Inheritance Tax( IHT) is becoming an increasingly pressing issue for UK clients. With thresholds remaining frozen and asset values continuing to rise, more estates are being drawn into the IHT net – often without a clear plan in place.
This creates a clear opportunity to deliver tangible value. While many clients may be aware of IHT, few have implemented robust, deliverable solutions. As always, the role of the adviser is to bridge that gap, turning awareness into action and ensuring future liabilities are properly planned for.
Moving beyond traditional approaches
IHT discussions have traditionally centred on gifting, trusts and estate structuring. These remain important, but they are not always sufficient on their own. Each approach comes with its own challenges. Gifting requires clients to survive for seven years, and to part with capital they may still rely on. Trusts can introduce complexity and ongoing administration. Many clients are also assetrich but cash-poor, creating a disconnect when it comes to meeting an eventual tax liability. This is where protection can add real value.
Protection as a core planning tool
Protection should be viewed as a strategic component of IHT planning, not an afterthought. When integrated effectively, it provides a clear and practical solution to one of the biggest risks clients face: how to pay an IHT bill without disrupting their estate.
For advisers, protection enables you to:
• Create liquidity to meet an IHT liability on death.
• Preserve assets such as property or business interests.
• Introduce certainty into planning strategies.
• Support efficient intergenerational wealth transfer.
It also aligns well with client expectations. Increasingly, clients want solutions that are straightforward,
Protection should be viewed as a strategic component of IHT planning, not an afterthought
transparent and outcome-focused. Protection delivers a clear link between planning and result.
Multi-faceted approaches
One of the key strengths of protection-based IHT planning is its flexibility. Solutions can be tailored to complement a client’ s wider strategy.
Where clients make gifts, there is typically a seven-year period during which IHT may still apply. Term assurance can be used to cover this liability, reducing over time as the risk tapers.
For clients intending to gift at a later date, protection can be structured to provide cover both before and after the gift is made, ensuring continuity of planning.
Where gifting is not appropriate, whole of life cover offers a simple and effective solution, providing a guaranteed payout to meet the IHT liability on death.
These approaches demonstrate how protection works alongside traditional planning strategies, enhancing rather than replacing them.
Unlocking opportunity across your client base
Despite its effectiveness, IHT protection planning remains underutilised. Many advisers are not consistently raising IHT as part of their standard review process, meaning valuable opportunities are missed.
By embedding IHT into client conversations, you can:
• Identify previously unrecognised risks.
• Deliver clear, outcome-driven solutions.
• Increase protection uptake within existing clients.
• Strengthen long-term relationships.
Internal engagement approaches across advice firms, highlight that proactively challenging what clients are doing around IHT can act as a powerful catalyst for deeper planning conversations.
June 2026 | 5