Posted by Marian Vasilescu on October 7, 2023 in Insurance
Shareholder protection insurance providers today: In order to ensure smooth business operations and protect against unexpected events, it may be necessary for shareholders to enter into an explicit agreement. This agreement should state that in the event one of them dies or suffers from a critical illness, the remaining shareholders will have the option to buy their shares. This protects each shareholder’s interests and ensures that there will not be any significant disruption or loss of value within the company. Having clear and concise agreements such as these in place helps guarantee continuity within an organization even during unexpected events. Read even more information at https://advice4directors.co.uk/relevant-life-policy/.
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.
When a business loan is taken out, it must be done so with the understanding that there will be a responsible party for paying back the money borrowed. Business loan protection insurance is usually taken out on the individual or group of individuals responsible for repayment of the loan. The purpose of this type of insurance is to provide a level of security and assurance should something unexpected happen to one or more of the shareholders involved in the loan. This could include death, disability, or critical illness – all of which might otherwise leave the company in financial difficulty.
Shareholder Benefits: Above we looked at how the insured persons spouse or family would benefit but how about the remaining shareholders of the limited company? If we look at the above we mentioned that the insured person’s spouse now owning 33% of the shares that they cannot sell they might instead want to get involved in the business. For the remaining shareholders this can cause a problem as they might not get along with the spouse, the spouse might not have the experience, knowledge and might not be a good fit for the business. This situation can be a threat to the business success.
Business loans can be critical for a business to function and grow, but without loan protection, borrowing money becomes a much riskier endeavor. Business loan protection insures the debt should an unforeseen event cause the illness or death of an owner or director who was personally responsible for it. By protecting their loan, business owners minimise their exposure and ensure that the lender is less likely to be left with unpaid debts in such scenarios.
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. Discover extra info at Business Protection Insurance.
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.