Blog

Is Life Insurance A Self-Employed Business Expense?

Self-employed people and business owners have a lot of responsibilities. Not only do they need to worry about generating income, but they also need to make sure that their loved ones are taken care of if something happens to them. This is where life insurance comes in – but is life insurance a business expense? There are different types of life insurance available, and some of them can be tax-deductible business expenses for self-employed people. In this blog post, we will discuss whether life insurance is a self-employed business expense and how it can benefit you!

Life insurance can be used by the self-employed, particularly relevant life insurance and key person life insurance, which can both be classed as tax-deductible business expenses. It is important to understand how this type of coverage works so you know what it covers and what it doesn’t cover before making any decisions about purchasing one of these policies for yourself or your business. For more information, please contact us today – or read on to find out more!

Is Life Insurance A Self-Employed Business Expense?

Before thinking about whether or not you can include life insurance as a self-employed business expense, it’s first important to understand the different types of life insurance within the business.

What Is Relevant Life Insurance?

Relevant life insurance is a type of life insurance that can be used as a business expense for self-employed people. This type of life insurance is designed to protect your business if something happens to you. It can help cover the cost of hiring someone to take over your business, or it can help pay off any debts that you may have incurred while running your business.

What Is Key Person Life Insurance?

Key-person life insurance is a type of life insurance that can be used as a business expense for self-employed people or company owners. This type of insurance covers you if something happens to someone who works in the business and they are unable to work anymore because of it. It can help cover their salary while they are unable to work, or it can help pay for their funeral expenses.

Life insurance is an important part of any financial plan, especially for self-employed people and business owners. It can provide peace of mind knowing that your loved ones will be taken care of if something happens to you. And, in some cases, like those above, it can be a tax-deductible business expense.

Does Life Insurance Count As A Self-Employed Tax-Deductible Expense?

There is no definitive answer to this question as it depends on your specific circumstances. However, certain business life insurance and business income protection insurance plans can be counted as tax-deductible business expenses. These are particularly important if you have dependents or employees who rely on your income to support themselves!

Talk to an accountant or financial advisor to find out how these policies could benefit you and your business, or contact us today.

If you are self-employed, it is important to have income protection insurance. This type of coverage can help protect your income if something happens to you and you are unable to work anymore. There are a few different types of income protection insurance available. So it is important to do your research and find the policy that best suits your needs.

What Types Of Income Protection Insurance Are There?

There are different types of income protection insurance available depending on your specific circumstances and needs. Income protection insurance can cover you for a certain period (such as one year). Alternatively, it could cover the rest of your working life until retirement age (usually 65 years old). It is important to know what type of coverage you need before making any decisions about purchasing a policy.

Some of the most common types of income protection insurance include:

– Short-term Income Protection Insurance

– Long-Term Income Protection Insurance

– Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) Insurance

Each type of coverage has its benefits and drawbacks. Therefore, it is important to do your research and find the policy that best suits your needs.

What Are The Benefits Of Income Protection Insurance?

Income protection insurance can help cover you if something happens to you and you are unable to work anymore. It can provide peace of mind knowing that your income won’t be affected by circumstances outside of your control. Also, it can help ensure that you and your loved ones are taken care of financially.

In addition, many income protection policies offer other benefits such as:

– Cash payout if you become disabled

– Cover for self-employed people

– Waiver of premiums if you become disabled

Contact Us – WIS Business Protection

At WIS Business Protection we would encourage you to make sure to read the terms and conditions of any income protection policy before purchasing, as each one is different. If you have any questions, please contact us today for more information!

What The Best Private Medical Insurance Means For Businesses

Private medical insurance is a key service for many people across the UK. Providing priority medical services for a range of different people across the country, private insurance makes sure that urgent treatment goes to those most in need when they are struggling with their illnesses. Knowing which insurance is best is key, and helps when making the most of your healthcare budget. In this article, we discuss what makes the best private medical insurance and why having business income protection that matches it is key to better company practices.

What Makes The Best Private Medical Insurance?

There are several different things to look for when finding the best private medical insurance available. This is a complex process, relying on a range of different factors. Read on to find out more about what separates high-quality medical insurance from its competitors:

Comprehensive Cover

The best health cover is that which protects from a wide range of different maladies. After all, in the event that you have health cover that only covers the most standard illnesses, having a more serious issue means that you can find yourself facing significant waiting times with public healthcare or without the best possible care providers around. Using the right private medical insurance means that you receive the best possible care no matter what your issues are, as all of your potential illnesses fall within the policy. Keep in mind that this differs from critical illness insurance, as critical illness insurance covers exclusively severe illnesses.

