📖 Company Director Guide
The Company Director’s Guide to Protecting Your Income
Pay yourself in dividends? Then most off-the-shelf cover quietly under-insures you. Here is the smarter route.
Get a Free Quote →Directors optimise everything else for tax, then often buy protection that ignores the way they actually pay themselves. Cover built on a small PAYE salary leaves the dividends — usually the bulk of your income — completely unprotected. The better route uses the company itself to provide the cover.
Two products do the heavy lifting: Executive Income Protection for your earnings, and Relevant Life for a tax-efficient lump sum. Both are best set up alongside your accountant.
Quick Answers
Company Director Cover — Quick Questions
Why does standard cover under-insure directors?
It counts PAYE salary only. Executive Income Protection instead covers your total remuneration, dividends included, so a claim reflects your real income.
Can my company pay the premiums?
Yes. Executive Income Protection is designed to be company-paid, typically as an allowable business expense.
What is Relevant Life Insurance, in plain terms?
Company-paid life cover for an individual director. It is normally not a benefit-in-kind and is often cheaper overall than personal cover — we will talk the tax through with your accountant.
Is the company-paid route really more efficient?
Frequently, yes. Corporation-tax treatment and avoiding personal premiums from taxed income can make it meaningfully cheaper than buying it yourself.
Good to know: This guide is general information to help you weigh up your options — it is not personal financial advice. Cover, premiums, exclusions and any tax treatment depend on your individual circumstances and the insurer’s assessment. Life Insurance For Me is a trading style of More Than Money Ltd, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 1047044). See our regulatory information.
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Reviewed by the LifeInsuranceForMe advice team · Last updated · FCA authorised, FRN 1047044