No, not any more. Since 21 December 2012, when the EU Gender Directive took effect and became part of UK law, insurers have been banned from using gender as a pricing factor for new policies. That means a woman and a man of the same age, health, smoker status and cover level are quoted the same premium, so being female no longer earns a discount or a penalty. Before 2012, women often paid less for life insurance because they statistically lived longer, but that’s history. Any difference you see between quotes today comes from age, health, lifestyle, cover amount and term, not sex. As a rough guide, a healthy 30-year-old non-smoker taking £200,000 of 25-year level term cover pays roughly £5 to £12 a month, the same whether they’re a woman or a man. Comparing quotes is still the best way to find a competitive price.

Because pricing is gender-neutral, life insurance for women costs the same as for men with the same profile. As a guide, a healthy 30-year-old non-smoker can expect roughly £5 to £12 a month for £200,000 of 25-year level term cover, and average figures across the market are often quoted around £9 a month for a single policy and £16 for a joint policy, though most households spend somewhat more depending on cover. Your actual price depends on your age, health, whether you smoke, the cover amount and the term, not your gender. Premiums rise the older you are when you take the policy out, so applying while young and healthy secures the lowest rate. The most reliable way to know your cost is to compare a personalised, like-for-like quote across insurers.

Yes, absolutely. Not earning a salary does not make you uninsurable, and insurers will cover a parent who isn’t in paid employment. The sensible way to size the cover is around the replacement cost of the childcare, household management and caring work you do, which is substantial and would cost a lot to replace if you weren’t there. Costing this on the basis of what your family would have to pay for childcare, cleaning and other support is a normal and accepted approach. This matters because sizing life insurance on salary alone systematically under-insures women, since it values unpaid work at zero. So a stay-at-home mum should absolutely have cover, and it should reflect the real economic value of what she does, not a payslip that doesn’t exist.

Usually yes, and pregnancy alone does not normally stop an application or increase your premium. You can apply during pregnancy, and a straightforward pregnancy won’t be treated as a medical problem. The main exception is if there’s an active pregnancy complication under investigation, in which case an insurer may postpone the decision until after the birth rather than decline outright, so cover isn’t lost, just paused. For the cleanest underwriting, many advisers suggest applying either before pregnancy or around six weeks after delivery, when things have settled. It’s also a natural moment to review your cover, as a new baby significantly increases the financial responsibility your family would face if something happened to you, so it’s worth making sure the amount reflects your growing needs.

For most people it’s worth considering, and it’s frequently skipped. Writing your life insurance policy in trust is usually free to arrange at outset and has two big advantages: it keeps the payout outside your estate for inheritance tax purposes, and it gets the money to your chosen beneficiaries quickly without waiting for probate, which can take months. For women arranging cover to protect children or a partner, both of those matter, because the point of the payout is fast, tax-efficient support at a difficult time. Putting a policy in trust doesn’t cost extra and doesn’t change the cover, it simply changes who legally receives the payout and how quickly. It’s a good idea to ask your insurer or a regulated adviser about setting up a trust when you take out the policy rather than leaving it until later.