Insurer Accessibility

Ease of contact with the insurer is another key aspect of finding the best possible medical insurance. In the event that you have a medical emergency, contacting your insurer as quickly as possible is key to ensuring that you have all the care you need. An insurer with a good speed of reply and easy methods of contact ensures that you have the right support in place whenever you contact the insurer and can get to your all-important treatment plan as soon as possible, without any administrative delays.

Clarity

Understanding the nature of your health insurance is a key part of making the most of your private medical insurance. This means that you know when you are best served by using the medical insurance, and when it is ideal for relying on the NHS provision of care. The best possible private medical care options provide a wealth of information around what the policy covers and the extent of support policyholders have in a range of different medical issues. This means that those with health insurance always understand their situation, and can react accordingly without having to go through a series of customer service representatives.

Why Combining Medical Insurance With Business Income Protection Is Important?

In the event that a business provides all of its members of staff with medical insurance, the business needs a way of protecting itself in the event of an accident too. This is where making full use of a business income protection insurance policy is key. A business income protection policy pays out when an employee is incapacitated, making up for the loss in income as a result of losing the employee for a protracted period of time.

Depending on the specific member of staff in question, this is a significant adjustment for any company in the event that there is no business income protection policy in place. For example, losing your top sales person means a severe fall in revenue without any way of getting the sales back in the short term. In this case, the private medical insurance makes sure that the member of staff is back to work as soon as feasibly possible, and the business income protection insurance makes sure that there is no tangible loss of profits in the short term. The combination of policies protects the company from any significant impacts. This is especially important for the self-employed and smaller companies.

Why Get Private Medical Insurance As A Business?

Roughly 11% of UK citizens have some form of private health insurance, and it has clear benefits. As a business, rather than relying on your members of staff for having private medical insurance, invest in your staff’s health yourself by getting medical insurance on their behalf. The first benefit of this is that your staff get the best possible standard of care. Staff return to work from issues more quickly, and you lose less revenue as a result.

In addition to health issues having less of an impact on members of staff, private medical insurance improves the morale of your employees. They see that the company supports them in reducing medical issues, and this means that they invest their time and effort into the company as a result. Without having an active impact, private medical insurance actively improves performance in your company.

Get In Contact Today

If you’re interested in finding out more about private medical insurance or other policies such as business income protection, get in touch with our expert team today with any questions.

A Guide To Income Protection vs Critical Illness Cover

Finding the right personal protection insurance can be a lengthy and difficult process. Here at WIS Business Protection, we want to educate you about relevant life insurance policies, focusing on Income Protection Insurance and Critical Illness Cover. Below, we take a closer look at these personal protection insurances, including their advantages and disadvantages, and hopefully guide you to picking the policy that suits you best.

What is Income Protection Insurance?

Income protection insurance (IPI), also referred to as sick pay insurance or permanent health insurance covers your income when you’re unable to work as a result of illness or injury. This insurance provides you with peace of mind by offering long-term income security – this way, you don’t have to worry about limited statutory sick pay running out and you can prioritise your recovery.

The price of this policy will vary as a result of a number of factors. This includes the type of job that you have, your health as well as how quick you want the deferred period to be (this means how fast you would like the policy to be paid out).

For more information about personal income protection, you can check out our Income Protection Guide.

What Are The Advantages of IPI?

The advantages of an IPI insurance policy include:

  • This policy covers any incapacity – you don’t have to meet specific conditions.
  • These plans can pay out until you reach retirement age.
  • IPI plans can be individually tailored to suit your personal situation, which can help to reduce the cost of the policy.
  • You can make multiple claims of IPI even if the same reason is provided for each claim.
  •  The monthly benefit from the policy is tax-free.

What Are The Disadvantages of IPI?

Here are some potential disadvantages of this policy:

  •  It can be expensive as it’s based upon your health status and your job type.
  • Existing medical conditions may be excluded.
  • The available options are confusing so may require discussion with a specialist.
  • You can only insure up to a maximum of 60% of your income for a personal plan and up to 80% of your income for an executive income protection plan.

What is Critical Illness Cover?

Critical Illness Cover (CIC) works by paying out a lump sum directly to you when you have been diagnosed with a critical illness. This is only applicable if the critical illness that you have been diagnosed with meets the insurance company’s list of covered critical illnesses. This lump sum payment works to provide a financial boost that enables you to prioritise your recovery.

Most insurance companies offer critical illness cover for between 50 and 180+ illnesses. Despite some bad press around this policy, around 95% of CIC claims are successfully paid out. For the best results of successful payment of CIC, we would strongly recommend contacting a specialist to maximise your chances of receiving payment.

