
Jason B. Miyashita
Senior vice president – investments and
senior institutional consultant
Asia Pacific Group of Raymond James
Proper insurance coverage is key to your firm’s long-term security.
When running a business, there’s only so much you can plan for. An unforeseen event, such as the loss of a key employee, a lawsuit or even a natural disaster, could potentially put your firm in jeopardy.
While you can’t predict every future challenge, you can still prepare for the unexpected. A good place to start is by protecting your firm’s primary assets with a well-coordinated insurance strategy.
Insure key personnel
You are the most integral component of your business. If something were to happen to you, the firm would likely take a serious financial hit.
Purchasing life and disability insurance and naming the business as beneficiary can help protect your firm in case of such an event.
You can even purchase policies on the lives of other key employees with the firm. In the event of a key person’s death or disability, the proceeds from the policy would flow tax-free to the business and could be used to temporarily fund operating expenses, satisfy creditors or search for and hire a replacement.
In the case of your death, the funds could be especially important to help pay estate taxes and thus potentially avoid the forced sale of the business.
Protect your physical assets
When it comes to protecting your company’s physical assets — anything from machinery to inventory to account records — you’ll need a proper assortment of insurance policies to stay fully covered.
Because you’re likely exposed to certain risks based simply on your geographic region or your particular industry, this arrangement may include individual policies designed to cover specific types of damage. Examples include accounts receivable/valuable papers insurance, building and equipment insurance, business interruption insurance and crime insurance.
Often you can purchase a complete package of policies covering multiple scenarios. A typical business owner’s package includes both property and casualty insurance, as well as liability coverage, which protects your business in the event it is sued or found liable for damage or injury incurred by another party.
Take care of your employees
Today’s workers base their career decisions partially on the quality of benefits offered by prospective employers. And workers who feel their companies take care of them financially are likely to be more loyal and productive.
That makes offering group insurance benefits a powerful recruiting tool, not to mention a financially viable way to help your employees feel confident and motivated.
A group insurance package can allow your employees to receive coverage such as health, life, disability, long-term care — even dental and vision — often at significantly discounted rates. Premiums paid by both the company and the employee typically come out of pre-tax dollars.
Too much to leave to chance
Considering the amount of time and money you’ve invested in your business (not to mention the blood, sweat and tears), the last thing you should do is leave your firm’s future security to chance. As an adviser with Raymond James, I’m backed by a staff of insurance professionals who can help assess your unique circumstances and provide solutions to help protect your business against the unexpected. With so much on the line, you’ll feel more confident knowing you’ve taken the right steps to prepare for what you can’t predict.
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