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Business Protection Expert

Group Life Insurance

Provide Life Insurance To Your Employees

Business Protection Experts

Independent UK Broker

Trusted by UK Directors Since 2008

Rated 4.9/5.0
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What Is Group Life Insurance?

Put simply, group life insurance, sometimes known as death in service insurance, is a life insurance policy that covers your employees while they work for you. If a team member passes away during their period of employment, the policy pays out a lump sum to their family or chosen beneficiaries. Many schemes are arranged as an excepted group life scheme, which keeps the tax treatment simple, while larger or more complex corporate arrangements may sit within a registered group life scheme instead.

This isn’t just about a financial payout, it’s about providing genuine support during the hardest of times. Group life insurance is a popular part of employee benefits packages in the UK, and for good reason. It is a smart, supportive way to show employees you value their well-being, not just while they are on the clock.

Advantages of Group Life Insurance for Employers & Staff

Implementing a group scheme offers distinct advantages across your entire organisation. 

Advantages of group life insurance for employers:

  • Attract and retain top talent, helping reduce staff turnover
  • Boost employee morale and loyalty
  • Strengthen your wider benefits package
  • Enjoy tax efficiencies (more on this below)

Advantages of group life insurance for employees:

  • Financial protection for their family
  • No medical underwriting in most cases
  • Free cover funded by the employer
  • Peace of mind throughout their working years

It’s a win-win for everyone. Employees feel valued, and you get to strengthen your company culture without a heavy financial burden.

Why do I need Group Life Insurance?

There are three major reasons employers choose group life insurance: care, culture, and cost-efficiency. It is a tangible way to look after your team and their families, offering financial security exactly when it is needed most. It demonstrates that you are a supportive, responsible employer, which goes a long way towards building internal trust and long-term loyalty. Compared to the perceived value it holds for staff, a group policy is highly affordable and remarkably simple to manage.

These advantages also give your business a distinct competitive edge when it comes to recruiting talent. Many UK job seekers actively look for companies with a comprehensive benefits package, and group life insurance benefits stand out as a highly desirable baseline perk.

Group Life Insurance Costs: What Should You Expect?

The cost of group life insurance depends on several variable factors: the total number of employees covered, their average age, their salaries, the level of cover chosen (such as a flat-rate cover amount or a fixed salary multiple), and your specific industry’s risk profile.

The good news is that the baseline group life insurance cost is generally far cheaper than most business owners expect. Many companies are pleasantly surprised at how affordable a policy can be given the immense value it adds to an overall rewards package.

You will pay a monthly premium, often calculated per employee, and in return, you will receive comprehensive group cover without the need for individual medical underwriting up to set monetary limits. It is predictable, scalable, and can be adjusted seamlessly as your team grows, making the overall cost of group life insurance easy to budget for alongside standard payroll overheads.

What does Group Life Insurance cover?

The core purpose of group life insurance for employees is to provide a tax-free lump sum if someone passes away while employed by your business. The payout typically goes to their nominated beneficiaries and is usually calculated as a multiple of their salary. Depending on the provider, some policies also include built-in bereavement support services, an employee assistance programme (EAP), or online will-writing and probate guidance.

It is worth noting that this is not the same as personal life insurance, since it only covers employees during their active tenure with your company. For many employers and staff, though, that is exactly what makes group life insurance benefits so appealing.

How is Relevant Life lump sum calculated?

It’s advisable to set a maximum amount of cover based on the employee’s gross annual earnings and age. For example, 17-29 years old may have remuneration of up to 35x, while employees over 60 years old may have remuneration of up to 15x.
The amount of cover for a Relevant Life plan should be based on the lost income of the employee, including their salary, bonuses, benefits in kind and regular dividends.

How Group Life Insurance works in the UK

“Group life insurance UK” schemes are typically offered as a core component of a company’s workplace benefits. The business sets up the scheme and pays the monthly premiums. HMRC rules help determine how these schemes are managed to avoid extra tax complications for the business owner. You don’t need to worry about complicated individual medical underwriting in most cases, as cover is automatically provided up to a set threshold known as the Free Cover Limit.

If an employee sadly passes away while employed by you, the insurer pays out the tax-free lump sum directly to their loved ones. If you are exploring broader business protection at the same time, this is also an ideal moment to consider Key Person Insurance, Whole Life Insurance, and Shareholder Protection – all of which are designed to safeguard your corporate continuity from the unexpected.

If you’re exploring broader business protection, this is also a good time to consider Key Man Insurance, Whole Life Insurance and Shareholder Protection, all of which are designed to protect your business from the unexpected.

