BUSINESS PROTECTION
Helping your company weather the loss or incapacity of the key people within the business
Just as with our personal lives, our business lives are a journey. We start out with great enthusiasm, lay down our business plan, form partnerships with others and take on staff (some of whom become crucial to the running of the business).
The loss of key people or the control of the shares within the business can see even the most successful companies fail. We can help protect the assets and people who matter to your business, allowing you to focus on what you do best.
Factors we need to consider
WHAT
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- What do you need to protect (i.e. a corporate loan, a key person, the shares of a main shareholder)?
- On What event would you require the protection (i.e. death of a director/shareholder, death or illness of a key person)?
- What do you currently have in place as a plan to meet your needs (i.e. existing insurance plans, company assets or nothing)?
- What impact will your current plans have on the company (i.e. are there sufficient funds to purchase the shares of a deceased director, could the company continue to meet its liabilities and could the company afford to hire and train a replacement key person)?
- What would be the potential consequences for the business, of taking no further action (i.e. could the spouse of a director end up with a controlling interest in the firm, could the company continue to operate after the loss of a key person)?
- What employee benefits would the company like to provide for staff (i.e. Life Cover, Sick Pay)?
WHEN
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- When would you need the protection to start?
- When would you require the protection until?
- When do you feel that your need for protection will increase or decrease (i.e. taking on further borrowing or repaying a loan, company expansion/taking on more staff or selling/downsizing the business)?
- When will the company need the benefits from any protection plans?
HOW
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- How would you like to provide for the company in the event of death, serious illness or accident of a main shareholder or key person?
- How well do you feel that your current planning will meet the needs of the company?
- How do you feel about relying on company assets to meet these needs?
- How much can the company afford (on an ongoing basis) towards meeting any shortfalls?
- How would you like to provide benefits for staff (i.e. would you like to offer different benefits for different staff roles)?
So how do we approach this journey?
Identify your destination
Firstly we need to identify the areas of your business you feel need protecting. This could be ensuring that the surviving directors remain in control the business, should one of them pass away, or that a key person and the profits they generate can be sufficiently protected.
Where are you now?
Once we understand what you would like to protect, it is important to assess where you are now in terms of existing protection. This could be existing insurances or other company assets that you are happy to use if the worst happens. It may be that you would manage ok in all (or some) areas, or (in the worst case) certain events could see the business struggling badly or need to fold.
How did you get here?
Once we have plotted where you are on this journey, it is useful to understand how you arrived here and to review your existing planning. Assessing how the business is growing can also help to identify how the need for protection has changed and may do further in future.
How can we get you there?
Once we have a good understanding on where you are and how you got here, we can assess the available options and make the best recommendations on how to protect the business going forward. This may be recommending changes to existing plans, recommending new plans, or a combination of both.
Service stops
A business plan can help to identify how the business is expected to grow and how any recommended plans may need to adapt. That said, life has a habit of not necessarily sticking to our plans. Also within a business, staff come and go and even the structure of a business can alter over time. It is therefore vital to ensure that the best cover is in place at all times.
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Contact
E: graham@woldsfinancialplanning.co.uk
T: 07980 568 407
A: 56 The Mile, Pocklington, York, YO42 2HG