For more information about our relevant life insurance services, you can visit our website to contact us.

What Are The Advantages Of CIC?

These are the advantages of a CIC policy:

  • The payout is tax-free.
  • The lump sum paid can be put towards reducing debts, the payment of private treatment or replacing your income.
  • Less serious conditions can still claim partial payments.
  • Some CIC policies will provide a payment if your child becomes critically ill.

What Are The Disadvantages Of CIC?

These are some disadvantages:

  • Your critical illness must meet the insurer’s definition of critical illness.
  • The many different available options can be confusing and require specialist advice.
  •  It’s expensive in some cases.

Income Protection vs Critical Illness Cover

Choosing between these two personal protection insurance policies can be difficult as they both offer advantages and potential disadvantages. Consider your situation and decide which policy would benefit you the most. Consider if it will provide peace of mind so that you can recover in the event of illness or injury.

Join 3 million UK workers who have income protection insurance today. Our best advice is to contact one of our specialists to discuss executive income protection and find the best personal protection insurance policy for you. You can contact one of our specialists via our contact page.

Can Relevant Life Policies Be Used For Shareholder Protection?

It’s important for businesses to plan for future potential risks. This includes taking out relevant life policies in the case of an employee’s death. Some shareholders may wonder if they can use relevant life policies for shareholder protection, but there are limitations to what they cover, including the shareholder’s assets in the business. At WIS Business Protection, we specialise in finding the very best cover for your business. So we take a look at whether relevant life policies can be used for shareholder protection and what other options there are available to protect your business.

What is Relevant Life Insurance?

Relevant life insurance is a policy that provides financial provisions for an employee’s beneficiaries in the case of their death. Premiums are paid by the business. Many companies use these policies as they are tax-deductible and the employee doesn’t have to pay tax. You can take out a relevant life plan as any employee, director or charity. However, it’s important to check the tax implications with a professional.

An employee’s financial dependants receive relevant life insurance if they pass away and the policy doesn’t cover the business. Taking out Relevant life insurance is a tax-efficient way for an employee to offer life insurance benefits to employees and attract potential new hires. You can insure up to 25 times an employee’s salary, bonus and benefits.

Can Relevant Life Policies Be Used For Shareholder Protection?

In general, relevant life cover is not appropriate for shareholders who want to ensure their equity in the business. UK law sets out that the primary purpose of a relevant life plan cannot be tax avoidance and they must meet a range of conditions. If the payment could be made to the company it would be an easy way for businesses to avoid tax. Furthermore, certain types of businesses are not eligible for these policies, including members of an LLP. There are several circumstances where relevant life cover is not appropriate and shareholder protection policies would be more effective.

The Terms of Relevant Life Policies

There are a number of terms that restrict what you can use a relevant life policy for. You cannot use a relevant life policy for employees who are over the age of 75. Also, there can’t be a surrender value. You can’t use a relevant life plan for key person purposes either and can take out specialist insurance policies for this. You cannot pay benefits to a limited company so the business won’t receive any compensation. Thus, it all goes to the employees family. Relevant Life Insurance usually doesn’t have a critical illness option. This is another reason why some directors choose to take out shareholder protection instead.

Shareholder Protection

Shareholder protection insurance protects your company after the death or incapacitation of a shareholder. Many businesses don’t have the funds available to purchase the deceased’s share of the business if they die suddenly. Which is why shareholder protection policies can be a better choice for directors and owners. If a company wishes to fully cover itself in the case of a key stakeholder passing, it may choose to take out a shareholder protection policy for one or all of the shareholders. Shareholder protection is a policy to ensure businesses can continue to run smoothly if a director or key employee dies or is critically ill and can’t work.

Planning for Future Succession

Many businesses have employees, directors and shareholders who are essential to business operations and if they were to become critically ill or die it would have major consequences for the business. It’s crucial that businesses put a succession plan in place for shareholders. This will ensure no disputes over the allocation of shares after they pass. A smooth transition is preferable for the business, employees and the value of the company. So, having everything in writing is fundamental. When a shareholder dies, there should be an agreement in place to determine where to distribute shares. Otherwise, this can cause difficulty and complications.

Ask The Experts

At WIS Business Protection, we offer a wide range of business protection insurance options. These include relevant life insurance, shareholder protection and executive income protection for property owners, landlords, and employers. We help individuals and businesses find the best business insurance deals for them through specialist advisory services and support. Our experienced team are here to help so get in touch with WIS Business Protection today to protect your company and learn more about how to use relevant life policies for shareholder protection.