LifeSearch Awards 2026 Winners

LifeSearch, the UK’s leading protection specialist, has announced the winners of the LifeSearch Awards 2026, recognising excellence, progress and collaboration across the protection market.

The awards were announced on Wednesday 15^th April at an event attended by over 130 people from the protection industry. Structured in two parts: the Heritage Awards recognised sustained excellence and best practice among insurers; and the Horizon Awards spotlighted forward-looking innovation, technology and broader efforts to close the UK protection gap.

Speakers and attendees explored how protection is evolving, not only in product design and service, but in how customers discover, understand and experience it. Discussions touched on the challenges of the responsible use of data and artificial intelligence, while continuing to value human judgement, empathy and trust.

The winners of the LifeSearch Awards 2026 are:

Heritage Awards

Best Income Protection Provider - LV=

Best Critical Illness Provider - Royal London

Best Life Insurance Provider - Guardian

Best Private Health Insurance Provider - AXA

Best Specialist Product Provider - The Exeter

Best Claims Partnership - Scottish Widows

Outstanding Insurer Online - Legal & General

Outstanding Insurer Offline - Scottish Widows

Horizon Awards

Best Use of Data and Tech to Refresh Protection - Scottish Widows

Best Supporter in Powering LifeSearch to Break Barriers - Publicis Sapient

Closing the Protection Gap - Which?

Leading Light – Protecting People Properly - Louise Colley, Zurich

The Leading Light award recognises an individual who consistently elevates protection and champions positive change across the industry. This year, the LifeSearch judges recognised Louise Colley for her open and dynamic leadership, her strong commitment to Consumer Duty, and her work to support existing and orphan customers, helping ensure protection remains relevant and visible within a global organisation.

Commenting on the awards, Debbie Kennedy, CEO at LifeSearch, said: “A huge congratulations to all our winners. What this year's awards showed us is that the best in our industry aren't treating data and AI as shortcuts; they're using them to have better conversations, make smarter decisions and reach people who've historically been underserved.

“Protecting people properly is about the whole journey, not just the point of sale. Working collaboratively, the industry can combine innovation with trust, ensuring technology works in service of customers, not the other way around. That combination of technological innovation and human judgement is exactly what closing the protection gap requires, and that is what we have recognised this year."