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Group life insurance
ProviderUnumCanada LifeFreedom
Free cover limit£750k£1m£850k
Cease age707570
Cover4× salary4× salary4× salary
Per person / mo£9.40£8.60£10.20
Compared in Kota. No broker calls
Protect · Life insurance
Set up group life insurance without the benefits admin
Group life insurance pays a lump sum, usually tax-free, to your people’s families if the worst happens. Kota handles everything from procurement to renewals, in one place.
Benefits / Life insurance
Group life insurance
Active- Members covered
- 128
- Cover multiple
- 4x salary
- Total sum assured
- £23,040,000
Members
- AMAlice MorganCovered
- SMSam MurphyCovered
- JEJamie EllisCovered
- NDNina DuboisCovered
- JvDJasper van DijkCovered
Powering benefits for 100,000+ employees
Why offer group life insurance?
Retention
Attract and retain top talent
A Drewberry survey of employees found life insurance was the most common benefit they received after pensions and remote working. It strengthens your offer at the point of hire and gives people with families a reason to stay.
Care
Demonstrate duty of care
Knowing their family would be financially protected gives your people a sense of security that no perk can replicate.
Cost
High value at a low cost
Premiums are typically less than 1% of payroll, and group pricing is far lower than any individual policy.
Tax
Tax-efficient by design
Premiums are an allowable business expense, and under a registered scheme there’s no benefit-in-kind or P11D for employees.
About grouplife insurance
What is group life insurance?
Group life insurance is an employer-arranged policy that pays a lump sum, usually tax-free, to an employee’s nominated beneficiary if they die while employed by you. The payout is usually 2x to 4x salary. Most schemes have a free cover limit: the maximum cover an employee can receive without individual medical underwriting. Below it, employees are accepted automatically, subject to the insurer’s eligibility terms. The limit rises with the size of the scheme, and anyone above it is asked for medical information.
What’s included
- Lump sum2x to 4x salary, paid to the nominated beneficiary
- AcceptanceAutomatic up to the free cover limit
- Almost any causeNot just work-related incidents
- Higher coverAbove the free cover limit, subject to underwriting
Group life vs. death in service
Group life insurance
- What it is
- The insurance policy your company takes out
- How it pays
- A lump sum, usually 2x to 4x salary, through a trust
Death in service
- What it is
- The benefit your people get if they die while employed
- How it pays
- Usually through a group life policy, sometimes from a pension scheme
Most employers provide death in service through a group life policy.
Security for their families,at a modest cost.
Group life insurance covers death from almost any cause and pays out through a trust, so the money reaches families without waiting for probate and, in the UK, normally outside their estate.
How Kota handlesgroup life insurance
Most companies run group life through a broker, an insurer portal and an HRIS, with manual updates between each. Kota replaces that with one connected system.
Who offersgroup life insurance?
Insurers you can set up with Kota.
UK and Ireland
Aviva
Give your team Aviva health insurance, plus group life, income protection and illness cover.
United Kingdom
Zurich
Give employees' families a lump sum with group life cover and bereavement support.
United Kingdom
Irish Life
Offer company pensions, group life and critical illness cover from one Irish insurer.
Ireland
How much does grouplife insurance cost?
Premiums are often around 1% of total payroll or less, and most providers need at least three to five employees. Here’s what shapes your premium:
01
Your employees’ age profile
Age is the single biggest driver. Younger, growing teams attract significantly lower premiums.
02
The level of cover you choose
Your salary multiple sets your total sum assured. Many UK employers start at 4x salary.
03
The size of your workforce
More employees means risk is spread further, so cost per head comes down as you grow.
04
Your policy cease age
Cover often stops at 65 or state pension age, but can go to 75. A higher cease age costs more.
Also worth knowing
Your industry and location also play a part: desk-based roles are rated lower than manual ones, and regional life expectancy can have a modest effect on price.
Tax implications in UK and Ireland
United Kingdom
Premiums are a fully allowable business expense, with no employer NICs. It isn’t a benefit-in-kind under a registered or excepted scheme, so there’s no P11D. If an employee dies before 75, payouts from a registered scheme are tax-free within the Lump Sum and Death Benefit Allowance; high earners may need an excepted policy.
Ireland
Under a Revenue-approved scheme, premiums are deductible against corporation tax and the cover isn’t a benefit-in-kind. The lump sum, capped at 4x final remuneration, is free of income tax, but Capital Acquisitions Tax may apply to beneficiaries other than a spouse or civil partner.
“Why can’t everything be this easy?! Everything was easy, both on the admin side and for end users.”
How it works in Kota
From cover level to ongoing membership, in three steps.
Choose a cover level
Pick a salary multiple, usually 2x to 4x, and set eligibility from day one or after probation.
Get quotes and set up the trust
Insurers quote on headcount, salaries, age profile and industry. Most schemes sit under a discretionary trust, which keeps payouts outside the estate.
Enrol and keep it accurate
Employees complete an expression of wish form, and Kota keeps membership data accurate for the annual reconciliation.
Frequentlyasked questions
- What’s the difference between group and personal life insurance?
- Group cover is arranged and paid for by the employer and ends when employment ends. It’s usually cheaper per unit of cover and needs no individual underwriting below the free cover limit.
- Who pays for group life insurance?
- Usually the employer pays the full premium, with nothing deducted from salaries. Premiums are an allowable business expense.
- Is group life insurance taxable?
- Usually not. In the UK, premiums are an allowable expense and there’s no income tax, NI or P11D for employees under a registered or excepted scheme. If an employee dies before 75, payouts from a registered scheme are tax-free within the Lump Sum and Death Benefit Allowance. In Ireland, Capital Acquisitions Tax may apply to beneficiaries other than a spouse or civil partner.
- What is a free cover limit?
- The maximum cover an employee can get without individual medical underwriting. Below it, everyone is accepted automatically; above it, the insurer may ask for medical information.
- Is group life insurance mandatory in the UK?
- No. But in competitive sectors like tech it’s increasingly common in benefits packages.
- How much does group life insurance cost per employee?
- It depends on your age profile, cover multiple, industry and group size. Premiums are a small percentage of insured payroll, so costs scale with headcount.
Focus on the outcomes,not the admin
See the plans and the price before you decide. No pressure, no obligation.
