Aegon Life Insurance 2026: What Existing Customers Need to Know

If you've searched for "Aegon life insurance" in 2026 expecting to find a quote page, you'll have noticed something odd: Aegon doesn't sell life insurance any more. It isn't that the brand has quietly disappeared from comparison tables, or that its cover has become hard to find. Aegon made a deliberate decision to leave the individual protection market altogether, selling its entire book of life insurance, critical illness and income protection policies to Royal London.

For anyone who holds, or once held, an Aegon protection policy, this matters. For anyone comparing life insurance today and seeing Aegon mentioned in older reviews or comparison articles, it matters even more, because trying to "buy Aegon life insurance" in 2026 simply isn't possible. This guide, from the team at WeCovr, sets out exactly what happened, what it means if you have an existing policy, and where to look instead if you're shopping for cover now.

What Happened to Aegon Life Insurance? The Royal London Transfer Explained

In April 2023, Royal London announced an agreement with Scottish Equitable plc, the legal entity that trades under the Aegon brand, to acquire Aegon UK's entire individual protection book. That covered roughly 400,000 customers' worth of life insurance, critical illness and income protection policies.

A deal of this size and type can't simply be switched over on a spreadsheet. Moving an entire block of insurance policies from one regulated insurer to another in the UK requires a Part VII transfer, a formal court process under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The process included:

• An Independent Expert, appointed specifically to assess how the transfer would affect policyholders, both those moving from Aegon and Royal London's existing customers.
• Consultation with the UK's insurance regulators, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
• A hearing at the High Court of England and Wales, where a judge reviewed the Independent Expert's findings and approved the scheme on 14 June 2024.

In the period between the deal being agreed and the transfer completing, Aegon reinsured the protection book to Royal London, so there was no gap in cover while the legal process played out. The transfer itself formally completed on 1 July 2024, at which point Royal London became the legal insurer and administrator for all the transferred policies.

The policies affected were sold under Aegon's protection range, marketed for a period under names such as its Personal Protection Solutions menu plan, and covered term life insurance, critical illness cover (standalone and combined with life cover), and income protection, sold both directly and through financial advisers.

Real-Life Scenario (illustrative): James took out a 20-year decreasing life insurance policy with Aegon in 2019 to cover his mortgage. In mid-2024, he received a letter explaining that his policy was moving to Royal London as part of the Part VII transfer. He didn't need to do anything: his sum assured, premium and end date stayed exactly as they were, and his next Direct Debit simply showed "Royal London" instead of "Aegon" on his bank statement.

Why Do Insurers Sell Blocks of Policies Like This?

It can feel unsettling to learn your insurer has changed without you asking for it, but transfers like this are a well-established, tightly regulated part of the UK insurance industry. A Part VII transfer exists specifically to let one insurer move a block of policies to another while protecting policyholders' interests, which is why it requires an Independent Expert's report, regulator consultation, and High Court sign-off before it can happen. Insurers use this route to focus their business, in Aegon's case, stepping back from individual protection to concentrate on pensions and investments, while the acquiring insurer (here, Royal London) gains scale in the protection market. The court process exists precisely so that customers don't lose out when this happens.

What Changed – and What Didn't – for Aegon Policyholders

This is the part that matters most if you're an existing policyholder. According to Royal London's own guidance for former Aegon customers, the core promise of your policy hasn't moved.

In other words: nothing about the promise you took out has been watered down, but the company standing behind it, and the name on your statements, has changed.

Do You Still Have an "Aegon" Policy? How to Check

If you're not sure whether this applies to you, a simple rule of thumb: if you took out life insurance, critical illness cover or income protection with Aegon (or Scottish Equitable) at any point before July 2024, it will now be with Royal London. Aegon does not administer any individual protection policies any more, so there's no scenario in 2026 where an "Aegon" policy is still being run by Aegon itself.

If in doubt, your policy documents, renewal letters or recent Direct Debit statements will tell you who's now responsible for your cover. Royal London maintains a dedicated section of its website for former Aegon protection customers, including a specific contact route for anyone whose policy was "originally taken out with Aegon (Scottish Equitable plc)."

