4 types of insurance business owners often overlook

When you have your own company, you carry a lot of responsibility. You’re the head of business development, human resources, and operations — just to name a few. As you manage all the moving parts, worries can arise. Can you make payroll? How can you attract new customers? Then there’s the creeping thought in the middle of the night: What if something were to happen to you? Would your business survive without you, even if only for a little while?

Every business owner wants the answer to the last question to be “yes.” To get there, there are things you can to do help your company weather the unpredictable, such as getting proper insurance policies for yourself. According to our research, many business owners are categorized as “ambitious spenders,” a group that embraces risk and is less likely to look into insurance for protection.¹ But protecting yourself in your personal life can help protect your business in the long term. As a starting point, consider these four personal insurance options that business owners often overlook.

1. Spousal coverage offers household protection

This may seem like a surprising place to start, especially if your life partner is not involved in your company, but difficulties in your personal life could take away from time spent on your business. Research shows that if stay-at-home parents were to earn a salary, their work would be valued at $178,201 a year.² If your spouse suffered an accident or illness and couldn’t contribute, how would your household cover these services? With spousal coverage policies, the supplemental income you receive when your partner is unable to contribute to the household during a sickness or injury can help you get through that rough patch, so you can focus on your spouse’s recovery and your business.

2. Disability insurance can help protect you too

Large employers typically offer group disability insurance in case their employees get sick or injured and can’t work (though group policies provided by employers don’t always cover the full disability need). As a business owner without access to an employer-offered group policy, you may want to acquire your own disability insurance policy.

Don’t fall for the myth that disability insurance is only for rare, catastrophic accidents — research shows that 1 in 4 20-year-olds will become disabled during their working years.³ If an accident or illness prevents you from working for an extended period, disability insurance helps you bridge the paycheck gap by replacing a percentage of your lost income. It’s typically untaxed income, and you can even use the money to cover retirement contributions and student loan payments.⁴ You’re the cornerstone of your business, so making sure you’re protected means greater confidence for everyone in the company.

3. Whole life insurance can help boost your business

People generally know that whole life insurance provides financial protection and support to beneficiaries when they die. But it’s less commonly known that a whole life policy can do a lot more, even while you’re alive. As you pay your whole life premiums, your premiums accrue a growing cash value, paying your survivors a death benefitif you unexpectedly pass away guaranteed.^5,6,7

You can tap into this lesser-known reserve to fund various expenses for you personally and for your business, including well-deserved time off. We’re all human, and naturally there are days when you don’t feel 100%. Instead of pushing yourself through a sickness or continuously postponing a much-needed break, take the time you need to feel ready to return to work. When you have access to the cash value of whole life insurance, you can use it to help cover bills and expenses during your time off.

4. Health Insurance to help prepare you for the unexpected

Healthcare is expensive, and even one trip to the emergency room can be devastating financially if you’re uninsured. In fact, the inability to pay medical bills is one of the leading causes of personal bankruptcies in the US.⁸ And going into debt can derail your business plans, not to mention the possible loss of working time during your recovery period. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has made health insurance more economical for the self-employed and those with low to moderate incomes, so do your research and find health insurance you can afford. Whether it’s a solution on the ACA marketplace or a health savings account (HSA) that gives you a tax-advantaged way to set aside money, you’ll want to be properly protected in case the unexpected happens.⁹

Other lesser-known business insurance products can also help

Once your personal insurance policies are in place, take a look at other kinds of policies that can help support your business. For instance, perhaps you took out a business loan to fund capital improvements. In this case, a business loan protection policy could help cover the repayment if you became unable to work.

Or, what if one of your business partners couldn’t return to work due to a disability? How would your company carry on? This may be hard to think about, but in such an event, disability buy-out insurance can help your business. These kinds of policies are not as well-known as other types of business insurance, but they can help protect the business you’ve worked so hard to build.

Your financial professional can help you determine a strategy

Many business owners are familiar with the types of insurance they need for their business, whether it’s workers’ compensation, product liability insurance, or other policies. But business owners often overlook the fact that they need to protect themselves personally to keep the business on track for the long term. Talk with your financial professional about insurance strategies for both your personal life and your business.