Key person insurance (previously known as key man insurance) protects your business against the loss of an individual who is critical to the company, either through death or long-term illness, and is an important part of your business protection strategy. It can help your business cover lost revenue, meet ongoing expenses, recruit a replacement, and maintain stability while you and your team adapt to the loss and daily enable day to day operations to continue.
Who we support
Small businesses
Large corporate companies
Specialist industries with unique skill sets
Start-ups – particularly science & technology companies
Businesses with investor requirements
Businesses who have a commercial mortgage, loan or loan notes
We're specialists in key person insurance
Through our collective experience, we’ve observed many of the best and worst practices in the Protection insurance market. We’re here to challenge the status quo and aim to establish a new level of service. Our business protection insurance team are industry experts and can assist you with key person insurance ,making sure you have a tailored solution for your business if something happens to your most important people.
Challenges in your business
If your business relies heavily on one or more individuals, their sudden death or diagnosis of a critical illness (such as a cancer, stroke or heart attack), could create immediate financial and operational pressure. Revenue may be affected, key client relationships disrupted, projects or growth plans could be delayed, and the cost of recruiting or replacing specialist skills can be significant. For many businesses, the challenge is understanding who is truly critical to continuity — and putting the right protection in place before it is too late.
How we support
At Partners&, we take the time to understand your business, your people and the roles that would be hardest to replace. We’ll help you identify your key people and assess the potential financial impact to the business (such as paying off commercial debt, cost of replacement or loss of revenue), and recommend a suitable level of cover. From exploring insurer options and explaining how the policy works to supporting you through underwriting and medical requirements, we’ll guide you through every stage.
Your business performs
With key person insurance in place, your business is better positioned to respond with confidence if the unexpected happens. The right protection can provide funds to help maintain cash flow, cover recruitment costs, repay borrowing, reassure investors and support business continuity. It helps you protect the people, relationships and knowledge that drive performance — giving your business greater resilience for the future.
What is key person insurance?
Key person insurance supports a business by providing financial protection if a crucial employee-such as a founder, board member, or specialist were to die, be diagnosed with a terminal illness or become critically ill.
The policy is owned and paid for by the company, and in the event of a claim, the lump sum pay out can help cover lost revenue, recruitment and training costs, debt obligations, or operational disruptions caused by losing that individual’s unique skills or leadership.
Key person insurance ultimately helps safeguard business continuity during a potentially destabilising event.
Who are the key people in your business?
Key people come in all shapes and sizes – ultimately, they are the people on whom the business is dependent in some way.
Take a moment to look inside your business and think about who you really rely on:
- Business owners who set the strategic direction and run the business
- A salesperson or director who has a major impact or influence on profit
- Specialists whose skills or knowledge are hard to replace
- People who hold relationships with third parties (lenders, investors, suppliers or key clients)
- Anyone who takes on sole responsibility for certain aspects of operations
Why does my business need key person insurance?
Every business will have at least one key person who it relies on for ongoing success and continuity.
Would your business be able to continue trading if someone who is instrumental to your success died or was unable to continue their duties due to a critical illness?
Questions to ask yourself:
- Who does your business rely on for contribution to turnover, client introductions, operations, technology and systems?
- How would your business be affected if a key employee were to be diagnosed with a critical illness, or die?
- Could your business continue with day-to-day operations – and if so, for how long?
- Are you looking to seek funding from investors to help grow your business?
- Are you planning your exit within the next 5 years? How would the loss of the key person impact the plan?
Key person insurance can provide your business with much-needed financial security and stability during difficult and challenging times.
Let us help you understand how key person insurance could help your business build resilience.
Meet the key person insurance team
Tom Klinkenberg
Managing Partner (Wellbeing, Health & Protection)
