Relevant Life Cover

Depending on where you are in the country a nurse can come out to your work place or home. It may be necessary to visit the nearest surgery.

The limit is normally 20x salary. However normally anything under £1.000,000 is fine for anyone.

No. Only employees of a UK Ltd company or UK LLP are eligible for this type of coverage. Freelance workers, the self-employed, and sole traders will need to look for a different type of life coverage policy.

It all begins with the application process. At this stage, an application is put forth on behalf of the employee who will be receiving the coverage. As part of the application process, the applicant will be assessed on things such as their overall health, lifestyle, age, and the amount of coverage requested. Once the cost of the premium has been assessed, the process can move onto the next stage. It’s important to keep in mind that although much of the legwork -- such as filling out the paperwork and so on -- is conducted by the employee, it’ll be the company that pays the premium.

Only two entities are eligible to take out this type of insurance coverage: UK Limited companies and LLP’s, otherwise known as a Limited Liability Partnership. The person receiving the coverage must be a resident of the UK.

There are several additions policies that can work in conjunction with this type of plan. One such example is Increasing Cover. This will automatically raise the coverage in line with the RPI (Retail Price Index) or a predetermined, set percentage. There is also Life Change Benefit, which makes it possible to adjust the policy should the employee’s personal circumstances change. As well, there’s continuation benefit, which allows the policy to be transferred to another company or to become a privately held policy.  

What is the advantage of Increasing Cover?

What’s is Life Change Benefit?

What is the advantage of continuation benefit?

The policy is technically owned by the company, not the employee that is covered. However, it in effect belongs to the employee, since any payout would be paid to the beneficiaries of the trust names by the employee.

In general, policies are limited to twenty times the value of a person’s salary. If a person is earning £40,000, then that’ll mean their coverage will be for £800,000. However, this is not a hard and fast rule. For example, if you’re earning, say, £200,000 per year, then it’s unlikely that the policy would be for £4,000,000, because most people don’t need to be covered for more than £1,000,000. Financial evidence is often requested for applications over £1.000,000.

Yes. If the employee moves to another employer, it’s possible to essentially take the policy with them. It will then be paid by the new employer. If the employee leaves but doesn’t go to work for another company, the policy can be changed into a personal policy, which is then paid for by the individual. There are certain time scales in which a policy must be transferred once someone has left and these vary but are often 21 days.

If you’d like to get more information about taking out this type of policy for one or more of your company’s employees, then you can use our ‘Get a Quote’ form or give us a call on 020 7112 8844.

Like most insurance types, the cost of the policy is determined by a plethora of factors, which makes giving an approximate cost more difficult. In terms of ballpark estimates, it’s wise to consider the cost of the policy to be somewhat in line with the cost of a traditional life insurance policy. However, it’s important to note that not all insurance providers offer this type of coverage, so the number of policies available will be fewer, which may affect the cost. As with life insurance, the cost will be determined by the health, age, occupation, lifestyle and so on of the covered party, as well as the level of coverage requested. It’s important to keep in mind that the cost of the insurance policy can sometimes mask its true value; once the tax benefits have been factored in, your business can make significant savings. To get a good idea of how much you can save, use our relevant life calculator, or to get a quote either give us a call on 0207 112 8844 or fill in the above quick quote form. 

No, not all of them. It all depends on where you live. In some areas of the country, a nurse can visit the applicant at their workplace or their home, whichever is most convenient. In other areas of the country, visits at home or the workplace are not possible, and it’ll be necessary to visit a surgery.

The length of time between submitting an application and the policy going live is determined by how long the underwriter needs to underwrite it. This could take anywhere from a few days to a few months -- it really depends on the complexity of the application, including the health and lifestyle status of the person who is to be covered and also the sum assured. There are some factors that can hold up an application, however. For example, the one that causes the most problems is the trust document, which is a requirement for this type of policy. It is filled in by the person who will be covered, which is usually straightforward, but then the document has to be signed by a witness. This can take some time. Other things, such as waiting for a GP report and other medical records are reliant on people who don’t have a vested interest in speeding up the process, can also cause delays. In most cases we can now fill in the trust document online, which means there is little to delay the process. With the advent of online trusts, cases where the covered person is healthy and the sum is not too high, a policy can be up and running on the same day as application.

Yes, the company must be registered in England, Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland to be eligible. Overseas applications are not accepted.

Yes, when it comes to taking out this type of insurance policy, an LLP is treated the same as a Limited Company.

How much coverage the applicant requests will depend on a number of factors, such as their current salary, the cost of their mortgage, other bills, and how many people they have in their family. For example, if a person has a large mortgage, high salary, and a partner and three children that they provide for, then they will look to have high-value coverage. This is because, in the event that something happens to them, their family, who otherwise depended on that person’s salary to meet their expenses and afford their lifestyle, would continue to have a lot of expenses. On the other end of the spectrum, you might have an employee who only has a small mortgage, no children, and a partner who also has a high-paying job. In this case, it would make little sense to take out a high-value policy, since it’s unlikely that there would be too many outstanding debts or financial difficulties. The higher the sum assured the more expensive the policy so this may also be restrictive on the amount you go for.

One of the main benefits is the fact that it is seen as a company expense and is therefore tax deductible. The policy is also placed in a trust which is outside of the estate. This can help with inheritance tax issues as well. Information regards to taxation levels and basis of reliefs are dependent on current legislation. Individual circumstances are not guaranteed and may be subject to change. The Financial Conduct Authority do not regulate trusts.

As everyone knows the likelihood of death becomes higher as you get older. Relevant life plans are normally a guaranteed premium so its good to lock the premium in when you are young for as long as you can. Some providers will allow a term up to age 75.

(UPDATED 2018) There is now the option to add significant illness to a policy. This is a new product offered currently only through AVIVA. Although similar to critical illness cover there are some differences due to the tax allowances from HMRC.  For more detail on Aviva's relevant life with significant illness click here. Please call to request details on the specific differences or to get a quote.

This is sometimes necessary, but not always. There are various factors that determine whether a medical exam is necessary, or not. It’ll depend on things such as the age and health of the applicant, as well as the value of the coverage they’ll be covered for. If the policy is to be for more than £500,000, then a medical is nearly always required. If the applicant is over the age of fifty or has (or had) health problems, then it’s also likely that a medical will be requested before a policy is awarded.