Risk Management

Protecting you and your business.

BUSINESS RISKS

If you’re a business owner, then you may think you only need the basics when it comes to insurance: property, casualty, worker’s comp and general liability. But that doesn’t mean you’re properly covered. As a business owner, there are a number of different risks to protect against for yourself, your family, your business and your employees.

Not having the proper protection could have significant consequences for your company or for yourself as an uninsured incident could potentially have serious financial consequences for your business and your life.

succession planning

Creating a business succession plan is absolutely critical. The more planning you do now, the more graceful and profitable your exit will be in the future. Here’s some very real risks in waiting:

Your business isn’t valued properly
You pick the wrong buyer for your business
You walk into the deal unprepared
You haven’t worked through worst-case scenarios

In addition, buy-sell agreements govern what would happen to the business if you or your co-owner dies or becomes disabled. All owners should have buy-sell agreements in place and a plan to fund the purchase of that person’s share of the business.

KEY PERSON INSURANCE

Key person insurance covers your business in the event that a crucial person in your company is unable to work due to disability or death. If you, the owner, or another key employee is injured and out of commission, key person insurance pays a benefit to the business, which can be used to replace revenue.

This type of coverage is especially important in fields where individual salespeople or highly-skilled workers are critical to a business’s bottom line. As a business owner, you should also consider disability overhead expense insurance to cover expenses like rent, utilities, or equipment maintenance in the event a disability were to sideline you.

DISABILITY & LIFE INSURANCE

Many people work for companies that offer them some form of disability income insurance, but if you own your own business, what would happen to your personal income if you got sick or became disabled? Disability income insurance ensures that you can continue to pay your personal bills if that were to happen.

While life insurance is important for everyone to have, it is particularly important for business owners. That’s because many personally borrow money in order to start their businesses. Whether you have taken out a bank loan or a business credit card in your name, repaying this debt out could be a significant financial burden for your family.

DATA BREACHes

It seems like there’s a new corporate data breach every time you turn on the news. Even small companies are experiencing these breaches — the consequences of which aren’t just embarrassing headlines, but also potential lawsuits. That’s why many companies in charge of collecting or storing sensitive data like personal or financial information are getting data breach or cyber insurance policies.

These policies may help mitigate the risk of litigation and in some cases can help pay for the required steps to respond to the situation and address compromised information.

DIRECTORS & OFFICERS INSURANCE

Directors and officers insurance protects the people who work for you or serve on your board from personal exposure to liability related to decisions they make and actions they take on behalf of the company. Even if a claim is not viable, defending cases is costly.

BUSINESS INTERRUPTION INSURANCE

If a natural disaster like a hurricane — or the human-caused variety like a derailed freight train (it happens) — strikes your headquarters, your property insurance will cover physical damages. But what about lost business income if you are unable to operate? This benefit can replace lost income if that happen.

EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES & LIABILITY

About 12 percent of small and medium-sized businesses are hit by employment claims like wrongful termination, sexual harassment or discrimination. Even if unfounded, such lawsuits can be costly to defend and could lead to big settlements or payouts.

Employment practices liability insurance is valuable as it protects against harassment, whistleblower claims and discrimination cases, which are issues affecting businesses of all sizes.

Why Us

	Traditional Broker	The Gleason Group
24/7 Access & Immediate Response
A Fiduciary Duty
Debt & Insurance Analysis
Succession Planning & Beneficiary Coordination
Holistic Approach