Austria
Belgium
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Liechtenstein
Netherland
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
United Kingdom
Australia
Hong Kong
New Zealand
India
Indonesia
Japan
Malaysia
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Mexico
Peru
Bahrain
Israel
Morocco
Oman
UAE
Saudi Arabia
Tanzania
Business Protection
Protect your business against the unexpected
Financial protection when your business loses key staff
Protecting your business isn’t just about protecting your balance sheet, or your physical assets. It’s about safeguarding against the loss of the team members who are vital to the day-to-day running of your business.
Business protection insurance is designed to protect your business against the financial consequences of losing your most valuable employees due to death or critical illness.
Our specialist brokers can ensure your business protection insurance policy is tailored to the specific needs of your company, giving you financial peace of mind during a very challenging period.
Why do you need business protection insurance?
Losing key staff can have serious financial consequences. You could lose clients, miss out on expected future revenue, see your share price fall (if you’re publicly owned), or even suffer reputational damage.
Business protection insurance can cover a wide range of different key staff, including (but not limited to):
- Shareholders
- Partners
- Key employees
And, in the case of smaller businesses, sole traders.
The 4 key types of business protection insurance
Business protection insurance can be structured in a number of different ways. Click the arrows below for more information on each one.
Key person insurance is essentially a form of life insurance, which will pay out if a key member of your staff dies.
If you choose to include critical illness cover as part of your policy, key person insurance will also payout if your key staff member is diagnosed with a serious illness.
If you claim on your key person Insurance, any insurance payout will be paid directly to the company, which means it can be used to:
- Protect profits
- Clear business debt
- Budget for replacement recruitment
And, in general, help your business keep trading normally while you recover from the loss.
If you lose a key shareholder due to critical illness or death, you’ll have to deal with a lot of uncertainty and potential financial distress.
Their shares could be inherited by family members who have no interest in the business or – worse – could sell to a competitor, leaving you with less control over your company.
Shareholder protection insurance can give you the financial resources necessary to buy the shares left by anyone who passes away (or is unable to work) at a pre-agreed price.
This way, you can retain control of your company and avoid unnecessary financial strain.
If your business operates as a partnership rather than shareholder ownership, partnership protection insurance can offer you the same level of protection as shareholder protection cover.
So, if one of your company partners passes away or is unable to work due to serious illness or injury, partnership protection insurance can give you the financial resources to buy up their interest in the business.
Again, this can help you retain control of your business. And, as with shareholder protection cover, it can also help you avoid having to raise additional financing to meet the costs.
Death or illness to your key staff members could lead to a situation where your you’re unable to meet the cost of repaying business or director loans, commercial mortgages and other forms of business financing.
In some cases, if your business doesn’t have sufficient assets to repay the debt, a lender could seek repayment from the estate of the owner or guarantor. Or even potentially try to reclaim the debt from the personal assets of other partners or shareholders.
Business loan protection insurance can ensure any covered loans are repaid if the debt owner passes away or suffers a critical illness.
Why choose Howden?
We empower our people to go above and beyond, and to focus on results first. If our expert consultants need to think out of the box or take a more flexible approach to ensure you get the best outcome, that’s what they’ll do.
One size fits all? That’s not what we do. We start with your business and people. Your goals and plans. Your value and culture. And we use all of that as a blueprint for designing your policy and finding the provider that best suits your specific requirements.
Your success is our success
We combine a global network of local experts with the global reach and resource of the wider Howden Group, with more than 17,000+ risk specialists operating in more than 110 countries.
And, because we’re an employee-owned business, you can be sure that we’re as fully invested in your success as you are. Our benefits consultants are committed to helping you fulfil your ambitions, because that’s how we succeed as a business. Your best interests are perfectly aligned with ours.
