Your own business is more than just a job – it’s your livelihood, your idea, and a large part of your life. So of course, it’s vital that your business is protected. There are ways to safeguard this important asset against the unexpected, such as the untimely loss of a key person – be it the owner, partner or key employees – due to death or serious illness.
Key Person Insurance is designed to help you absorb the potential loss of revenue and/or increased costs, enabling you to meet your short-term financial commitments. So, how does it work and, most importantly, is this something you need? Here’s an outline of some key points…
Simply put, a ‘key person’ is someone who is crucial to a company, and whose continued absence or death might seriously jeopardise the business' trading operations.
Obviously, every staff member is important, but a ‘key person’ is someone on whom a business really depends, either because they drive significant profit (for example, a minimum of 20% of gross business income) or due to their strategic role.
It could be the owner, a founder, a business partner, a managing director – and even all of them. If your business requires it, you can insure more than one key person at the same time.
Unexpectedly losing a ‘key person’ can have a major impact on a business’ revenue, in terms of sales or strategic guidance. It can also lead to additional recruitment, training or employment costs, without mentioning the effect on existing relationships with clients or suppliers.
Key Person insurance allows a business to minimise the initial financial impact, giving them breathing room to start planning for the future.
By providing an emergency cash flow, key person insurance can help a business steer through the storm and, hopefully, beyond it. But before you make a decision, there are quite a few factors to consider and details to arrange, including standard and optional features. How many staff members would you consider ‘key people’? What do the optional features entail, and how does the claim process work? For these and other questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch. We'll be happy to talk you through all of the different options.
Disclaimer: Please note that the content provided in this article is intended as an overview and as general information only. While care is taken to ensure accuracy and reliability, the information provided is subject to continuous change and may not reflect current developments or address your situation. Before making any decisions based on the information provided in this article, please use your discretion and seek independent guidance.