LifeSearch has named the winners of its 2026 awards, with Scottish Widows, Royal London, Guardian and LV= among the firms recognised at an industry event focused on protection innovation, service and efforts to narrow the UK protection gap.
The awards were announced on Wednesday night at an event attended by more than 130 people from across the protection sector.
LifeSearch said the programme was split into two sections. Its Heritage Awards were designed to recognise sustained performance and best practice among insurers, while the Horizon Awards focused on innovation, technology and wider work aimed at improving access to protection.
The winners in the Heritage Awards were LV= for best income protection provider, Royal London for best critical illness provider, Guardian for best life insurance provider, AXA for best private health insurance provider, The Exeter for best specialist product provider, Scottish Widows for best claims partnership, Legal & General for outstanding insurer online, and Scottish Widows for outstanding insurer offline.
In the Horizon Awards, Scottish Widows won best use of data and tech to refresh protection, Publicis Sapient took best supporter in powering LifeSearch to break barriers, Which? won closing the protection gap, and Louise Colley of Zurich received the Leading Light – Protecting People Properly award.
LifeSearch said the individual award recognises someone who has consistently advanced the role of protection and supported positive change across the market. The business said Colley was selected for her leadership, her focus on Consumer Duty, and her work to support existing and orphan customers.
The event also examined how protection is changing, not only through product design and service, but also in the way customers find, understand and experience products. Discussions included the responsible use of data and artificial intelligence, alongside the continuing role of human judgement, empathy and trust.
Debbie Kennedy, chief executive 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.”