Top Group Life Insurance Providers in the UK

The UK has a strong market for group life insurance providers, with well-established names offering robust cover and flexible configuration options, including Aviva and Zurich. For smaller businesses, or those wanting highly tailored cover, there are specialist providers too. For example, insurers like The Exeter offer bespoke solutions with highly competitive rates for businesses seeking affordable protection.

Before settling on a provider, it is always best to compare group life insurance quotes from a few different insurers, since pricing and terms can vary more than you would expect for what looks like an identical policy on paper. We work with a wide range of leading UK insurers, which means we can compare quotes and policy rules to find the best group life insurance provider for your specific business, whether you are a five-person start-up or a rapidly growing mid-sized firm.

(Note: Companies with fewer than three employees may find that individual Relevant Life Cover is a more suitable, tax-efficient alternative).

Companies under 10 employees may not be able to offer group life insurance. In which case Relevant Life Cover may be more suitable. 

Group Life Insurance for Small Businesses

Think group life cover is only for large multinational corporations? Think again. Group life insurance for a small business is more accessible than ever before, with modern policies starting from as few as three employees and offering flexible packages that scale effortlessly as your team grows.

A few common industry misconceptions are worth clearing up. Some employers assume their team is too small to qualify, but when looking at group life insurance, minimum employees requirements are often as low as three staff members. Others assume it must be prohibitively expensive, when premiums are usually surprisingly affordable, or that it is difficult to set up, when in fact most schemes are straightforward to implement with minimal administration.

You can easily tailor group life insurance for a small business to suit your specific team’s needs, choosing between various cover levels depending on your baseline budget. Some employers still refer to this cover informally as “life group insurance” or “group insurance life”, but it is the exact same protective product under a slightly different name.

Is Group Life Insurance A Taxable Benefit?

Good news: group life insurance is typically not treated as a P11D taxable benefit, meaning your employees will not be personally taxed on it in the way they would be for other company perks like private medical insurance. Premiums paid by the employer are also usually treated as an allowable business expense for Corporation Tax purposes, making the entire arrangement highly tax-efficient for the company as well as the staff it protects.

To make the most of these tax benefits and ensure everything is structured correctly, we will help you set the policy up using a discretionary trust, which keeps the payout completely outside the employee’s estate for Inheritance Tax purposes.

How it works

3 Simple Steps.

Submit

Submit the details of the key member of staff

Compare

Compare the quotes

Apply

Submit application to underwriting.

Rated 4.9/5.0

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Rated 4.9 Out Of 5 Stars

Excellent service with easy to understand explanations

Jody was very helpful in explaining the options and I thoroughly recommend his company

We received a wonderful service from My Key Man

We received a wonderful service from mykeyman and will be using them again. The service and product knowledge from team is excellent. Everything was made easy to understand. The price was the most suitable we found too.

A great firm that answers questions fast

I had a great time working with My Key Man Insurance when I applied for the different insurances they offer. They were able to answer all of my questions quickly and effectively. I will recommend them to my friends and family.

It is so amazing working with this insurance company

It is so amazing working with this insurance company. i have had many unpleasant experiences with some insurances company in the past but working with Mykey insurance has really change my opinion and believe about insurance company.

First Class Service

The standard of service was first class. They kept me up to date with progress on my Relevant Life Policy, followed up promptly following delays caused by my medical practice being slow in compiling reports, and responded instantly and clearly to any questions I had.

We received a wonderful service from My Key Man

We received a wonderful service from mykeyman and will be using them again. The service and product knowledge from team is excellent. Everything was made easy to understand. The price was the most suitable we found too.

Excellent service with easy to understand explanations

Jody was very helpful in explaining the options and I thoroughly recommend his company

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FAQs About Group Life Insurance

Is Group Life Insurance the same as Death in Service?

Yes, broadly speaking. The terms are frequently used interchangeably in the workplace. “Group life” tends to be the formal term used by insurance brokers and providers, while “death in service” is the phrase most everyday employees recognise on their benefits statements.

Not typically. Most group schemes provide automatic cover up to a set amount without requiring any medical underwriting or health questionnaires. This makes group cover much quicker and simpler to arrange than individual life policies.

Yes, most policies let you include part-time, remote or flexible workers as long as they’re on your PAYE payroll.

This is entirely up to you. The most common levels are two, three or four times annual salary, but cover can be tailored to suit your business and your budget.

Extremely. Once a policy is active, it is straightforward to maintain. Your insurance adviser can support you with any routine administrative updates, such as adding new starters, removing leavers, or adjusting cover levels as your business expands.

You can usually set up a scheme with just three or more corporate employees. Many UK insurers offer highly flexible, low-threshold options specifically tailored for smaller teams and start-ups that might not have qualified for group cover in the past.