Business Planning

Built to last - protecting your business

Think of 'the unthinkable' by considering the following scenarios...

If something happened to you:

• Would you be sure that you or your family would receive adequate payment for the transfer of your interest in the business to your business associates?
• Would the business have sufficient funds to repay any loans owed to you and release any assets held as security?
• Could your business associates continue to run the business?

If something happened to one of your business associates:

• Would you be sure that the transfer of that person's interest in the business would be not only orderly and equitable, but could be funded?
• Would you lose a key revenue generator?
• Would you have enough cash flow to meet your business commitments?
• Would you be able to pay out business debts to release any loan guarantees or personal security that associate may have given?
• Would the business struggle with the loss of key skills and costs to replace those skills?
• Would you want to avoid selling or encumbering personal or business assets?

You have worked hard to build up your business so you will want to make sure it can withstand whatever life throws at it. Well-structured business insurance helps keep your business functioning and protects the value of your business assets in the case of unplanned events. Without it your business may fail, exposing you, your family and business associates to unnecessary financial risk. The key to good protection is the right amount of cover for the right people at the right time.

Fast Facts

• 69% of people in small business have no income protection¹
• Only 25% of people in small business could keep their business going or maintain their lifestyle for more than six months if they suffered serious illness or disablement²
• 47% of people in small business are not aware that income protection is tax deductible³
• 31% of small business owners are aged over 50, which makes succession planning important⁴

The solution is to implement a set of protective arrangements that provide funding on the death or disablement of a key person. This would enable you to repay business loans or shareholder/director loans, to offset loss of revenue, or provide funding to exercise a transfer of the injured or deceased person's share of the business. So what protection does your business need? There are three basic protection needs that typically apply to businesses:

• Asset protection for business borrowings and shareholder loans
• Revenue protection for key people
• Ownership protection for the principals

We can work with you to establish a Superannuation Plan for you and your employees.

_{1IFSA, Small Business; Missing out on valuable tax breaks, 2006.
2IFSA, Small Business; Missing out on valuable tax breaks, 2006.
3IFSA, Small Business; Missing out on valuable tax breaks, 2006.
4Australian Bureau of Statistics, Characteristics of Small Business.}