Whether you are a sole trader, SME or national corporate, are you or your firm guilty of ignoring business protection? Furthermore, what springs to mind when the subject of business protection is raised? Daniel Wyke, Managing Director of Wyke Financial, discusses this issue and highlights the importance of protecting your business.
When we discuss the topic of business protection many clients assume we are talking about protecting the business in the commercial space with public liability, or the protection of the physical assets such as the premises, contents, vehicles and stock.
Whilst there is undoubtably a need for the above, quite often a business may have all these covers in place but have neglected the most valuable asset of all – the people.
In my experience a business is only as good as the staff within it. I have found this to be equally true whether it’s a one-man band or an SME with 100 employees and multi layered management structure.
It is the key individuals in the business that ensure day-to-day operations continue and the businesses aims and objectives are met. But what happens when something goes wrong? The consequences on the individual and the firm can be devastating and have long-lasting effects.
When it comes to business protection, I often hear comments like ‘we will do it when we are bigger’ or ‘I’m not sure if I’m covered through the business’. This indecisive hesitant approach is ok – until it isn’t. Illness, incapacity or even death of a director, shareholder or key person are all considerations that need protection.
Of course, there is a cost to these products but on the overall turnover of the business this will be relatively minimal and clients should consider some key questions:
- What happens if you, the leader, die or become seriously ill? Is there enough money in the business to replace you for a period or clear your debtors and ensure your family’s future?
- What happens if your business partner dies? Are there enough funds in the business to buy out a third part to resolve any share-holder disputes and to help in replacing the key individual.
- What happens if a key person is unable to work? Imagine one of your top people is off for a prolonged period, do you have enough to pay them and the person who temporarily replaces them?
These are just some of the scenarios that could arise in any business and the good news is all these problems have a solution in the way of a protection plan. Relevant life cover, business loan protection, shareholder protection and key person protection are all excellent products specifically designed to ensure the business suffers minimal disruption should any of the above events happen.
I said at the start it is frightening how often this is ignored, usually due to either perceived cost or time of implementing this type of cover. I am passionate about business protection as a business owner myself I understand the responsibility we have to our clients and our staff.
This is why we at Wyke Financial have a simple three-step, time-effective and low-cost process to get business covered:
- We have a no obligation chat about the business framework and how it looks, what are your areas of vulnerability.
- We discuss with you a spread of solutions from across the insurances market to fit your expectations of cover and budget.
- We carry out all the work required to get the policy in force. This may be meeting with your key people to go through health questionnaires, liaising with your accountant to correctly asses your cover values and simply applying for the cover on your behalf
I would implore any business to at least get to step two, as it costs nothing and could be the most important decision you make this year. We’d love to have a chat to discuss your needs and make sure you have the protection you need in place.
Find out more about Wyke Financial at www.wykefinancial.co.uk or call 01536 560580
