Writing your life insurance in trust
Writing your life insurance in trust could not only ensure that your beneficiaries receive a greater proportion of the pay out sum, but also that they receive it faster.
Despite this, only 6% of policyholders currently write their life insurance policy in trust. But why?
From our experience at Reassured the main reasons are:
- The policyholder is simply unaware this option exists
- The benefits of writing your life insurance in trust are misunderstood
- The policyholder is confused and/or intimidated by the application process.
Let’s take a look at how you write your life insurance in trust, so you can ensure you’re making the most of your selfless investment.
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What is life insurance in trust?
Writing your life insurance in trust is a legal arrangement which allows you to ensure that your beneficiaries benefit as much as possible from your policy.
Insurance provider OneFamily defines a trust like this:
“A trust is a legal arrangement where you (the settlor) give an asset (such as a life insurance policy) to someone else (the trustees) to hold for the benefit of another person or group of people (the beneficiaries) until some time in the future“[1]
When arranging your life insurance policy, you’ll be given the option to write your life insurance in trust.
This is a free option that involves putting someone you trust in charge of your life insurance policy. Upon your death, they’ll manage your pay out and ensure it’s distributed as requested, similar to the executor of a will.
When choosing your trustees it’s vital that you select people you trust as the funds of your life insurance and their distribution will be at their discretion.
After you’re gone, the pay out sum from your life insurance will be paid to the trustees to carry out your wishes.
Trustees must be at least 18 years old and have a UK bank account.
Putting life insurance in trust – the benefits
There are 3 key benefits with regards to writing your life insurance in trust:
- Avoid (or minimise) 40% inheritance tax (IHT)
- Avoid the probate process
- Have better control of your policy.
This could really benefit your loved ones financially after you’re gone. Let’s look at each of these benefits in more detail.
1) Avoid or reduce 40% inheritance tax (IHT)
In the UK, if your estate exceeds £325,000 (if you’re single or divorced) or £650,000 (if you’re married or widowed) it’s subject to 40% inheritance tax[2].
If not written in trust, the value of your life insurance forms part of your legal estate. If you own a property and a healthy life insurance policy, many UK estates can easily exceed this threshold.
For example, if your house is valued at £600,000 and your life insurance is worth £125,000, then your total estate would be valued at £725,000.
In this instance, you would be subject to £160,000 inheritance tax, (40% of the £400,000 above the £325,000 threshold).
Writing your life insurance in trust detaches the policy from your estate, meaning it’s paid directly to your beneficiaries and therefore not subject to inheritance tax.
You may think your estate could never exceed the threshold, but, remember it includes any savings and possessions you have, as well as your property and life insurance policy.
Also, large assets like properties, are likely to increase in value over time. So, if you set up your life policy 20 years ago, your home is probably worth much more now.
According to Zoopla, house prices in England increased +271.27% in the last 20 years. In 2017, the average cost of a house in the South East was £415,084 and £671,047 in London[3].
2) Avoid probate
Probate is the legal process which confirms that your executors are in the position to administer your estate.
The majority of estates in England & Wales take around 6 to 9 months for beneficiaries to receive their inheritance[2].
This process can be lengthy, and your loved ones will not be able to make a claim until probate has been granted.
Writing your life insurance in trust detaches it from your estate meaning a claim can be filed as soon as the death certificate is produced.
Generally speaking, funds from a policy in trust are received within just a few weeks and are then available to finance expenses such as your funeral.
In contrast, if your policy is not in trust and the estate has to file for an (estate) tax return, there’s no will or there’s conflict between beneficiaries, this can make probate even more difficult. On occasions taking months, sometimes years.
3) More control over your policy
If your policy is not put in trust, the pay out funds could be forced to pay off outstanding debts, rather than going to your loved ones as intended.
Writing your life insurance in trust allows you to take more control and specify who you wish to receive the pay out, when and how you want it distributed.
For example, if you have young children, writing your policy in trust also allows you to instruct your trustees to keep control of the funds until they reach a certain age (for example, 21).
FREE trust service from Reassured
At Reassured, we offer free guidance and support to help our customers write their life insurance in trust.
Contrary to popular belief, writing your life insurance in trust doesn’t have to be a difficult endeavour.
We offer customers a simple, non-advisory run-through of the trust application form (flexible or discretionary trusts), without any complex legal jargon.
This ensures you fully understand each stage, so you can be confident your policy is dealt with as you wish after you’re gone.
Why use Reassured to help write your life insurance in trust?
- We offer a dedicated, free trust service team to help you with the application process
- We can help you with the forms and explain any confusing legal jargon
- We’re completely impartial and independent
- We have an ‘Excellent‘ average Trustpilot rating of 9.6/10 from 19,000 reviews.
