Scottish Widows review
Updated September 28, 2026 · AssureCue Editorial Team · Facts checked September 26, 2026
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Our verdict
Scottish Widows is a long-established insurer for adults who want life, critical illness and income protection under the same name, and the median life premium on our site is €7.95. It suits people who prefer a direct provider to a broker, with phone support the trade-off to weigh.
Key facts
- Best for
- Life, critical illness and income protection from the same provider, with phone support.
- Insurance types
- Life, Critical-illness, Income-protection (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Provider type
- Insurer (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Legal entity
- Scottish Widows Limited (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Headquarters
- United Kingdom (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Founded
- 1815 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Support channels
- Phone (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Official website
- scottishwidows.co.uk
Pros and cons
Pros
- Its insurance types run life, critical illness and income protection, so life, critical illness and income protection come from the same provider.
- The policy is written by Scottish Widows Limited, a named insurer rather than an intermediary.
- Founded in 1815 and headquartered in the United Kingdom, the brand has a long record in its home market.
Cons
- Support runs on phone only, so questions and changes go through a call rather than online or chat.
- Its range is life, critical illness and income protection, so there is no health, travel or property cover in the same account.
- Income protection is the thinnest of these categories on our site, with 88 brands against 244 for life, so fewer prices to weigh.
Ready to try Scottish Widows?
Scored 9.3 / 10 by AssureCue.
Who it suits
- Adults buying life, critical illness or income protection and settling with a direct provider.
- People who want the contract held by a named company, Scottish Widows Limited, rather than a comparison site.
- Shoppers who start with price: the median life premium across our listings is €7.95.
Who should look elsewhere
- Linxea, whose insurance types are listed as life, if you want life cover without critical illness and income protection.
- Oney Préstamos ES, whose listed types run health, life and gadget, for a different mix of cover.
- Good Sam Insurance Agency, which lists auto, home and renters, if you want motor, home, travel and pet lines in the same place.
Who runs it
Scottish Widows trades as Scottish Widows Limited, is headquartered in the United Kingdom and was founded in 1815. For readers who weigh how long a company has carried the risk, that record is a useful starting point. Support is listed on phone, so a call is the published route, and anyone who wants to handle cover in writing or by live chat should expect to phone instead.
How Scottish Widows compares
9.3 vs 8.6
9.3 vs 9.4
9.3 vs 9.4
9.3 vs 9.4
9.3 vs 9.4
9.3 vs 8.8
9.3 vs 8.7
9.3 vs 9.0
9.3 vs 9.4
9.3 vs 9.3
9.3 vs 8.9It lists life, so it covers life only and leaves out the critical illness and income protection lines Scottish Widows writes.
9.3 vs 8.9
9.3 vs 8.9
9.3 vs 9.3- 9.3 vs 9.3
9.3 vs 9.3Max Life Insurance
9.3 vs 9.3
9.3 vs 9.3
9.3 vs 9.3
9.3 vs 9.2
9.3 vs 9.2
9.3 vs 9.2
9.3 vs 9.2
9.3 vs 9.2
9.3 vs 9.2- 9.3 vs 9.1
9.3 vs 9.1
9.3 vs 9.1
9.3 vs 8.9
9.3 vs 8.9
9.3 vs 8.8
9.3 vs 8.8
9.3 vs 8.6- 9.3 vs 8.4
- 9.3 vs 8.2
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Where Scottish Widows is available
- Available
- United Kingdom
Countries from the brand (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
Frequently asked questions
What cover does Scottish Widows sell?+
It is a personal insurance provider whose listed insurance types are life, critical illness and income protection. That means every line sits with the same company rather than being split across separate providers, and the contract runs to Scottish Widows Limited.
What do premiums look like for the lines it carries?+
On our site the median starting premium is €8.37, the lower quartile is €2.92 and the upper quartile is €29.72. For the lines it carries, the medians are €7.95 for life, €8.40 for critical illness and €7 for income protection. These are market signals, not a Scottish Widows quote.
How do I contact Scottish Widows?+
Support is listed on phone, so a phone call is the route the provider publishes. There is no chat or email channel in that list, which matters if you prefer to keep cover questions and changes in writing. Plan to call rather than expect a message thread.
Who issues the policy?+
The policy is issued by Scottish Widows Limited, which is listed as an insurer based in the United Kingdom. An insurer writes the risk directly, so claims and changes are handled with the provider itself rather than through an intermediary or a comparison site.
How long has Scottish Widows been trading?+
It was founded in 1815 and is headquartered in the United Kingdom. A long history says little about price or claims performance on its own, but it does show the brand is an established writer of life, critical illness and income protection rather than a recent name in personal protection.
Which of its lines is most common on our site?+
Life cover is the most listed, appearing on 46.6% of listings, with income protection on 18.5% and critical illness on 12.7%. Since Scottish Widows writes all of them (life, critical illness and income protection), that spread says more about what people search for than about this provider's range.
Is Scottish Widows an insurer or a broker?+
It is listed as an insurer, so the contract sits with the provider rather than a middleman. Across the site, insurers account for 42.4% of listings, brokers for 37.2% and comparison sites for 18.1%, which puts a direct provider in the mainstream of the market.
How many brands compete in its categories?+
Our life insurance category holds 244 brands, critical illness 59 and income protection 88. A well populated category means more quotes to compare and a narrower one means less room to shop, which is worth weighing before settling on a direct insurer.
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Widows checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Provider type, Founded, Headquarters, Insurance types, Legal entity
“Scottish Widows Limited is a life insurance, pensions and investment company based in Edinburgh”
- scottishwidows.co.uk checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Support channels
“If you need help, call us on 0345 716 6777”
Compiled from 2 source pages, checked September 26, 2026. We did not open an account.
Not confirmed yet: Premium from, Monthly payments.
Scottish Widows
Life, critical illness and income protection from the same provider, with phone support.