The case for over-insurance for IHT

Impact of IHT a certainty

clock • 4 min read

Tony Müdd, divisional director, development and technical consultancy, St. James's Place Wealth Management, discusses what over-insurance for inheritance tax (IHT) might look like and why it makes sense for the life market.

Over-insurance has long been a contentious issue for life insurers and reinsurers due to concerns over moral hazard, adverse selection and regulatory scrutiny. However, I believe a strong and justified case exists for allowing limited over-insurance specifically to cover UK IHT liabilities that will arise by April 2027, when pension funds will be subject to IHT.  Given the certainty of IHT liabilities, the legislative framework and the liquidity challenges faced by high-net-worth (HNW) estates, structured over-insurance presents a commercially viable opportunity for reinsurers, while ...

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