Health insurance through workplace

anewbuyer

We are a small business of two directors looking to get a health insurance. The quote we got for a business insurance is too high, would it be a problem if we get two individual ones and pay them from the company bank account? Due to our circumstances, two individual insurances will be much more cost effective to us than a workplace insurance for us two.

Jeremy535897

Employer arranged health insurance is normally cheaper than individual policies. You may find that individual policies cover less.
When an employer takes out health insurance, that gives rise to a benefit in kind on the employee. Where an employer simply settles a debt of an employee, that is treated as pay, subject to NIC as well as tax, unless there is a director's loan account with a sufficiently large balance to cover it.

anewbuyer

Thanks, for personal reasons I won’t share here, our employer health insurances would cost x3 of 2 personal ones, so I wanted to ask specifically if it would be a problem to pay for 2 individuals from a company business account instead of a workspace one. 

Mistral001

You need to be totally open with insurers.  You are small business owners.  Health insurance premiums for small business owners are higher for a reason.   Trying to reduce the premiums by making yourselves employees, will probably be spotted by insurers when you apply for insurance.  If it is not spotted then, it will almost certainly be spotted when you try to make a claim.

Sandtree

anewbuyer said:

Thanks, for personal reasons I won’t share here, our employer health insurances would cost x3 of 2 personal ones, so I wanted to ask specifically if it would be a problem to pay for 2 individuals from a company business account instead of a workspace one. 

Why do you want to put it through the company? What you save in corporation tax will be offset by the BIK you have to pay on the benefit... materially so if you are higher or additional rate tax payers. I assume the two of you are sole shareholders