Royal London has extended its online, signature free trusts process to its personal menu plans.
The move means the process of advisers selecting the right trust for clients can be completed online for business, relevant life and personal menu plans, dispensing with the need for an electronic or wet signature from clients or nominated trustees.
Benefits of writing protection policies in trust include ensuring that money can be paid out quickly and to the right people as the trustees make sure the proceeds are paid to the named beneficiaries.
This is particularly relevant to the fastest growing family unit in the UK, co-habitees, who can be exposed without the right planning in place.
Trusts can also help save clients’ loved ones unnecessary tax expenses.
Putting a protection policy in trust means that the proceeds will not form part of the estate, and therefore be subject to inheritance tax, but it also means that the beneficiaries do not have to wait until probate is granted before they can access the proceeds.
Jennifer Gilchrist, protection specialist at Royal London, (pictured) said: “Improving digital services is a key focus for Royal London to help advisers streamline processes for their clients.
“Making it easier for advisers to explore the option of a trust with clients and put it into action straight away is hugely beneficial and demonstrates that higher standards of care have been delivered.
“Other trust and beneficiary nomination developments are high on our agenda for digital enablement going forward for new and existing customers.
“Having both solutions will help deliver the best outcomes for clients and hopefully raise the popularity of trusts, which has been historically fairly low, with only around one in ten policies written in trust.”
In February, reinsurer Swiss Re warned that the trust process was failing the mass market as a way of securing death benefit payments, especially around cohabitees.
Its research suggested around one million new policyholders a year may face issues with probate or even see benefits not being paid to the intended person through not having the correct arrangements in place.
The reinsurer added that while progress had been made, much more needed to be done to remedy the situation.