Do you need life insurance if you have no children?
Plenty of people with no children need cover, and plenty of parents already have enough. What decides it is whether anyone would be financially worse off without you.
You need life cover if someone would be worse off financially, which includes an unmarried partner, a joint mortgage, anyone who guaranteed your borrowing, or an estate facing inheritance tax. If nobody depends on your income, income protection is usually the more relevant cover, because a single-income household has no fallback.
Who would be affected if you died
The question is not whether you have children. It is whether anyone would be worse off financially.
- A partner living in a home you own together with a mortgage
- A partner who is not married to you, and therefore inherits nothing automatically
- A parent or sibling who relies on money you contribute
- A business partner tied to you by a loan or a guarantee
- Anyone who guaranteed your borrowing
- An estate large enough to face inheritance tax
What happens to a jointly owned home
| Your situation | If you die without a will | What fixes it |
|---|---|---|
| Married or civil partners | Your spouse usually inherits | A will still avoids delay and argument |
| Unmarried, joint tenants | Your share passes to the survivor automatically | Check the deeds actually say joint tenants |
| Unmarried, tenants in common | Your share passes under intestacy, not to your partner | A will, plus cover to buy out the other beneficiaries |
| Sole name, partner living there | Your partner has no automatic right at all | A will, cover written in trust, and legal advice |
England and Wales. Scotland has different succession rules, so take local advice.
Unmarried partners are the biggest gap
If you are not married or in a civil partnership, your partner has no automatic right to inherit anything. The intestacy rules do not recognise them.
That is fixed with two documents and one policy: a will, a trust and life cover. Our wills page covers the first part.
Want this checked against your own situation?
Send us the figures and we will tell you what they mean. If it is not ours to advise on, we will say who should.
Ask us a questionPrefer WhatsApp? Message us there. We are open Monday to Saturday, 9am to 8pm.
We advise on and arrange life cover, critical illness cover and income protection ourselves. There is no fee to you for our advice. If you take out a policy, the insurer may pay us a commission.
The cover you are more likely to claim on
If nobody depends on your income, life cover may well be unnecessary. What usually is not unnecessary is cover for you being alive and unable to work.
Where life cover is about tax rather than family
Inheritance tax is charged at 40% above the £325,000 nil rate band. Estates leaving assets to anyone other than a spouse or civil partner can face a bill.
A whole of life policy written in trust can provide the money to pay it, so beneficiaries are not forced to sell a property quickly.
That is planning rather than family protection, and it needs the estate valued properly first.
Where you stand
- You own a home with someone and are not married
- Anyone guaranteed your borrowing
- A parent or sibling relies on money you provide
- Your estate would face an inheritance tax bill
- Nobody depends on your income
- You have no joint borrowing
- Your assets comfortably exceed your debts
- You would rather cover illness than death
Check broadband before you make an offer
Broadband speeds can vary street by street, so check the exact address before you commit. Ofcom's free checker shows which broadband speeds and mobile coverage are available at any UK property.
Want all your bills in one?
We can introduce you to a specialist who can combine your mobile, broadband and utilities into one bill. There's no fee for the introduction.
We don't provide these services ourselves. Switching household bills is not a regulated financial service, so FCA protections and the Financial Ombudsman do not apply. We'll only pass your details to the specialist if you ask us to. See our privacy notice.
Questions people actually ask
Do I need life insurance if I have no children?
What if I am single with no dependants?
Does my unmarried partner inherit automatically?
Should I buy cover young even without dependants?
Can life insurance pay an inheritance tax bill?
How do I check broadband speed at a property?
Where to go next
Figures checked on 1 September 2026 and correct for the 2026/27 tax year. Rates change, so check the source before you act on a number.
Not sure whether you need it?
We will tell you if the answer is no. That happens more often than you would expect from someone who arranges cover.
Start a conversationPrefer WhatsApp? Message us there. We are open Monday to Saturday, 9am to 8pm.
We advise on and arrange life cover, critical illness cover and income protection ourselves. There is no fee to you for our advice. If you take out a policy, the insurer may pay us a commission.