Certua Life has launched in the UK, positioning itself as a protection-focused life insurer built to distribute cover through digital financial platforms rather than traditional channels.

The business said it is the first new protection-focused life insurer to be authorised in the UK in nearly 20 years and is combining its insurance licence with technology designed to embed life insurance into digital services such as banking, savings, employee benefits and wealth management platforms.

Certua Life is aiming to address what it sees as a longstanding distribution problem in the protection market, with cover offered within apps and platforms consumers already use rather than through a separate adviser or insurer journey.

The launch comes against a backdrop of low protection penetration. According to the FCA’s Pure Protection Market Study Interim Report, published in January 2026, 58% of UK adults hold no protection product, while 72% of protection needs remain unmet. The report also found that more than 80% of sales still go through intermediaries.

Certua Life said its model is designed to let customers apply for cover in minutes, with policies renewing annually and adjusting as circumstances change. For platform partners, the firm said a single integration is intended to replace more traditional insurance processes and provide a recurring revenue model.

The company is currently onboarding launch partners across fintech, employee benefits and wealth management.

Tom Williams (pictured), chief executive and founder of Certua Life, said: “More than half of UK adults have no financial protection for the people who depend on them. Not because they don’t need it, but because the system was never designed to reach them.

“That’s not a problem legacy insurers can solve. Someone managing their money on their phone should be able to protect the people who depend on it in the same moment.

“We built an insurer to make that possible. It’s time for something new.”