Insurance
Protection is the only part of a wealth plan that has to work on the worst day of someone's life. It is worth getting the details right, and the details are almost always in the wording rather than the price.
01 · Scope
What this covers, and what it does not.
This service covers personal protection — life cover, critical illness, income protection, family income benefit and whole-of-life — and business protection: key person cover, shareholder protection, business loan cover and relevant life policies. It covers sizing the liability, reading the definitions, and writing policies in trust so that proceeds land where they should.
It is arranged across the market and can be taken on its own or as part of a broader plan. Where cover exists to meet an Inheritance Tax liability, this service works alongside Wealth Planning.
02 · What we examine
The schedule we work through with you.
Before any recommendation is made, these are the items we go through together. Nothing here is unusual; what is unusual is seeing all of it in one place.
- The liability
- What would genuinely need paying: a mortgage, school fees to a known date, an Inheritance Tax bill, a business loan, or the replacement of an income for twenty years. Cover is sized to a number, not to a feeling.
- Existing cover
- Employer death-in-service — usually a multiple of salary, and lost the day you leave — plus any policies long forgotten. A surprising amount of new cover turns out to be unnecessary.
- Term & shape
- Level, decreasing or increasing, and whether the sum assured actually tracks the liability it exists to cover. Decreasing cover against a level liability is a common and expensive mismatch.
- Definitions
- For critical illness, how many conditions and at what severity. For income protection, whether it pays on own occupation, suited occupation or any occupation — that one word changes the value of the policy far more than the premium does.
- Deferred period
- How long you could fund yourself before an income protection policy starts paying. Extending it is the most effective way to cut premium without cutting protection.
- Health & disclosure
- Full, accurate disclosure at application. Non-disclosure is the single most common reason claims are declined, and it is entirely avoidable.
- Trust position
- Whether the policy is written in trust, so proceeds pass outside the estate and without waiting for probate. It costs nothing to do at outset and is far harder to fix later.
- Business agreements
- For shareholder protection, whether a cross-option agreement is actually in place. Cover without the agreement frequently fails to do what the owners believed it would.
03 · How we work
The order the work happens in.
The sequence matters as much as the content. Doing these in a different order is how good intentions turn into expensive corrections.
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Size the liability first
Every figure in a protection plan should trace back to something real: a balance, a school-fee schedule, a tax bill, an income. Round numbers are a sign nobody did the work.
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Cover the largest gap first
Budgets are finite. The biggest uncovered exposure gets the money before anything else, even when a smaller policy is easier to sell.
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Read the definitions, not the premium
Two policies at the same price can differ enormously in what they pay and when. We compare on wording and claims definitions, and we show you the difference.
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Write it in trust
So proceeds fall outside the estate and reach the intended people without waiting for probate — except where a lender requires assignment. It is free at outset and it is the step most often skipped.
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Put the legal agreements alongside business cover
Shareholder protection needs a cross-option agreement; business loan cover needs to match the actual facility. The policy alone is half a solution.
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Review on every life event
A birth, a move, a new mortgage, a business sale or a change of employer. Death-in-service in particular disappears the moment you change jobs, and almost nobody notices.
04 · A worked example
What this looks like in practice.
Five policies, staggered against the taper schedule
For a client in his late seventies, a bespoke reducing-term life strategy structured as five separate policies aligned to the Inheritance Tax taper-relief schedule, rather than a single level policy covering the full liability for the full seven years.
Because the potential liability on a gift falls in steps as each year passes, cover that steps down with it costs materially less than cover that does not. Each policy was written in trust so the proceeds would be available to the executors immediately, without waiting for probate on the estate they were meant to help settle.
Composed from the kind of work we do, with details changed and combined so that no client is identifiable. It is an illustration of an approach, not a promise of a particular outcome.
05 · Risks & disclosure
The part that is usually set in small type.
It is set here at the same size as everything else, because it is the same size in real life.
Most protection policies have no cash value
Term assurance, critical illness and income protection generally pay out only on a valid claim. If you stop paying premiums, cover ceases and you get nothing back.
Claims are paid on the wording
All insurance products are subject to the terms, conditions and exclusions set out in the relevant policy documentation, which should be read carefully before purchase. Cover, premiums and claims outcomes are not guaranteed. Cover pays what the policy defines, not what you assumed, which is why we go through the definitions, exclusions and deferred period with you before you sign.
Disclosure is your protection too
Cover depends on accurate disclosure of relevant information, and failure to disclose may invalidate a policy. Answer every medical and lifestyle question fully and accurately: an insurer that discovers non-disclosure at claim stage can refuse to pay, at exactly the moment the money is needed.
How we are paid
Rai Wealth Management may receive commission from providers for arranging cover, details of which are available on request. Where we are unable to provide a solution ourselves, we may refer you to a preferred service provider; in those circumstances Rai Wealth Management may receive a fee from that service provider. Personalised advice is only provided following a full assessment of your circumstances, and should be sought before purchasing any insurance product.
Figures and allowances
Every allowance, threshold and rate on this page is stated for the UK 2026/27 tax year and is included to show how the work is done, not as advice you should act on. Thresholds change at Budgets, and tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances.
Regulatory information
Rai Wealth Management Ltd is registered as a private limited company in England and Wales under company number 12318787. Registered office: 6 Westholme Gardens, Ruislip, HA4 8QJ, United Kingdom. Rai Wealth Management Ltd works under a Contract for Services Agreement with Maystone Capital Ltd, which is directly authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under reference number 758412. Rai Wealth Management Ltd is not directly authorised and is not an Appointed Representative; all regulated activities are undertaken by Maystone Capital Ltd. Rai Wealth Management Ltd is the data controller of personal data you provide to us and is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office under reference number ZA759299.
The full risk warnings and disclaimer apply to everything on this page.
Abhineet RaiFounder · Wealth Adviser · prepared this page
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These are not separate products bought from separate people. Each service assumes the others exist.
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A conversation, before anything else.
Tell us where you are and what you would like to achieve. We will reply personally — and if this is not the right service for you, we will say so.