Business Risk & Protection Planning
Protect the value you’ve built and the people who rely on your business
Identifying Risks to Your Business
Understanding What Could Disrupt Operations, Value, or Continuity
Every business faces risks that could undermine its stability or long-term value, from the loss of a key person to unexpected liability or economic shocks. We begin by helping you identify the specific vulnerabilities your company faces based on its size, structure, industry, and reliance on certain individuals. This includes examining operational dependencies, financial resilience, legal exposure, and owner-centric risks. Once the risk landscape is clear, we prioritize which areas need immediate attention and which can be addressed over time. With a structured view of risk, you can take targeted steps rather than reacting after something has already gone wrong.
Key Person Insurance and Buy-Sell Funding
Providing Liquidity When Your Business Needs It Most
For many businesses, the loss of an owner or critical employee can threaten revenue, relationships, and overall viability. Key person life and disability insurance are designed to provide the business with funds to weather that disruption, whether that means hiring a replacement, covering debt, or reassuring lenders and customers. In multi-owner situations, insurance is also commonly used to fund buy-sell agreements, ensuring the surviving owners have the cash to buy out a deceased or disabled partner’s interest. We help you evaluate who is truly “key,” how much coverage is appropriate, and how policies should be structured. By pairing insurance with a clear buy-sell agreement, you create a roadmap for continuity even in difficult circumstances.
Liability Protection and Business Structure
Separating Personal and Business Exposure
A thoughtful risk plan protects not only your company, but also your personal assets from business-related claims. We collaborate with your legal and insurance professionals to ensure your entity structure and coverage are aligned — whether that means proper use of LLCs or corporations, general liability coverage, professional liability or E&O policies, and umbrella protection where appropriate. Maintaining clear separation between business and personal finances, proper documentation, and adequate insurance limits can significantly reduce the risk of a business issue spilling into your personal balance sheet. We also consider how your estate plan and personal insurance intersect with the business, so your family remains protected. With these layers in place, you gain greater peace of mind knowing that one event is less likely to jeopardize everything you’ve built.
Protecting Business Value Through Operational Resilience
Building a Company That Can Withstand Setbacks and Change
Risk management is not only about insurance — it’s also about making the business itself more resilient. We encourage strategies like cross-training employees, documenting processes, and gradually reducing over-reliance on a single person, client, or vendor. Financially, maintaining appropriate cash reserves, access to credit, and contingency plans for revenue downturns can help you navigate challenging periods without panic. To bring focus to the process, we often look at:
- Where revenue is concentrated and how to reduce critical single-point dependencies.
- How quickly the business could recover from a key person’s absence or major client loss.
- Whether systems and processes are documented or live primarily in people’s heads.
- How emergency funding or insurance proceeds would be used in different scenarios.
- By addressing these factors, you not only reduce risk but may also enhance the company’s attractiveness to future buyers or successors.
Asset Protection for Business Owners
Coordinating Business and Personal Safeguards
As an owner, your personal financial security is closely tied to your company’s fortunes, which makes asset protection especially important. We help you evaluate how personal insurance, titling, trusts, and legal structures might shield your personal wealth from business creditors or lawsuits, working in concert with your attorney. On the business side, we examine guarantees you’ve personally made for loans or leases and how to manage or reduce those over time. We also consider how risk management interacts with your estate and succession plans, ensuring that if something happens to you, both the business and your family have a clear path forward. This integrated approach helps protect your overall financial picture, not just one part of it.
Secure the Future of Your Business
Common Questions About Business Risk & Protection Planning
Your Business Continuity, Insurance, and Asset Protection Questions, Answered
Do I really need key person insurance for my business?
If your business would struggle significantly without you or another critical individual, key person insurance is worth serious consideration. It provides the company with funds to absorb the shock of a loss, either by hiring temporary or permanent replacements, covering obligations, or simply buying time to adapt. Without it, the financial impact of losing a key contributor can be severe and immediate. We help you quantify that risk and decide whether the cost of coverage makes sense relative to the protection it offers.
How can I protect my business if something happens to me personally?
Protecting the business starts with planning for both expected and unexpected transitions. That may include a buy-sell agreement with co-owners, clear documentation of processes, and a succession plan that identifies who will lead or own the business if you’re no longer able to. Key person and disability insurance can provide the liquidity needed to sustain operations and fund ownership transitions. We also coordinate your personal financial and estate plans so that your family, employees, and clients have clarity if something happens to you.
What should a buy-sell agreement include and how is it funded?
A buy-sell agreement should specify who can buy an owner’s interest, when the agreement is triggered, how the business will be valued, and how payment will work. Funding is often accomplished through life and disability insurance policies on the owners, which provide the cash required to complete a buyout when an owner dies or becomes disabled. Other structures, such as installment payments or sinking funds, may supplement or replace insurance in some situations. We work with your attorney and insurance professionals to ensure both the agreement and its funding match your goals and the business’s capacity.
How can I separate my personal assets from business risks?
Using the right legal entity, maintaining separate finances, and adhering to corporate formalities are foundational steps in separating personal and business liability. Adequate liability coverage, umbrella policies, and, in some cases, trusts or other structures may further insulate your personal wealth from business claims. We help you identify where boundaries may be blurred and work with your legal and insurance advisors to strengthen those protections. Over time, we also focus on reducing personal guarantees and concentrating more of your wealth in protected personal assets.
How often should I review my business risk and protection plan?
Business risk and protection plans should be reviewed regularly, especially as your company grows, takes on new obligations, or changes ownership structure. Significant events — such as adding partners, expanding into new markets, taking on more debt, or experiencing rapid growth — can change your risk profile and coverage needs. We typically revisit your risk and insurance strategy as part of your broader annual or periodic planning process. Regular updates help ensure that your protections keep pace with your success and that no critical gaps emerge over time.
