Products that genuinely ask no health questions may be available, but they are different from standard underwritten term life insurance. Their benefits, limits, exclusions and claim terms need to be compared separately.
How to avoid a medical if you can
1. Check which side of a band your age falls on. Two insurers use age next birthday. If you're close to a birthday, the timing of your application can matter.
2. Consider the amount you actually need. If £550,000 triggers evidence and £500,000 doesn't, it's worth knowing before you apply rather than after.
3. Do not split cover simply to avoid evidence. Insurers may assess your total cover in force and applied for across providers. Two smaller applications are not a reliable shortcut around the underwriting requirements.
4. Apply to an insurer whose limits suit your age. The differences at 50-plus are large, and they are published.
5. Answer everything accurately anyway. A fast application that gets a claim declined is worth nothing.
6. Do not delay solely to avoid a check. Evidence limits generally fall across the published age bands, while your health and need for cover can also change. Weigh the purpose of the cover as well as the convenience of the application.
How Eleos can help
Non-medical limits are useful, but they are only one part of choosing suitable cover.
Eleos offers an online term life quote journey. The amounts and terms actually available to you are the options shown during your quote, and an application may still require further underwriting.
If you want a higher amount, a longer term, whole-of-life cover or help comparing other insurers, Eleos also has advisers who can discuss your needs and look for suitable options across the market. That is especially useful when age, health or the amount of cover may trigger additional evidence.
Start an online term life quote or message the adviser team on WhatsApp if you would rather talk through the options first.
The five insurers compared in this guide provide market context. They are not presented as the insurers behind Eleos's online term life product.
This guide is based on publicly available underwriting documentation published by UK insurers for financial advisers, current as of August 2026. The figures are indicative and not binding: they describe what insurers say they request automatically in routine cases, and each insurer decides every application on its own merits. Nothing here is an offer of cover, a quotation, or financial advice. Limits change without notice. Eleos Life is authorised and regulated in the UK.
Fact-checked and reviewed by Kiruba Shankar Eswaran or another licensed agent on our team. Read our editorial standards.
This guide is for general educational purposes and is not financial advice. Cover, eligibility and terms vary by insurer and by policy. Always read the policy documents for the full terms, limitations and exclusions before you buy.
