Best Life Insurance Australia

The best life insurance for you will depend on your budget and personal circumstances. Our experts have chosen a bunch of picks that will suit a range of people, but these should only be used as a guide. You should always read the product disclosure statement (PDS) to know if a product is a good fit for you.

Best life insurance in February 2026

According to Finder research, the best life insurance providers are:

1. Best life insurer: TAL life insurance
2. Best for customer satisfaction: Medibank life insurance
3. Best claims experience: NobleOak life insurance

Best life insurer: TAL life insurance

Our verdict

Pros

• TAL won the 2025 Finder Award winner for best life insurance provider.
• It's a great value policy; includes decent coverage with high benefit limits, yet remains one of the cheapest policies we could get online quotes for.
• There is no set limit for the maximum cover available - it's the only insurer to do this.
• Generous funeral benefit of $25,000. Most other providers only pay up to $15,000.

Cons

• TAL has a below average claims acceptance rate of 87.6%. The industry average is 91.1%.
• Total and permanent disability cover can be added for up to $3million. Other providers offer up to $5million in cover.

• Customer satisfaction score

  We asked 500+ customers to rate their life insurer. Here's how they scored TAL.

  Customer service: 4/5
  ★★★★★

  Ease of application: 4/5
  ★★★★★

  Features and benefits: 4/5
  ★★★★★

  Value for money: 3.8/5
  ★★★★★

  91% of customers said TAL is trustworthy and reliable.

• Claims information

  TAL's claims acceptance rate is lower than the industry average, but its average claim time is on par.

  Claims acceptance rate - industry average	91.1%	Average claim time (months) - industry average	2.7 months
  Claims acceptance rate - TAL	87.6%	Average claim time (months) - TAL	2.7 months

• How TAL compares to other popular life insurance providers

  Provider	Average monthly cost	Finder score	Max cover	Funeral benefit
  TAL	$70.63	9.8/10	No set limit	$25,000
  	$75.03	9.7/10	$25million	$15,000
  Budget Direct	$74.90	9.6/10	$15million	$15,000
  RACWA	$91.61	9.6/10	$25million	$15,000

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Best for customer satisfaction: Medibank

Our verdict

Pros

• Medibank won the 2025 Finder Customer Satisfaction award. That's because it scored highly in areas of customer satisfaction, ease of application, value for money and features & benefits.
• 91% of Medibank customers surveyed said Medibank is a trustworthy and reliable brand.
• Medibank members get 24/7 access to the Medibank Nurse phone service.
• Medibank health members get 10% off their premiums each year.

Cons

• Its $2.5million max cover cap is lower than some other providers.
• It only offers stepped premiums which means your premium will increase as you age.

• Customer satisfaction score

  We asked 500+ customers to rate their life insurer. Here's how they scored Medibank.

  Customer service: 4.3/5
  ★★★★★

  Ease of application: 4.1/5
  ★★★★★

  Features and benefits: 4.3/5
  ★★★★★

  Value for money: 4.1/5
  ★★★★★

  91% of customers said Medibank is trustworthy and reliable.

• Claims information

  Medibank's claims acceptance rate is higher than the industry average, but its average claim time is slower than average.

  Claims acceptance rate - industry average	91.1%	Average claim time (months) - industry average	2.7 months
  Claims acceptance rate - Medibank	94.0%	Average claim time (months) - Medibank	3.9 months

• How Medibank to other popular life insurance providers

  Provider	Average monthly cost	Finder score	Max cover	Funeral benefit
  Medibank	$116.08	7.6/10	$2.5million	$15,000
  NobleOak	$75.03	9.7/10	$25million	$15,000
  TAL	$70.63	9.8/10	No set limit	$25,000
  Budget Direct	$74.90	9.6/10	$15million	$15,000
  RACWA	$91.61	9.6/10	$25million	$15,000

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Best claims experience: NobleOak life insurance

Our verdict

Pros

• NobleOak has a high 98.8% claims acceptance rate. This is above the industry average of 91.1%.*
• It has a faster claim payout time of 1.9 months — the industry average is 2.7months for policies bought directly through an insurer.
• NobleOak has fewer disputes than average at just 7.5 disputes per 100,000 lives insured. The industry average is 26.5 disputes per 100,000.

*Claims for policies bought directly through the insurer

Cons

• NobleOak only offers stepped premiums, there's no option to have level premiums. This means your premiums will increase as you age.
• TAL was a few dollars cheaper on average.

• Customer satisfaction score

  We asked 500+ customers to rate their life insurer. Here's how they scored NobleOak.