Signs your policy has moved to Royal London:

• Recent correspondence arrives in Royal London branding rather than Aegon's.
• Your Direct Debit or bank statement shows "Royal London" rather than "Aegon."
• Your policy schedule or renewal documents reference Scottish Equitable plc, the legal entity behind the Aegon brand, alongside Royal London as administrator.
• You took out cover with Aegon (or Scottish Equitable) at any point before July 2024 and haven't since been told otherwise.

Making a Claim on a Former Aegon Policy

If you need to make a claim, whether that's a life insurance, critical illness or income protection claim, you now go through Royal London, not Aegon. Based on Royal London's published guidance for former Aegon customers:

• To notify a claim: call Royal London's dedicated claims line on 03456 00 04 93, Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5.30pm (excluding bank holidays).
• For general queries about an Aegon-originated policy: Royal London provides a separate contact number, 0345 600 1402, with the same opening hours.
• How it works: you can either complete the claim discussion over the phone with a dedicated claims assessor, or ask for a form to be posted to you. Supporting documents can be submitted through a secure online form.
• What to expect: Royal London notes that transferred policies may involve some additional verification checks, which can occasionally extend how long a claim takes to assess, though the underlying process mirrors a standard Royal London claim.

Royal London publishes separate claims guides for life protection claims and for illness and disability claims on its existing-customers pages, which are worth reading before you call if you want to know what evidence you'll need.

The Policy Plus Extras: What You Still Get

One detail that's easy to lose in a corporate transfer like this is what happens to the "extras" that came bundled with your policy. Aegon built a package of support services into its protection plans called Policy Plus, and Royal London has continued to make these available, at no additional cost, to former Aegon policyholders and their immediate families. As of Royal London's current guidance, Policy Plus includes:

• A second medical opinion service, provided by RedArc. If you or a family member has been diagnosed with a serious illness, you can discuss your diagnosis, medical history and treatment plan with a dedicated nurse and get an independent second opinion.
• Health and wellbeing support, provided by Health Assured, including confidential counselling by phone or online covering issues from mental health to practical and consumer concerns.
• A funeral payment pledge, offering an advance payment of up to £10,000 against a valid life protection claim, paid directly to a funeral provider so a family isn't left covering funeral costs while a claim is assessed.
• A key person replacement service, provided by FPSG Specialist Recruitment, available to Business Protection or Relevant Life policyholders if a key person or business owner is unable to work due to illness.

These services sit alongside your policy rather than being something you need to apply or pay for separately, so it's worth knowing they exist even if you never expect to need them.

What Does Aegon UK Do Now? Pensions, Platforms and the Standard Life Deal

With individual protection gone, Aegon UK's remaining business looks quite different from the company many people associate with life insurance. Today, Aegon UK's core business is built around workplace and individual pensions, retirement savings, and its investment platform, serving customers largely through financial advisers and employers rather than direct protection sales.

That business is itself now changing hands. On 15 April 2026, Aegon announced it had agreed to sell Aegon UK to Standard Life, in a deal with a total consideration of £2.0 billion, made up of a 15.3% shareholding in Standard Life plc (181.1 million shares) and £0.75 billion in cash. Aegon's group chief executive, Lard Friese, said Standard Life was "the right owner for Aegon UK and a good home for our employees," while Standard Life's chief executive, Andy Briggs, described the combination as making the businesses "not only... stronger" but "better" for customers.

The deal is expected to complete towards the end of 2026, subject to the usual regulatory approvals from the FCA and PRA, and would create one of the UK's largest workplace pensions and retirement savings businesses by combining the two companies' platforms. As with any deal of this size, the exact completion date and any conditions can shift, so if you're an Aegon pensions or investment customer, it's worth keeping an eye on updates directly from Aegon or Standard Life rather than relying on any single article.

It's worth being clear about what this second deal does not involve: it's about Aegon's pensions and investment business, which Aegon still owns and runs today. It has nothing to do with the protection book, which left Aegon for good back in 2024.

A Brief History: From Scottish Equitable to Aegon

Aegon's UK story goes back much further than its recent corporate changes, and it helps explain why the brand carries some weight, even now that it's stepped away from protection insurance.

