Life insurance FAQs

Frequently asked questions

  • Anyone who has taken out a protection plan with Scottish Widows will already understand how important protection can be. It provides financial support for your family if you die or if you become ill. It’s also important to understand that your protection needs will change through different stages of your life and that’s why we’ve made our protection plans flexible so as your own needs change, you can apply to adapt your Plan.

    It’s really important and beneficial to review your protection plans from time to time to make sure they still fully meet your individual protection needs.

  • If you want to increase your cover, please call us and we can discuss the next steps depending on your contract type.

    For ‘Protection for Life’ policies, please call us.

    For ‘My Life Insurance’ policies, please note that existing policies cannot be amended. If you require extra cover this can be applied for through your Internet Banking, but is subject to a £500,000 maximum across all policies.

    For ‘Scottish Widows Protect’ policies we’d always suggest you speak to your financial adviser before making any changes to your cover. Your adviser will probably make the changes on your behalf. However, if you prefer to speak to us directly, please call us and we can discuss the next steps.

    For any other protection policies, please call us.

  • Please call us.

  • Visit our claims section.

  • To update your address, we will need a signed letter from you, quoting your Scottish Widows policy number along with your new address. Or, please contact us to discuss further.

  • If you want to cancel your ‘Protection for Life’ policy, please just call us. We can then confirm next steps depending on your contract type.

    For queries relating to ‘My Life Insurance’ policies, please call us on: 0800 849 6089* (Open 9am to 5.30pm weekdays, closed Sat/Sun).

    For ‘Scottish Widows Protect’ policies, we would always suggest you speak to your financial adviser before making a decision to cancel your policy. However, if you would like to speak to us directly please call us.

  • If you want to reduce your ‘Protection for Life’ cover, please call us. We can then discuss next steps depending on your contract type.

    Unfortunately it’s not possible to reduce the cover on ‘My Life Insurance’ policies, the policy can only be cancelled. Please call us on 0800 849 6089* (Open 9am to 5.30pm weekdays, closed Sat/Sun).

    For ‘Scottish Widows Protect’ policies, we would always suggest you speak to your financial adviser before making a decision to reduce your cover. However, if you would like to speak to us directly please call us.

    For any other protection policies, please call us.

  • If you can’t afford your ‘Protection for Life’ premium, please call us. We can then discuss next steps depending on your contract type.

    For queries relating to ‘My Life Insurance’ policies, please call us on: 0800 849 6089* (Open 9am to 5.30pm weekdays, closed Sat/Sun).

    For ‘Scottish Widows Protect’ policies, we would always suggest you speak to your financial adviser first. However, if you would like to speak to us directly please call us.

    For any other protection policies, please call us.

  • If no additional trustees are appointed this can cause complications if a claim is made as there may be no surviving trustee to ensure the terms of the trust are carried out. This would cause delays in payments being made to the beneficiaries who will likely need the policy proceeds as soon as possible, to provide them with the financial stability that the protection policy was designed to give.

    Where there are no surviving trustees to administer the trust this will mean:

    • If the last surviving trustee left a Will, probate/confirmation would need to be obtained by the executor(s) who can then undertake the role of trustee or alternatively appoint new trustees to administer the trust. The policy proceeds can then be released to the executor/trustees who in turn can distribute funds to any beneficiaries.
    • If there’s no Will, a Grant of Representation would need to be obtained and legal personal representatives would need to be appointed who can then undertake the role of trustee or alternatively appoint new trustees to administer the trust. This would be an even longer process and not a good experience for the people affected, which will likely be dependants who will need access to funds in the short term.

    Also, if your trust is set up to allow for trust proceeds to be paid to a wide range of beneficiaries at the discretion of the trustee(s) and according to circumstances, at least two trustees would normally be required to allow the policy proceeds to be distributed to the intended beneficiaries. There would be a delay in payment until the trust period expires or a new trustee is appointed.

  • Having no additional trustees can also cause problems if a sole trustee becomes incapable of acting during his or her lifetime (by reason of a mental incapacity). It’ll then become impossible to administer the trust without the intervention of the court.

  • It’s easy to appoint additional trustees, you just need to print off and send us the completed Deed of Appointment of additional trustees form (PDF, 607KB) to allow the additional trustees to be added and ensure that there are no unnecessary complications if a claim occurs. Remember that your trustee needs to sign the form and it includes details of their duties and responsibilities.

    There are notes in the left hand margin explaining what’s required to help you complete the form. If you’ve any queries about how to complete this deed, please contact your Financial Adviser or your legal adviser.