When
running a business, planning ahead goes hand in hand.
Indeed we have to plan our targets, budgets, staffing
and marketing - but how well have you planned your business
protection? For example, have you considered what would
happen if you lost the most valuable asset in your business
- its key people? Indeed, how would your business cope
if:
-
your
business partner was to suffer a serious illness,
or even die?
-
a
key employee in your business was unable to work as
a result of a long-term illness?
-
or
a major shareholder dies and leaves their stake in
the business to their heirs who might not know anything
about the business?
In
fact many businesses have come to a sad demise due to
lack of planning in this sometimes neglected area. Indeed
the UK's business protection gap is estimated to be more
than £500 billion in sums assured. That is why it
is so important to make appropriate plans to help protect
your business against the unmitigated financial consequences
of these and other unforeseen events.
Not
all businesses are set up the same however, and therefore
require different types of protection with varying strategies.
We at Balfour can tailor business solutions to help:
-
Limited
Companies
-
Shareholders
-
Directors
-
Partnerships
-
Sole
Traders
-
Franchisees
Providing
protection for businesses can be complicated where there
is more than one interest in ownership. For example, when
there are many people involved, there can be disagreements
among shareholders or when a shareholder doesn't have any
knowledge of the business they have a share in. Wouldn't
it be prudent that on the death or critical illness of a
shareholder, the other shareholders received a cash sum
to buy their shares?
Where
a business operates as a partnership they should be formally
based on a Partnership Deed. There are two ways of protecting
a business if it's a partnership - 'key person' or 'partnership'
protection. Also, knowing the tax implications for these
respectively, can have a big impact on a business protection
policy. These types of protection can, if planned properly,
help with:
We
can help you plan so that losing a key person doesn't
have to mean financial disaster for your business.
With
a sole trader, any protection required would be on a personal
basis. Alarmingly however, because they are entirely liable
for the debts of the business, the sole trader needs to
think carefully about what could happen to their business
if they became critically ill or died. Protection solutions
for sole traders can be so much different to protecting
a company or its shareholders but nevertheless just as
important.
As
qualified Independent Financial Advisers, we ask the questions
that are necessary to find the best type of protection that
is right for your type of business, because we understand
that every business is different. Once we have assessed
your business structure we can use our many years of experience
together with the industries finest research tools to sift
through the 'whole' marketplace and recommend the best solution
for your particular circumstances. For complete reassurance
and independent business advice, contact
us now for your free, confidential consultation.
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