Business owners

Business insurance needs

• Funding a future capital gains tax on the shares of the corporation at death of the owner
• Funding a buy-sell agreement at the death of one of the co-owners of the business
• Key person coverage, for companies that rely largely on one or more key people, to provide life and disability insurance and to give the company time to recover and replace the key player(s)
• Long-term debt retirement coverage in the event of an owner’s or key person’s death
• Business overhead insurance, ensuring overhead costs are paid while an owner recuperates from a disability or critical illness
• Providing health and dental insurance to your employees can help you attract and retain skilled workers.
• Term life insurance or critical illness insurance can cover a business loan or mortgage if you die before it is repaid.
• One of your most valuable assets is your ability to earn an income. We can offer disability insurance specifically for business owners.

You may also want to consider buying business insurance to build a pool of tax-exempt capital to:

• Finance a living buyout of shares by a co-owner
• Provide a supplemental retirement income to the business owner

Business life insurance

If you’re in business, on your own or with a partner, you have unique life insurance needs that depend on the stage of your business’ growth and your long-term goals for you, your family and your business.

Because you own a business, the majority of your wealth is likely tied up in it. You want to protect what you’ve built against unforeseen circumstances such as death or disability; you want to ensure you have liquidity when you need it so you can achieve your goals.

Your needs may include:

• Covering a major commitment such as a mortgage or business loan
• Retaining key employees and attracting new employees
• Ensuring you have the funds to buy a partner’s interest at death or retirement
• Supplementing retirement income for you and your spouse tax effectively
• Ensuring your spouse’s lifestyle is protected
• Ensuring taxes owing on your estate are paid, leaving your assets intact for your heirs

Here’s how life insurance can help:

• You can use a permanent life insurance policy to help ensure your business survives your death or the death of a partner or key employee.
• Permanent life insurance puts your premiums to work for you by also providing a cash value that you can use to help meet future financial needs or opportunities over your lifetime.
• Some permanent life insurance policies have cash values that may accumulate over time. They can help finance a business opportunity, buy out a partner’s interest when they retire or give your business the ability to grow and change.
• A permanent life insurance policy is an ideal way to accumulate tax-advantaged savings while you’re alive and helps you leave a meaningful gift, outside of your estate, to your heirs or favorite charity.
• Proceeds from a permanent life insurance policy can provide your heirs or estate with the liquidity needed to pay final taxes, capital gains and settlement costs so that you can preserve as much of your estate as possible to pass on to your heirs.
• Term life insurance can save you money by providing more coverage for lower premiums and offering you the flexibility to convert to permanent life insurance.

Business disability insurance

As a business owner, you want to protect both your independence and profitability. We offer several types of insurance for business owners to reimburse certain business expenses, help facilitate a buy-sell agreement or help hire a replacement for a disabled employee. Each of these plans includes standard features and optional benefits.

We also offer a variety of disability insurance products to help protect your business if you, your partner or a key employee becomes disabled.

Business critical illness insurance

Critical illness insurance is designed to help financially support patients before, during and after treatment by providing a lump-sum benefit when a critical illness is diagnosed.

If you are a fee-for-service professional or a business owner, you may want to consider some of the potential uses for the funds from a critical illness insurance policy:

• Funding a buyout agreement
• Key person insurance
• Coverage for operating expenses

Business health and dental insurance

As Canadians, we’re fortunate to have one of the best healthcare systems in the world, but government healthcare coverage may not provide all you need.

You may be left to pay for expenses such as:

• Prescription drugs
• Dental visits
• Eye exams
• Paramedic services
• Ambulance transport

Enhanced healthcare plans can help protect your employees against these and other unexpected health and dental expenses.