Tax investigation insurance - buy direct

Cash_Cow

Anyone know a supplier to get this direct as my accountant seems to be making a huge profit from this and I've verified that by seeing by how the suppliers sell it to them! A 30% mark up I wouldn't mind but the cost is over £200. I paid £100 a few years ago before the bandwagon started rolling and that was value and pretty pain free then.

TheCyclingProgrammer

I only use them for professional indemnity but I believe QDOS offer tax protection cover.

Pennywise

Just remember that if you use an external firm, your own accountant will charge you for time they spend providing the external firm with information from their files etc and you'll have to spend your time to explain to the external firm's own consultant about your business, your "books", etc.

There's more to it than simple cost. Usually when you go with your own accountant, it's all a lot cheaper/smoother as they already know your books, your business, etc., so can hit the ground running with you having to do very little!

Just a few things for you to think about.

Cash_Cow

They seemed to be IR35 and contractor focused? However they do cover ltd and its £99. Reasonable - will read the smallprint and consider it - ohh joy ;-)

Thanks

Cash_Cow

Its recommended that you don't insure with a company that insists on using their own accountant - you need to be able to use your usual one that is familiar with your affairs. Many will just try and get any enquiry done and dusted as soon as possible otherwise.

And here is a huge get-out clause: Professional Fees will only be covered under this Policy provided that there are reasonable grounds for representation
of the Policyholder and provided that Qdos is satisfied that there are reasonable prospects of achieving a satisfactory
outcome.

I may well pay double to my accountant if he buys me a drink at Xmas!

tebthereb

I think that or similar terms are fairly common. No insurer is going to want to pay for you to battle a point with HMRC where you have a low chance of success. The insurer my firm works with will pay out if you pursue a hopeless looking case and you win.

Many advisors now take insurance for their practice and negotiate that fee with the insurer. They then sell an interest in that policy to clients that want to participate. Typically the cost is passed on but it is negotiable. I would not expect the end price to exceed what you could get directly, even with an uplift, bearing in mind the discount that the advisor should have secured initially.