  Customer service: 5/5
  ★★★★★

  Ease of application: 4.8/5
  ★★★★★

  Features and benefits: 4.8/5
  ★★★★★

  Value for money: 4.6/5
  ★★★★★

  100% of customers said NobleOak is trustworthy and reliable.

• Claims information

  NobleOak's claims acceptance rate is higher than the industry average, and its average claim time is also faster than average.

  Claims acceptance rate - industry average	91.1%	Average claim time (months) - industry average	2.7 months
  Claims acceptance rate - NobleOak	98.8%	Average claim time (months) - NobleOak	1.9 months

• How NobleOak to other popular life insurance providers

  Provider	Average monthly cost	Finder score	Max cover	Funeral benefit
  NobleOak	$75.03	9.7/10	$25million	$15,000
  TAL	$70.63	9.8/10	No set limit	$25,000
  Budget Direct	$74.90	9.6/10	$15million	$15,000
  RACWA	$91.61	9.6/10	$25million	$15,000

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5 best life insurance brands for customer satisfaction in 2024

We asked 500+ Australians to rate their life insurer for customer service, value for money and more — these are the winners.

Brand	Overall satisfaction	Trustworthy/reliable
	★★★★★ 4.27	91%
	★★★★★ 4.18	88%
	★★★★★ 4.16	94%
	★★★★★ 4.14	94%
	★★★★★ 4.09	91%

How to find the best life insurance policy

• Make a list of debts owing. Make a list and know what your loved ones would need to be financially stable in the event of your passing. This should take into account any mortgages, home loans, car loans, etc. This will let you know what the minimum amount for cover should be and this will help narrow down your search.
• Decide if you want cover for other unexpected events. This includes things like trauma cover, total and permanent disability cover and income protection. This will help you know if you should look for a policy with lots of add ons or if a simple policy will suit you just fine.
• Know the state of your health. Your life insurance premium is largely dictated by the state of your health so to understand how to best go about getting cover, it can be helpful to know what kind of health you're in. The healthier you are, the more options you have. If you've got pre-existing conditions then you might like to get life insurance via a broker or look into options via your super.
• Compare at least 3 different options. The cost of life insurance can vary hugely between providers so it's important to get at least 3 different quotes so you have a good idea of what's out there. The admin can be a bit frustrating but it can be really costly to not take the time to compare.

FAQs

• Who is the best life insurance company in Australia?

  TAL life insurance won the 2025 Finder Award for Best Life Insurer because it offers thorough coverage with high benefit limits, yet remains one of the cheapest providers we researched. However, what's best for you will depend on your personal circumstances so you should always compare a few different providers to decide what's best for your needs.

• Who is the most trustworthy life insurance company?

  Finder research shows that HCF is one of the most trusted life insurance providers in Australia. On average, 97% Australians surveyed said HCF is a trustworthy brand.

• Which insurance company is best at paying claims in Australia?

  Clearview, St Andrews and NobleOak all have a great claims acceptance rate for policies bought directly from the provider. The industry average is 91.1%, here's the claims acceptance rate for those 3 brands:

  • ClearView - 100%
  • St Andrews - 100%
  • NobleOak - 98.8%

• Is it worth getting life insurance in Australia?

  If your family wouldn't be financially stable in the event of your death, then it's probably worth getting life insurance. If they'd manage okay, then it's probably not worth it.

To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Jason Loewenthal and reviewed by Karen Eley, a member of Finder's Editorial Review Board.

Written by

Peta Taylor

Publisher of Insurance

Peta Taylor is a publisher at Finder, working across all of insurance. She's been analysing product disclosure statements and publishing articles for over 2 years. Peta is passionate about demystifying complex insurance products to help users make well educated decisions with confidence. Peta is part of Finder's insurance awards team and works alongside editorial and insights experts to bring users the best insurance products every year. See full bio

Co-written by

Gary Ross Hunter

Journalist

Gary Ross Hunter has over 6 years of expertise writing about insurance, including life, health, home, and car insurance. Having reviewed hundreds of product disclosure statements and published over 800 articles, he loves simplifying complex insurance topics for everyday readers. Gary has contributed to major outlets like Yahoo Finance, The Sydney Morning Herald, and news.com.au, and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English Literature from the University of Glasgow, along with a Tier 2 General Advice certification, ensuring his work adheres to ASIC’s RG146 standards. See full bio

Gary Ross's expertise

Gary Ross has written 577 Finder guides across topics including:

• Health, home, life, car, pet and travel insurance
• Managing the cost of living