All businesses depend on key people – owners, executives and key specialist employees, who provide the capital, generate the revenue, manage the daily affairs, plan for the future and create the profits.

In any business, particularly SME’s, unplanned events such as the sudden death, illness or disablement of these key people can severely impact the business financially.

Life, TPD and trauma policies can also be used for business purposes to protect against these possible impacts.

Business Insurance includes:

Keyman Insurance

Keyman Insurance is a critical component of any comprehensive business insurance plan. It is designed to protect against the financial consequences associated with unexpected events affecting key personnel. These may include sudden death; critical illness and permanent disability. Key person cover provides funds to pay expenses and debts or replace lost revenue to keep a business financially stable.

Buy-Sell Insurance (or Partnership Buyout Insurance)

Buy/Sell Insurance is a mechanism that provides funds for remaining partners to purchase a business share from a departing co-owner, in the event of death, permanent disability or trauma. It means the remaining owners can quickly and efficiently acquire the departing owner’s share and continue running the business with minimal disruption.

Buy/Sell Insurance benefits both the remaining owners and the departing owner. For the remaining owners, it provides funds to transfer the business share to them, ensuring that the business is not placed at risk. For the departing owner, or their estate, Buy/Sell Insurance means that they receive funds to compensate them for transferring their business share – just as though they’ve ‘sold’ their share in the business.

Guarantor Protection (Business loan protection) Insurance

Business Loan Protection Insurance is a form of business insurance that ensures that upon the occurrence of an insured event (death, trauma or total and permanent disability) with respect to a director/guarantor, the business debt guaranteed by that director/guarantor is fully repaid.

Business Expenses Insurance

Business Expenses Insurance is similar to Income Protection Insurance, but it’s designed specifically for business owners. The policy pays a monthly benefit (generally for a maximum of 12 months) to cover the ongoing business costs and overheads, for example, rent if a business owner suffers an illness or injury and is unable to work.

Group Life insurance is a single policy that allows many members of an organisation (usually an employment group) to purchase an insurance policy with competitive wholesale premium rates, offering minimal or no medical underwriting and simple administration provided by your broker. The cover that you provide through Group Insurance varies, however it may provide Life Insurance, Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) or even Group Salary Continuance (Income Protection).

By providing a Group Life or Salary Continuance insurance policy to your employees, you are providing employees valuable protection for themselves and their families. You will also be providing an invaluable benefit to your business protecting against unforeseen extended sick leave expenses.

With the right benefits program in place, businesses can offer employees (including owners) unrivalled security at a low cost to the business. A successful employee benefits program should help to achieve the following:

• Increase employee loyalty, engagement and morale
• Differentiate your employment offering and attract and retain quality employees
• Become and remain an employer of choice
• It also negates any moral or financial dilemma you face as to whether to continue to pay a sick or injured employee.

Premiums are usually less than you would expect. As a general rule of thumb, the premium should cost you less than 1% of your total payroll. Furthermore, some policies allow groups as small as ten people to join.