As inheritance tax liabilities are set to rise with rising property values, the financial services firm has rolled out a new whole-of-life policy aimed at wealthy individuals.

[Canada Life has launched a “whole of life” plan to shield against inheritance tax liabilities in the UK, saying it is the only plan of its type to be sold to the country from offshore.

The policy has a £15 million ($23 million) upper limit to cater for owners of large estates, and overseas investors, and is designed to cover levels as estate values rise with property price increases. The policy is called CanProtect Whole of Life Plan.

The decision to roll out the offering comes at a time when the number of large estates – those with properties of £1.0 million or above – that pay IHT has risen by 16 per cent since 2006 to 3,875 (source: HM Revenue & Customs). In 2013 the number of homes purchased with a value of £1 million increased by a quarter, totalling 25,000 properties. Nearly half (49 per cent) of sales in London’s prime central district in 2013 of properties worth more than £31 million were to buyers who reside overseas.

The CanProtect Whole of Life Plan is designed for new and existing Canada Life customers, including UK residents domiciled in the UK, UK residents but non-domiciled, non-residents but UK domiciled, and non-residents and non-domiciled (tax liability only).

The maximum permitted increase in the policy is £250,000; the maximum level of cover over the life of the plan is £15 million.

The final review will be on the review date after the life assured’s 84th birthday, after which the premium level will be fixed for the remainder of the plan.