The business traces its roots to the Scottish Equitable Life Assurance Society, founded in Edinburgh in 1831. It operated as a Scottish mutual insurer for well over a century before Aegon N.V., the Dutch financial services group headquartered in The Hague, acquired a 40% stake in 1994, when the company became Scottish Equitable plc. Aegon increased its stake to 100% by 1998. The business traded as Scottish Equitable for some years afterwards before being rebranded Aegon Scottish Equitable in 2006, and then simplified to just Aegon in 2009, a change made to give UK customers the reassurance of belonging to a larger global group. Scottish Equitable plc has remained the underlying legal entity throughout.

A few other milestones from Aegon's own account of its UK history give a sense of how the business evolved over nearly two centuries:

This history is worth knowing, but it's history rather than a description of how Aegon operates today. The Aegon that built a reputation in life insurance and critical illness cover over the past two decades is not the company handling those policies now, that's Royal London. What's left of the Aegon UK name today sits with pensions, savings and investments, and even that business is now mid-sale to Standard Life.

Shopping for New Life Insurance in 2026? Here's Where to Look

If you've landed here because you were specifically looking to buy "Aegon life insurance," the short answer is that you can't, that door closed when the protection book moved to Royal London. The good news is that the UK protection market remains large and competitive, with plenty of well-established insurers offering life insurance, critical illness cover and income protection to suit different needs and budgets.

Rather than searching for a provider that no longer sells the product, the more useful question is which of today's insurers actually fits your circumstances, your health, your budget, and what you need the cover to do. That's exactly the comparison WeCovr exists to help with. Our advisers compare policies across the current UK market, including insurers such as Royal London (which now also administers the former Aegon book), Legal & General, Aviva, Zurich, Vitality, LV=, Guardian and Scottish Widows, so you can see how their cover, pricing and claims records stack up against each other, without needing to track every insurer's corporate history to make a good decision.

Real-Life Scenario (illustrative): Priya searched online for "Aegon life insurance quote" while shopping for cover to protect her new mortgage. She found the quote page no longer existed and, confused, contacted WeCovr. An adviser explained that Aegon's protection book had moved to Royal London and was no longer open to new applicants, then compared quotes for her across several active insurers on WeCovr's panel, including Royal London itself, so she could still consider a similarly well-established provider alongside the rest of the market.

If you already have a former Aegon policy

If your existing cover is a former Aegon policy now with Royal London, in most cases there's no need to do anything, your terms and premiums haven't changed, and your Policy Plus extras remain in place. It's still worth reviewing your cover periodically with an adviser, particularly if your circumstances, mortgage or family situation have changed since you originally took the policy out, to check it still matches what you need.

If you're buying life insurance for the first time (or switching)

Speak to a WeCovr adviser about your goals, whether that's covering a mortgage, replacing income, or protecting your family, and we'll compare quotes and policy features from across the current market on your behalf, at no cost to you for the advice.

Get Regulated Guidance, Whichever Situation Applies to You

Aegon's exit from individual protection is a good reminder that the insurer you took a policy out with isn't always the one that ends up running it years later. What matters most is that your cover keeps doing its job: paying out when your family needs it, on the terms you originally agreed. If you have a former Aegon policy, that promise now sits with Royal London, backed by the same court-supervised process that protects policyholders whenever a block of business changes hands.

If you're starting from scratch, the wider lesson is the same one WeCovr applies to every insurer we compare: look past the brand name to the cover, the underwriting, and the claims record. Our advisers are regulated, work across the whole of the current UK protection market, and can help you find cover that fits your circumstances today, not a policy from a provider that's no longer selling it.

Sources

• Royal London: "Royal London acquires Aegon UK's individual protection book" (press release, April 2023) and "Royal London completes transfer of Aegon UK individual protection book" (press release, July 2024).
• Royal London: Existing customers – Aegon protection pages, including "Manage your Aegon Protection policy," "Aegon Insurance Claims" and "Policy Plus support for protection products originally taken out with Aegon (Scottish Equitable)."
• Aegon: Corporate history pages (aegon.co.uk) and press release "Aegon to sell Aegon UK to Standard Life for a total consideration of GBP 2.0 billion" (April 2026).
• Wikipedia: "Aegon UK," for corporate history and rebranding timeline.
• Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA): Part VII transfer regulatory framework.