💷 Executive Income Protection & Relevant Life for Directors

Cover for Limited Company Directors

Most directors pay themselves a small salary plus dividends — and the wrong insurer ignores the dividends. Executive Income Protection and Relevant Life cover fix that, tax-efficiently.

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DividendsIncluded
70%Of income covered
Company-paidTax-efficient
48hrsAvg decision
Income Protection 🏢 Replaces up to 70% of income Covered FCA authorised · FRN 1047044
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Real cover for real careers

Specialist income protection & life cover for Company Directors

🏛️FCA Authorised · FRN 1047044
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Key facts at a glance

Profession
Company Director
Recommended priority cover
Executive Income Protection
Typical benefit
≈ £5,800/mo — Example benefit on a ~£100,000 total remuneration (up to ~70%)
Adviser
Whole-of-market · FCA authorised (FRN 1047044)

Reviewed by the LifeInsuranceForMe advice team · Last updated August 2026 · FCA authorised, FRN 1047044

📖 Read the Company Director guide to life insurance & income protection →
💡 Adviser insight

Directors are usually rated on the underlying role, which for office-based work means full own-occupation cover. The real value is structural: Executive Income Protection covers salary and dividends, and Relevant Life adds tax-efficient life cover.

INCOME PROTECTION — YOUR #1 PRIORITY

Get to the right insurer — or lose your dividend cover

Go to the wrong insurer and they ignore dividends, leaving you badly under-insured. The right product is Executive Income Protection — it covers salary plus dividends and can be paid by your company as a business expense.

  • Executive Income Protection covers salary AND dividends
  • Premiums paid by the company — often a tax-deductible expense
  • Up to ~70% of total remuneration replaced
  • Pair with Relevant Life cover for tax-efficient life insurance
≈ £5,800/mo
Example benefit on a ~£100,000 total remuneration (up to ~70%)
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Why It Matters

The Risks Company Directors Need to Plan For

Limited company directors face the same trap: standard policies miss most of how you're actually paid.

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Dividends ignored

The wrong insurer covers only your small PAYE salary, leaving you heavily under-insured.

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No sick pay

Your company stops earning the moment you can't work.

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Missed tax efficiency

Personal cover misses the tax advantages of company-paid Executive IP and Relevant Life.

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Family exposure

Without Relevant Life, directors often overpay for personal life cover.

Recommended Cover

The Right Protection for Company Directors

Based on the specific risks of your profession, here's what we typically recommend — ranked by priority.

TOP PRIORITY
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Executive Income Protection

★ Top priority for directors

Covers salary plus dividends — up to ~70% of total remuneration — and can be paid by your company as a business expense.

🛡️

Relevant Life Cover

Tax-efficient life insurance

Company-paid life cover for directors — typically not a benefit-in-kind, and often cheaper than personal cover. (We can discuss the tax treatment with you.)

❤️‍🩹

Critical Illness Cover

Lump sum on diagnosis

A tax-free sum on diagnosis of a serious illness.

Why Your Job Is Different

How We Get Company Directors a Better Deal

Mainstream insurers often misprice or misunderstand your profession. Here's how we fix that.

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Dividend income covered

Executive IP insures your real total remuneration, not just PAYE.

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Tax-efficient structuring

We arrange company-paid Executive IP and Relevant Life and explain the tax treatment.

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Right-insurer placement

We steer you away from insurers who ignore dividends and under-insure directors.

Already covered?

Two policies at the same price can pay out very differently

If you already have life insurance, critical illness or income protection, get a free plain-English review — what it does well, where it's weak, and what switching would gain and lose you.

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FAQs

Company Director Insurance — Your Questions Answered

Why do directors get under-insured?
Many insurers only count your small PAYE salary and ignore dividends. Executive Income Protection covers your true remuneration.
Can my company pay the premiums?
Yes — Executive Income Protection and Relevant Life cover are typically arranged as company-paid, tax-efficient benefits.
What is Relevant Life cover?
Company-paid life insurance for an individual director — usually not treated as a benefit-in-kind and often cheaper than personal cover. We can discuss the tax advantages with you.
How much income can I protect?
Typically up to ~70% of total remuneration — on £100k that's around £5,800/month.

Life Insurance & Income Protection

Company Director FAQs — Life Insurance & Income Protection

Common questions UK company directors ask about protecting their income and family.

Why do company directors end up under-insured?
Many insurers only count your small PAYE salary and ignore dividends. Executive Income Protection covers your true total remuneration.
Can my company pay for my income protection?
Yes. Executive Income Protection is designed to be company-paid, usually as an allowable business expense, and can cover salary plus dividends.
What is Relevant Life Insurance?
It is company-paid life cover for an individual director, normally not treated as a benefit-in-kind and often cheaper than personal cover. We can explain the tax advantages with your accountant.
How much of my income can I protect?
Executive cover can typically protect up to around 80% of total remuneration — on £100,000 that is roughly £5,800 a month.
Is it more tax-efficient than personal cover?
Often, yes. Company-paid premiums and corporation-tax treatment can make Executive IP and Relevant Life cheaper overall than buying personally.
Should my accountant be involved?
We recommend it. These products sit where protection meets company tax planning, so coordinating with your accountant ensures it is set up correctly.

Role-Specific Detail

Company Director-specific questions, answered properly

The operational detail that decides claims for company directors — sick pay schemes, licences, contracts and the wording that matters.

Why is Executive Income Protection better than a personal policy for directors?
Because it can cover dividends as well as salary, often up to a higher proportion of total remuneration, and the company pays the premium as an allowable business expense. A personal policy typically counts only PAYE salary, which for most directors is a small fraction of actual income.
Is Relevant Life cover treated as a benefit in kind?
Normally no, which is a large part of its appeal. Provided it is set up correctly with the right trust arrangement, premiums are generally not a P11D benefit and are usually corporation tax deductible. The treatment depends on the arrangement being correct, so involve your accountant.
Can I cover more than one director on the same arrangement?
Relevant Life is written per individual, so each director needs their own policy, but they can all be company-paid. Where several directors need cover, it is worth comparing individual Relevant Life plans against a group scheme, as the economics change with the number of lives.
What happens to company-paid cover if I sell or close the company?
It generally cannot continue in the same form, because the arrangement depends on the employment relationship. Some providers allow the policy to be transferred to the individual or to a new employer, and some include a continuation option. Check this at outset rather than at the point of sale.
Can the company insure the loss of a key director as well?
Yes — key person cover is a separate arrangement that pays the business rather than the family, to cover lost profits or the cost of replacement while you are unable to work. Directors often need personal cover, Relevant Life and key person cover doing three different jobs.
How is the benefit paid and taxed under Executive Income Protection?
The benefit is paid to the company, which then pays it to you through PAYE, so it is taxed as employment income at that point. That differs from a personal policy, where the benefit is normally paid to you tax-free — which is why the two are compared on net outcome rather than headline benefit.
Does shareholder protection overlap with any of this?
No, it addresses a different risk — what happens to your shares if you die or become critically ill, and whether remaining shareholders can buy them. It sits alongside personal and executive cover rather than replacing either, and is usually arranged with a cross-option agreement.

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🛡️ Life Insurance

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Replace up to 70% of income if ill

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❤️‍🩹 Critical Illness

Lump sum on diagnosis

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