Royal London has added a signature-free beneficiary nomination to its individual life cover and life or critical illness cover on its Personal Menu Plans.

This will allow customers to nominate who will receive their payout if there’s a claim paid after they die.

Royal London says that beneficiary nomination provides a simpler alternative to using a trust. If a customer’s situation is straightforward and they know who they currently want to benefit, they should consider beneficiary nomination.

Royal London will automatically pay any benefit after the customer dies to their nominated beneficiary. The customer can nominate a beneficiary as part of their application.

Customers can change their nomination at any time and there’s no need for probate or the completion of a trust form.

For more complicated payout requirements, customers should still consider completing a trust form, Royal London said.

Ian Smart, product architect at Royal London, said: “We want to give customers peace of mind that their payout will go to the right person at their moment of truth. Currently the only way customers can choose their beneficiary is to complete a trust form, but this can be complex.

“Beneficiary nomination offers a simpler alternative to make sure the plan holder’s money goes where it should.”

Tom Baigrie, CEO at lifeSearch, added: “A major and long-established life office offering beneficiary nomination feels like a breakthrough moment to me. The vast majority of protection buying customers don’t want to go through the complexities of arranging trusts and will welcome this straightforward and flexible alternative.

“For the conscientious intermediary it offers a much simpler way of doing the right thing. We all still need to take care of each client’s individual circumstances, rather than default to easy, but this will be right for almost all and it is great to have easy more widely available.”