This information is restricted to readers in England and Wales due to the difference in legislation in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

When you're building a business, the focus is often on growth, profit, and opportunity. But what happens if one of your key people — or shareholders — suddenly dies or becomes critically ill?

Shareholder & Key Person Protection turns that question from a risk into a plan.

It’s a strategic layer of insurance that ensures your business can survive a worst-case scenario — with the money, structure, and legal clarity to keep going without disruption.

What Is Shareholder & Key Person Protection?

At its core, this type of protection is a business continuity and succession solution backed by insurance. It provides a tax-free lump sum to the company or shareholders in the event a key individual passes away or is diagnosed with a serious illness.

There are two main parts:

Key Person Protection

Protects the business financially when someone critical to operations — such as a founder, director, or senior employee — can no longer work due to death or serious illness.

The payout can be used to:

• Recruit and train a replacement
• Support revenue shortfalls
• Reassure clients, investors, and lenders
• Keep operations running smoothly

Shareholder Protection

Allows remaining shareholders to buy back shares from the estate of a deceased or critically ill business partner. This ensures:

• Control of the business stays with active shareholders
• The deceased’s family is compensated fairly
• Avoidance of legal disputes and ownership uncertainty

Why Does It Matter?

Without this protection in place, your business could face:

• Loss of leadership and expertise
• Shares falling into the hands of uninterested or external parties
• Frozen decision-making or shareholder deadlock
• Stalled growth or complete collapse

It’s not just about protecting the business today — it’s about safeguarding everything you’re building for the future.

How It Works in Practice

Here’s a simplified breakdown of the process:

1. Identify the key people and shareholders critical to your business.
2. Take out insurance policies on their lives, either personally or through the business.
3. Set up legal agreements (such as cross-option agreements) that outline how shares will be handled if someone dies or becomes seriously ill.
4. In the event of a claim, the insurance pays out a lump sum to the business or other shareholders.
5. That money is then used to:
   • Maintain continuity
   • Pay out grieving families fairly
   • Keep control of the business where it belongs

What Makes This So Powerful?

✅ It protects your business value.
✅ It keeps your succession plans on track.
✅ It shows investors and lenders you're prepared.
✅ It supports your long-term financial and retirement goals.

Put simply: Shareholder & Key Person Protection is what turns an unpredictable future into a controlled transition.

Ready to Protect What You’ve Built?

If your business relies on a few key people to survive, then Shareholder & Key Person Protection isn’t just optional — it’s essential.

Let’s help you put a proper plan in place.

Get in touch to speak to a specialist.‍