Risk Management in Wealth Planning: Insurance as the New Mainstay

Ben Backhouse of Risk Assured Reveals How Budget Changes Have Turbocharged Demand for Life Insurance Solutions

Ben Backhouse of Risk Assured

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ollowing Christopher Noel's sobering opening keynote on wealth planning under Labour, the Manchester Conference heard from Ben Backhouse, founder of Risk Assured, who delivered a compelling case study on how the life insurance industry is responding to unprecedented demand driven by recent and anticipated tax changes.

From Afterthought to Essential Planning Tool

Backhouse, who founded Risk Assured fifteen years ago after identifying a critical gap in the high-net-worth insurance market, began by acknowledging the elephant in the room: "What's positive about the current environment is it's a great place and a great time to be in professional services—tax advice, legal advice, banking. Clients need us like never before."

The genesis of Risk Assured came from a frustrating client experience attempting to secure £20 million of life insurance cover. "It was a complete mess," Backhouse recalled. "We couldn't get insurers to respond properly, we couldn't get the process to run smoothly." His solution was radical for the time: bringing the underwriting process in-house rather than simply handing clients over to insurers and wishing them luck.

Today, Risk Assured operates as a pure-play high-value life insurance specialist, working exclusively with tax advisors, legal professionals, and private banks. In the first half of this year alone, the firm processed approximately £1.2 billion of risk, representing roughly 45% of the large case market—making it an excellent bellwether for activity in the private wealth sector.

The Transformation of Life Insurance

"Fifteen years ago, when I first met Ken, life insurance was an afterthought, really," Backhouse explained. "Inheritance tax was voluntary, discretionary. Trusts worked very well. A lot of the structures we were brought up with and got used to were effective. Life insurance was a bolt-on at best."

What's changed is the "gradual tightening of all the other solutions for inheritance tax" over the past 15-20 years. Life insurance has evolved from optional extra to essential planning tool. "It's simple. It does what it says on the tin. Clients pay a premium. If they die, they get the proceeds. There's nothing complex. There's no daily mail test around a life insurance solution. And there's negligible legislative risk."

The firm typically sees life insurance deployed in three key areas: protecting seven-year gifting liabilities, providing "buy me time" solutions through term assurance while other planning is implemented, and covering retained estates through whole-of-life policies for assets clients wish to keep throughout their lifetime.

Budget Shockwaves and Market Dysfunction

Then October's budget happened. "Our world was turned upside down," Backhouse admitted with characteristic frankness. The firm has seen a staggering 70% increase in demand over the past twelve months—growth that would normally take years to achieve.

However, the insurance industry itself has "catastrophically failed to pre-empt, predict, plan, and support this demand." Backhouse revealed that one major insurer is currently taking 49 working days just to process an application and assess medicals. "The market is not functioning very well," he stated bluntly.

This dysfunction makes early action critical. "I had an email last night from a firm saying they need to get cover in place tomorrow. They haven't even signed an application form yet. This is not going to happen quickly," Backhouse warned. His advice to advisors: If you want cover in place before the end of the financial year, don't leave applications until February. "It won't happen."

Three Key Trends Reshaping Demand

Risk Assured is witnessing three major trends in the current environment. First, genuinely wealthy clients are leaving the UK. "I'm struck by how many really, really wealthy clients are genuinely leaving," Backhouse emphasized. The long-term residence rules mean clients are

planning three-to-five-year exits, typically timing departures around children's education. His counsel: buy life insurance while still UK-resident, when the market is vast, competitive, and about a third cheaper than continental Europe.

Second, the APR and BPR changes are creating urgent planning needs. "As a farmer and an owner of a business, it is a major impact. The mindset now is don't invest. Don't buy more land, don't buy new tractors. Buckle down and stop growing." Clients are responding through gifting strategies, building reserves (though tax-inefficient), or simply insuring the risk with 10-20 year contracts.

Third, pension changes arriving in April 2027 are beginning to register, though "we've still got 18 months until the deadline." The traditional wisdom—"keep the pension till last"—is being turned "entirely on its head" toward "spend the pension, keep everything else."

The North Leading the Way

Notably, Backhouse praised the North's proactive approach: "The North is way ahead in terms of APR, BPR advice. A lot of the inquiries we've had have come from Northern firms." He's also observed a significant shift with tax firms—not just lawyers and banks—driving inheritance tax planning discussions, particularly around business succession.

With 26 of Risk Assured's 32-strong team based in the North, Backhouse made clear the region represents both a growth centre and a model for sophisticated wealth planning advice.

Practical Guidance

Backhouse closed with practical wisdom: once terms are received from an insurer, clients typically have 90 days to accept, and medical evidence remains valid for twelve months. This provides breathing room for methodical estate planning and trustee deliberations—but only if the process begins well ahead of April's deadline.

His message to conference delegates was unequivocal: life insurance has transformed from afterthought to mainstay, and in the current environment, early action isn't just advisable—it's essential.