In a time of unprecedented challenges for small businesses, there has never been a better time to protect your business against the unexpected.
Wednesday 27th July 2022 Author: Owen Foulkes
18 months on from the start of the Covid pandemic, and life is beginning to return to normal in many ways. However, this period has been an incredibly testing time for small businesses and means that now is the right time to take stock and ensure your business is protected, whatever the future may bring.
The importance of business protection is often overlooked. It helps business owners plan for the unexpected by providing cover to ensure the business can continue with minimal disruption following the loss of one of their key employees or one of the business owners through death, critical illness or temporary disablement.
People Are Key
When you look at your business, it is often easy to overlook how important the people within the business really are. From the self-employed plumber who is the entire business, to the small engineering firm who couldn’t function without the founder leading the way, these Key People are vital to the ongoing viability of millions of businesses worldwide.
Most business will ensure they have building and contents insurance for their premises and equipment, but these things are much easier to replace than the founder of the business or the salesperson who drives the majority of the revenue. Thankfully, these Key People are just as easy to protect as the plant and machinery they rely on.
Cover For Every Eventuality
Key Person Insurance allows you to safeguard the people who matter most to your success. There are always key individuals that make big contributions to the success of a business. So losing one of them can have a serious impact on the financial health of the business – that’s where Key Person Insurance can help.
With many small and medium sized companies dependent on a few key people, Key Person Insurance is designed to help protect your business in the event of death or terminal illness of one or more key employees. If such an event happens, the plan pays out a lump sum to cover any loss in revenue or profits – helping to keep your business on track.
You can also tailor your plan and enhance your cover with a range of additional options to suit your needs and budgets including Business Serious Illness Cover, Disability Cover for Business and Waiver of Premium.
A Relevant Life Plan is a tax-efficient and cost-effective alternative – for both you and your employees – to offer a ‘death in service’ benefit that pays your employee’s family a lump sum in the unfortunate event they were to die while employed.
Relevant Life Plans can be particularly beneficial for company directors, key employees and high-earning employees. A Relevant Life Plan allows you to offer your employees a wide-ranging benefits package which not only rewards them but helps them to live life well. Not only does a Relevant Life Plan benefit your employees but it will also benefit the business as a whole as they are likely to be more engaged, take less time off sick and be more productive.
Business Loan Protection is designed to protect your company’s financial stability in times of uncertainty. If a business owner dies or suffers a terminal illness, lenders may have the right to demand that any outstanding loans are paid back. These could be difficult to pay off at short notice.
In the event you lose a business partner, you may want or need to repay outstanding business loans, some of which may have personal guarantees or must be repaid when someone dies. Business Loan Protection can provide peace of mind because it provides a lump sum to cover your business loans.
Shareholder and Partnership Protection allows business owners to retain control. If a business owner dies or suffers a terminal illness, their share of the business usually passes to their beneficiaries. To regain control of that share, surviving business owners may need to buy that individual’s part of the business. Many businesses do not have the money to do this and it can be costly to borrow.
To ensure that the necessary money is placed in the hands of the right people Shareholder and Partnership Protection provides a business with a cash lump sum if a business owner dies or suffers a terminal illness. This provides the capital to enable the surviving business owners to buy that individual’s share of the business – allowing you to keep control.
Futureproof Your Business
Whatever type of business you have, ensuring that you have protection against unexpected events will ensure your business is fit for the future.
Knowing how best to cover your business can appear daunting, but a meeting with a qualified financial adviser will allow you to work out a protection plan that provides peace of mind at a cost that is affordable four your business.