Written by ARF Pensions based in Ranelagh, Dublin.

Anyone in business today wouldn’t think twice about insuring their business against loss from fire or theft. However, there are many other circumstances that can have damaging and lasting consequences for your business. Indeed, without the right kind of protection, your business, even your family’s finances, could be in financial ruin.

Ask yourself the following:

• How would your business survive if one of your key employees or shareholders became seriously ill or died suddenly?
• If your business partner died what would happen to their share of the business?
• How would you feel about a shareholder’s family joining your business if he died suddenly?
• If you died what would happen to your share of the business?
• Is your spouse/children in a position to take your place in the business?
• How will your family survive financially?

It won’t happen to your company!

There is very little in life of which we can be absolutely certain, but one fact is guaranteed, we are all going to die…some day. The one unkown, thankfully, for most of us are that we have no idea when this will be. However, the odds of one partner in a 2 or 3 man business dying or becoming seriously ill before retirement are probably a lot higher than you might think.

What’s the Solution?

Many problems can arise for a business when a partner or key employee is out of the picture due to death or serious illness. Some of these problems could be alleviated with adequate financial planning to provide the funds to allow options and choices to be made by all parties. Arranging adequate Business Protection Insurance is the only way to ensure that the necessary funds will end up in the right hands at the right time, in a cost efficient manner, to ensure the continuity and the survival of the business.

Our Expertise
Ensuring the survival of your business, either when you pass it on to your children, or in the event of a partner dying, requires careful planning. Allen Retirement & Finance Ltd can help you put together an arrangement to suit your Business Protection needs which will ensure the continued success and profitability of your business.

Keyperson Insurance
This allows a limited company to plan for the potential financial loss that it would suffer on the death or the serious illness of a key employee. For example, will any loans to the business have to be repaid on the death of a specific individual?

Shareholder Protection

This allows the shareholders of a limited company to provide funds to purchase the share of a deceased shareholder from their personal representatives. The life assurance contracts are effected by the shareholders personally. This ensure the surviving shareholders retain control of their business.

Corporate Shareholder Protection
This is an arrangement whereby the company agrees with each shareholder to buy back his shares from his personal representatives on death, with the insurance cost being borne by the company. This ensures security for the company, and peace of mind for the family/dependants of the deceased.

Gift or Inheritance Tax Planning
This allows you to plan in advance for any tax liability which could arise on the transfer of a business, thus ensuring the business won’t have to be sold off to pay the tax debts.

Allen Retirement & Finance Ltd can help you, and your business, to plan for the future. Whether it is succession planning, providing financial security for dependants, or ensuing the survival and continuity of your business in the event of the death of a shareholder or key employee, we can offer solutions to meet your needs.

Summary
For any person managing their own business, either solely or with business partners there are important question that need to be considered as part of normal business planning

• Will I be able to pass my business on to my children intact without it being ravaged by tax?
• How will my family survive financially in the event of a sudden death?
• How would the business survive in the event of my sudden death or death of a partner?
• What would happen to my income in the event of a long-term absence from work due to illness?

What would you like to happen?

What plans have you made to ensure your hopes are likely to be realised?