Posted by Marian Vasilescu on July 14, 2023 in Business
Professional relevant life policy solutions: There is not a one size fit all solution for business protection. It is not quite as easy as getting a £1 million pound life insurance policy for each of the directors and then thinking the business is safe. Instead a business should consult with a business protection expert who can then design a bespoke solution individual to the business Often the policies need to be written in trust and it is also very important to look at the tax position of the policies both the premiums payable and how these are treated and also the sum assured upon a claim. We have helped many directors and business owners protect their businesses. See additional information at https://advice4directors.co.uk/shareholder-protection-insurance/.
Who can have Key Person Insurance: Any business looking to protect their business from, life cover, terminal illness, critical illness cover (covering illnesses such as heart attack, stroke, cancer). As will as the typical limited company businesses key person cover can benefit sole traders and partnerships. As mentioned above it is important to get the right level of cover, set up in the most tax efficient manner to give peace of mind, protect the business profits and reduce business risk from the loss of a valuable employee. It gives a much needed cash injection to give cash flow by means of a lump sum payment.
Options Available: When it comes to running a business, financial security is key. That’s why it is important to consider how best to manage funds for insurance policies, such as Business Loan Protection. One option might be to write the policy into a trust – but this may not always be necessary or advisable. A trust is a separate legal entity from your own business and can be used for various purposes such as inheritance planning, or tax mitigation strategies. In some cases however, a trust would actually complicate matters if you needed to make a claim on the policy, since the payout could be held up while in the trust. Therefore, unless there is some specific reason why you need the money to be placed in trust first (for example, if there will be tax due when paying out), it makes more sense to arrange for the payout to go straight to your lender so that they can quickly settle any outstanding debt.
One common scenario where this protection becomes important is when one shareholder faces higher premiums due to their age or health condition compared to their younger and healthier counterparts. Equalizing premiums ensures that each shareholder contributes fairly towards the policy without incurring an unexpected tax bill in the future. The importance of Shareholder Protection Premium Equalisation underscores the need for careful financial planning and consideration while executing business trusts, ensuring legal compliance while safeguarding shareholders’ interests against unanticipated costs down the road.
Family Benefits: If for example one of the shareholders owned 33% of a business and they were to die. To make things simple lets value the business at £3,000,000 and lets say their shares are worth £1,000,000. The spouse would normally be the one who would inherit the shares. But the remaining shareholders usually would not have spare £1 million as a cash lump sum freely available. So the chances are that they might offer the spouse a smaller sum than the shares are worth. Or another option is that the spouse could sell the shares to someone else potentially a competitor. Another option would be that the spouse could potentially keep the shares and get involves in the business. But usually the spouse would have other commitments and would not want to get involved in the business.
Insurance provides peace of mind to businesses that their investment will remain secure even if something unforeseen were to occur in regards to any important employees involved in the company’s operations. So should these employees become scarce due to critical illness or death, such policies can provide much-needed financial aid by paying an outstanding loan amount in full – something that would otherwise not be possible. As such, taking out an insurance policy when any major loans have been secured can act as both a form of protection for companies and for the individuals associated with them too.
Often called key-man insurance this type of policy is sometimes miss understood. It is important to ensure that the policy is set up in the correct manner using the right trusts or structure. There are also a lot of confusion and miss information on the tax treatment of these policies. The policy can be for life only or for life and critical illness cover . In another article we also explore key person income protection insurance. The death or illness of a key employee can have devastating consequences for a business and thus protecting a business from this should be an important part of protecting a business if the financial impact and help the business survive a difficult time. Find even more details at https://advice4directors.co.uk/.