Understand UK insurance before you buy it.
My Insurance Expert is an independent, data-led research hub for UK personal insurance. We don’t sell policies — we explain, in plain English, what each type of cover actually pays out, who it suits, and what really drives the price, so you can compare with confidence.
Five questions, five types of UK insurance
Most personal insurance answers one question: what happens to my money if something goes wrong? The table below maps the main UK lines to the risk each one covers. We go deepest on the protection lines — life, income protection and private health — because they are the ones most UK households under-insure, and the ones where getting the detail right matters most.
| Cover | What it pays | Who it’s typically for |
|---|---|---|
| Life insurance | A tax-free lump sum to your family if you die during the policy term | Anyone with a mortgage, children or dependants |
| Income protection | A regular monthly income if illness or injury stops you working | Employed and self-employed people who rely on their earnings |
| Private health (PMI) | Faster private diagnosis and treatment, outside NHS waiting lists | People who want quicker access to consultants and treatment |
| Home insurance | Repair or rebuild costs for your buildings and the contents inside | Homeowners (buildings) and renters (contents) |
| Travel insurance | Medical, cancellation and baggage costs when you travel | Anyone travelling, especially outside the UK or with conditions |
Indicative summary for orientation only — exact cover, exclusions and pricing depend on the policy and provider. Always read the policy documents in full.
The UK protection gap
Insurers and reinsurers have tracked the same problem for years: millions of UK households would face serious financial difficulty within months if the main earner died or could no longer work, yet relatively few hold income protection or adequate life cover. The reasons are familiar — people assume cover is expensive, assume the state or an employer will fill the gap, or simply never get round to it.
The reality is often the opposite of the assumption. For a healthy non-smoker, level term life cover can start from just a few pounds a month, and income protection is usually priced from a small percentage of the income it protects. The expensive mistake is not the premium — it’s buying the wrong type or amount of cover, or having none at all. That is exactly what our research is built to help you avoid.
Research first, then compare
- Life insurance — term vs whole-of-life, how much cover you need, what affects the price, and cover for over-50s, smokers and specific health conditions.
- Income protection — how the monthly benefit works, deferred periods, short-term vs full-term cover, and options for the self-employed.
- Private medical insurance — what PMI covers, underwriting choices, excesses, and how to keep premiums down.
- Home insurance — buildings vs contents, how rebuild cost is calculated, and what pushes premiums up.
- Guides — plain-English answers to the questions UK households actually search before they buy.
- 2026 Cost Index — our reference data on what UK cover typically costs, built to be citable.
Every page is independent and information-only. When you’re ready to get prices, we’ll point you to FCA-authorised brokers and comparison partners and tell you plainly where we earn a fee.
Insurance basics, answered
About our research
My Insurance Expert compiles information from UK industry and regulatory sources, including the Association of British Insurers (ABI), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), gov.uk and published insurer data. Content is written for clarity, reviewed for accuracy by our editorial team, and updated regularly. Figures described as indicative are for orientation and are not quotes.
Information only — not financial advice. Last updated: 2026-06-13