Business protection insurance financial products today: 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. Read extra info on Key Person Income Protection Insurance .
When it comes to choosing the right amount of cover for a business, there are multiple types of insurance that need to be considered. Depending on the particular circumstances of the business, an effective cover plan could include multiple of profits insurance, allowing businesses to protect their profits if anything unexpected was to happen. Alternatively, multiple of salary would help to cover additional costs such as recruitment and replacement in the case of an employee leaving. Loan security is another key type of insurance which can ensure that any outstanding loan payments are managed and paid off should anything go wrong.
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.
Premium Equalisation: Shareholder Protection Premium Equalisation is an essential aspect of business trust policies. When a group of shareholders decides to take out an own life policy individually, they may need to equalize the premiums paid. This is done to prevent HMRC from considering unequal premiums as a “gift” or “wealth transfer” from those who are paying more to those who are paying less. If HMRC views this as a gift, there could be inheritance tax implications if there is ever a claim.
Also above we mentioned the spouse desperate to sell the shared might sell these to another competitor. Again the remaining shareholders would not want this to happen as again this is a major threat to their business and could lead to a competitor taking over the business. Therefore a shareholder protection policy taken out by each of the business partners giving the shareholders the funds required to by the spouses £1,000,000 worth of shares would stop the above and allow the shareholders to retain control of the business. it will also ultimately mean the value of the shares that they each own will now have gone up in both value and percentage.
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. Read extra information on Key Person Income Protection Insurance.