Our friendly customer service team can be reached between 9am-5.30pm on 0808 168 2025, (select option 1, then option 2) or via email customer.services@reassured.co.uk.
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Types of trust
The type of trust you choose to write your life insurance into will affect the flexibility you have to make changes at a later date.
There are 3 main types of trust with which a policy can be written:
Absolute trusts (sometimes known as ‘Bare’ or ‘Fixed’ trusts)
- You name the beneficiaries at the start of the policy
- You decide how the pay out is split between beneficiaries
- Your decisions cannot be changed at a later date.
Flexible trusts
- You name the beneficiaries, (known as the ‘default’ beneficiaries)
- You can also name ‘potential’ beneficiaries, (like future grandchildren)
- The trustees have the ability to change the default beneficiaries
- The trustees can change the pay out split between default and potential beneficiaries to meet your wishes
- This is a good option if you think your circumstances may change.
Discretionary trusts
- The most flexible trust option, as there are no named default beneficiaries
- You provide a list of potential beneficiaries but give trustees total discretion as to who’ll benefit and how much they’ll receive
- A discretionary trust also allows the addition of potential beneficiaries
- However, you (the settlor) have no overall control over who gets the pay out – it’s down to the trustees
- You can send a ‘letter of wishes’ detailing how you would like the pay out split, but there’s no legal obligation for the trustees to adhere.
Regardless of the trust type you choose, it’s worth noting that once a policy is written in trust it can be difficult to make changes or take out of trust.
Therefore, it’s important to consider any changes of circumstances you may experience in the future, for example, divorce or having additional children, as this could change your chosen beneficiaries.
Please note: At Reassured we only provide policies with flexible or discretionary trust types.
Life insurance in trust on an existing policy
In the majority of cases, an existing life insurance policy can be written in trust.
You may have only just become aware of the option to write your policy in trust and the associated benefits. However, don’t worry, in the majority of cases an existing policy can be written in trust.
To do this, it’s best to contact your insurer and query whether or not this is an option.
Provided the answer is yes (which is highly likely), you can then print the relevant trust form either directly from the insurer’s website or from us, (see below).
Joint life insurance in trust
You may ask yourself can a joint life policy be written in trust?
Generally, joint life insurance policies don’t need to be written in trust for inheritance tax purposes.
Most joint life insurance policies operate on the basis that a pay out is made upon the first death.
In this instance, the pay out would usually be paid to the remaining spouse/civil partner who would then be exempt from inheritance tax.
However, if both partners were to die together or your policy was joint survivorship life insurance (when a pay out is made on a second death basis), the beneficiary would be subject to inheritance tax.
For this reason and to avoid the lengthy probate process, it would be beneficial to write your life insurance in trust even if it’s a joint policy.
Can a trustee be a beneficiary of a trust?
Yes. Having a trustee who is also a beneficiary of a trust is generally allowed and commonplace in family trusts.
However, where trustees are granted discretionary rights, it may be advisable for there to be at least one independent trustee who won’t benefit from the trust.
Often, policyholders name their partner or children as trustees.
Trust terminology
Legal terms that you’re likely to encounter when writing your policy in trust include:- Settlor – The person/s (policyholder) who gives the asset (life insurance policy) to the trustee/s
- Trustee – The person/s who looks after the trust fund on behalf of the settlor
- Beneficiaries – The person/s who are nominated to benefit from the trust fund.
Life insurance trust forms
A life insurance trust form is an optional application that each insurer offers, usually free of charge.See below the trust forms from the major insurers we currently work with:
Aegon
Edinburgh Park
Edinburgh
EH12 9SEAIG
58, Fenchurch Street
London
EC3M 4ABAviva BCC
PO Box 520
Norwich
NR1 3WGThe Exeter
Lakeside House
Emperor Way
Exeter
EX1 3FDLegal & General
City Park
The Droveway
Hove
East Sussex
BN3 7PYLV
Freepost RSSL-HSKC-STHS
LV= Trust
Pynes Hill House
Rydon Lane
Exeter
EX2 5SP.One Family
16-17, West Street
Brighton
BN1 2RLRoyal London
Royal London House
Alderley Road
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 1PFZurich Assurance Ltd
Tricentre One
New Bridge Square
Swindon
SN1 1HNPolicy in trust – Q&A with Amy Weber
Meet Amy Weber, our Customer Services Manager here at Reassured. Below, Amy runs through writing your life insurance in trust and what the benefits to you could be.We offer all of our life insurance customers support via our free trust service, providing help and guidance where needed.
1) What is writing your policy in trust?
Writing a policy in trust lets your insurer know exactly what you’d like to happen to the policy pay out in the event that you pass away.
