Business Protection

At Cavendish Online we appreciate no two businesses are the same, so our team of protection experts can help arrange the correct policies for your business, tailored to your needs. We offer advice on a full suite of Business Protection products and are a whole of market broker, meaning you will always get the best policy and premium for your business protection. 

Business Protection solutions available through Cavendish Online

Key Person Insurance

When business owners think about taking the steps to protect and grow their business, often the initial thought is to insure their business assets against catastrophic events such as fire or theft, as well as strategizing to attract and retain the best staff for their needs.

However, in our experience, the need to protect against what might happen if a key employee, director or shareholder were to die or become critically ill (if the benefit is chosen) is frequently overlooked by companies. The cost to the company in such an event could be devastating, especially when you consider the impact of:

• The costs associated with recruiting and training a replacement.
   
• The possible loss of new contracts or sales.
   
• Pressure being placed on other members of staff to allocate time and resources to cover the loss of the key person, which can impede their ability to carry out day to day tasks and ultimately impact company morale. 

Key person protection is a policy taken out by the company on the life of the ‘key person’. It is designed to help minimise the disruption the business in the event of the key person dying.

A ‘key person’ is anyone whose death or disability would have a serious effect on the company’s future profits. Some companies may have several key individuals, others may only have one. However, to identify who is a key person requires an in-depth understanding of the business itself and requires real consideration.

Business Loan Protection

Business Loan protection is designed to help pay off any outstanding loans that the business may have should a main shareholder, director, partner, or key individual die or be diagnosed with a specified critical illness (if this benefit is chosen).

Before you arrange business loan protection cover, it’s important to understand each individual’s liability. Under the terms of a loan, owners may be jointly liable, severally liable, or jointly and severally liable for the loan.

Shareholder Protection

The sudden loss of a key shareholder has the potential to disrupt any company. This is because if they die or suffer a critical illness (if included in the policy), their share of the business usually passes to their beneficiaries. To regain control of that share, surviving business owners may need to buy that individual’s part of the business.

However, there are several issues that can arise from this situation:

• The business may simply not have the capital to purchase the shares from the beneficiary and it can be too costly to borrow (or simply not possible, as any lender would likely take into account the fact that the company has just lost someone who is likely key to the business). As a result, they cannot purchase the shares back and regain control of them.
   
• The beneficiaries may not wish to sell. For example, the spouse or family of the deceased might decide to keep the shares and become involved in the business. This could be just as unwelcome for the other shareholders.

However, shareholder protection can help minimise this interruption to the business. If an appropriate policy is in place, funds would be available when needed, on the death and/or critical illness of a shareholder. The shareholder or their family will quickly receive the true worth of their shares, thus helping all parties involved through a difficult period.

Shareholder Protection can be a complex product due to the ways in which it can be written (which is subject to the type of business the cover is for). As such, you will need to speak to one of our business protection experts over the phone for a no-obligation quote and further information.

Employee Benefits

Often seen as great ways to build a reward package to attract and retain the top talent, employee benefits which Cavendish Online can arrange for your business, such as: 

• Group Life Insurance (sometimes referred to as 'Death in Service')
   
• Group Income Protection (a sick pay benefit, provided by employers) 
   
• Group Private Medical Insurance (private healthcare)

What happens if I can't pay my premiums?

If you are unable to pay your premiums, there are usually a few options available.

For example, if you are struggling to pay your premiums because you’re currently off work ill, and your plan includes waiver of premium, your insurer will cover your premiums for you and you won’t lose the cover.

Alternatively, they may be able to grant you some sort of payment holiday or repayment plan.  

It’s important to speak to your insurer before making any decisions about your policy. They will be able to provide more information and advice on what options are available.