Top executive income protection solutions: 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. Read even more information at key person insurance.
Keyman insurance can be an invaluable asset to a business, allowing them to cover the loss of valuable personnel such as Executives or Board Members. Often, premiums for keyman insurance are tax deductible provided certain criteria are met. Generally speaking, for the policy to be eligible for corporation tax relief it must be used to compensate for profit loss should a key individual die, have a limited term of 5 years or less and must not be convertible into another type of policy. Tax regulations vary from region to region however; therefore each business should speak with its local tax inspector to grow greater clarity on this matter before taking out any kind of coverage.
The business itself can act as the proposer of this kind of policy if it’s set up in a Ltd format, or each individual owner can take individual policies if within partnerships and sole traders setups. It’s important for businesses to take this kind of measures into consideration when taking out large loans as it helps protect not only the people involved but also their investments should something go wrong throughout repayment period. Making sure everyone involved understands their responsibilities and is aware that there are ways to protect their finances should adverse circumstances arise will help provide peace-of-mind during stressful times.
Tax Implications: This form of succession planning is quite complex and you should seek financial advice, legal advice, tax advice and bespoke advice unique to your own situation so the guidelines below will just give a brief overview of what company owners need to watch out for. So it will be very likely that the spouse could not sell the shares at all or sell them at a massively discounted price. With a shareholder protection policy in place it would provide a lump sum payment to the remaining shareholders. The sum assured would be pre-agreed by the business owners. This would allow the individual shareholders to buy the spouses company shares at fair price.
When an individual or couple take out a mortgage then in most cases they will protect their mortgage with life insurance or life and critical illness. The same principle should apply for business that have loans, overdrafts or other type of commercial loans. However many business owners overlook and forget to cover any outstanding loans. Business loan protection is very similar to key person cover but rather than the sum assured amount covering the loss of income from the death of a key employee instead it covers outstanding debts.
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. Discover additional information on Key person insurance.
Relevant Life Policy: A highly tax efficient way of offering life cover for company directors. Can now also cover illnesses with the optional employee significant illness cover. Written in trust to ensure tax free payouts. Key Person Income Protection Insurance: Long term illness of a key person can affect both the income of a business and also in many cases the employee also needs paying. Key person income protection can cover the business for loss of income whilst the employee is not working.