By specifying someone you trust (a trustee) to look after the funds, the insurer legally understands exactly who to pay and how you’d like the funds to be split.
It’s important you make an informed decision when naming your trustee/s, as you’re signing over all rights to the policy to them.
Often, policyholders name either their partner or children as trustees.
2) What are the benefits?
When a policy is written into trust it avoids forming part of your legal estate, therefore the policy benefit is not subject to inheritance tax, (which is 40% of anything over the inheritance tax threshold).
By not forming part of your estate you are also able to avoid probate, as funds are paid directly from your trustee/s to your beneficiaries. Meaning your dependents should obtain the pay out quicker.
Lastly, writing your life insurance in trust also allows you to specify exactly how and when you want the funds to be distributed.
3) Does it cost anything?
No. Writing a policy in trust is a free service provided by the majority of insurers.
As a broker, we are trained to talk you through the trust application process. Our service is also offered completely free of charge.
However, trusts can sometimes be a complex process and if you choose to seek further financial advice, there may be a cost.
Please note, our trust service will never advise you on what to do. Although, we will provide you with enough information to help you make an informed decision.
4) Why do so few people write their policy in trust?
On first viewing, the application forms can appear pretty daunting, complex and full of legal jargon.
It’s easy for people to put it to one side, with the best intentions to come back to it later. However, in reality, only around 6% of policyholders write their policy in trust.
From our experience, there also seems to be a general lack of understanding about the process of trusts, as most customers will not have encountered them before.
That’s where we can help, explaining the jargon and simplifying the application process.
5) What service does Reassured provide?
We offer a simple, non-advisory run-through of the trust application form, without any complex legal phrases free of charge. We can also help explain any jargon you don’t understand.
When you receive your introductory pack in the post from Reassured, it will contain a trust form.
If you feel like this is something you’d like to chat to us about, give our customer service team a call 0808 168 2025, (selecting option 1, then option 2).
6) Do you help customers with the application process?
Yes. Our customer service team are happy to help with absolutely any question or query you might have.
The most important thing for us is that you feel you have made an informed decision, you are able to ask any questions and that you have complete peace of mind.
7) What are the common pitfalls with trusts?
While we try and make the process as simple as possible, it’s important to remember that trust law is detailed and complex, especially when it comes to inheritance tax and the probate process.
Assigning someone as a trustee essentially means you are giving them legal rights to the money, so it’s vital that you are happy with the decision you’re making.
When it comes to ‘absolute’ trusts you are unable to make changes if your circumstances change.
However, we only provide support when applying for ‘flexible’ or ‘discretionary’ trusts, which allow you to make changes at the discretion of the trustee/s.
8) Why should a customer use Reassured to help fill in their trust form?
We understand that talking about the idea of you not being around anymore can be stressful, so it’s our job to make the process as quick and simple as possible.
Plus, even if we say so ourselves, we are really good at what we do. It’s our passion to help and support our valued customers as best we can.
9) What do you like most about your role at Reassured?
I have been at Reassured for 4 years now and I can honestly say that everything we do is with the customer in mind.
Not a day goes by where I do not experience an example of fantastic customer service or positive client outcomes.
This is exemplified by our ‘Excellent‘ Trustpilot score of 9.6/10 from a staggering 13,500+ reviews!
It’s our job to give you the facts, so you can make an informed decision on what is right for you and your loved ones. We are here to help.
Meet Amy Weber, our Customer Services Manager here at Reassured. Below, Amy runs through writing your life insurance in trust and what the benefits to you could be.Life insurance in trust summary:
- For most policyholders writing their policy in trust brings significant benefits
- Larger pay out, (40% inheritance tax can be avoided)
- Faster claims process, (you don’t have to wait for probate)
- Greater control of who gets the pay out and when
- Most insurers are able to offer free of charge
- Existing policies can be re-written in trust, (check with your insurer)
- Once written in trust it can be hard to amend or cancel
- There are different types of trusts (absolute, flexible and discretionary).
Need help with your trust application? Contact our FREE trust service
At Reassured, we’ll help you find the most suitable life insurance cover, as well as help you write your policy in trust.
Although we’re unable to offer advice on what you should do, we’ll provide you with enough information to help you make an informed decision.
We’re now the UK’s largest FCA registered life insurance broker and our service is free to you.
Writing your life insurance in trust doesn’t have to be difficult.
Our dedicated customer service team can be reached between 9am-5.30pm on 0808 168 2025, (selecting option 1, then option 2) or email customer.services@reassured.co.uk.
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[1] https://www.onefamily.com
[2] https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax
[3] https://www.zoopla.co.uk/house-prices/browse/england/?q=England
[4] https://www.co-oplegalservices.co.uk