Planning group insurance does not start with a premium table but with six decisions. Think them through in order and the quote request becomes mere administration – skip them and you will get lost among the offers. This checklist turns the six steps into boxes you can tick.
Why don't we start with the budget?
Because the question "how much should we spend on it?" only has a meaningful answer once we know what we want to achieve. The same annual amount can be generous or token – depending on how many people it is spread across and with what cover priorities. The relationship between budget and protection is covered in more depth in designing limits and tiers; here, the decision order is the point.
The six steps – tick them through
1. Clarify the goal
- ☐ We have put into words why we are introducing it: retention, care, a competitive benefits package – or a mix of these.
- ☐ We know what we are deciding against: pay rise or group benefit – the two answer different questions.
- ☐ The topic has an internal owner (managing director, HR or finance).
2. Eligible group
- ☐ We have decided: the full headcount or defined groups.
- ☐ We have clarified the borderline cases: probationers, part-timers, colleagues on long-term leave.
- ☐ The rule is simple and can be said out loud – exceptions erode a benefit's credibility.
3. Salary ratios
- ☐ We know the team's salary bands – salary is the natural yardstick of life cover.
- ☐ We have decided: fixed-amount or salary-proportional logic (the former is simpler, the latter fairer).
- ☐ The chosen ratio gives protection that makes sense through the families' eyes, not a gesture.
4. Cover priorities
- ☐ We have ranked: life, accident and fixed-sum health elements – what matters most in our job types?
- ☐ The big stakes (death, permanent impairment, critical illness) came before the showy small benefits.
- ☐ We have taken the differing risk of physical and office roles into account.
5. Tiers
- ☐ We have decided: a uniform package or several tiers (for example staff and executive).
- ☐ If there are tiers: the classification rule is stated, consistent and defensible in front of the team.
- ☐ We have looked at the typical structures on the Packages page – as a starting point, not a ready answer.
6. Annual budget
- ☐ We have set the affordable annual band (a lower and an upper limit, not a single number).
- ☐ We have thought the budget through at annual level, headcount changes included.
- ☐ The accountant confirms the tax treatment questions – the accountant checklist helps with that.
And then? The quote request really is 20 minutes of preparation
With the six blocks ticked, all that remains for the quote request is assembling the data – an anonymised headcount and age structure, a job list, the sites. We built a separate quote request data list exactly for this, and the practical aids sit in one place on the Resources page. The rest I carry as your broker: I obtain competing offers from several insurers against the same set of criteria – I assess the needs and lay out the options; the decision is yours.
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