Sole Proprietor Life And Health Insurance

Definition of "Sole proprietor life and health insurance"

Coverage for the owner of a business. When a proprietor dies, debts of the business become the debts of the estate since in this circumstance the law recognizes business and personal assets as one. The executor is required to dispose of the business as quickly as possible. Life insurance can fund the disposition in several ways:

  1. If the business is transferred through a will, the life insurance's death benefit can be applied to the deceased proprietor's personal and business debts and estate taxes.
  2. If the executor conducts a forced sale or liquidation, a death benefit can be used to reduce or eliminate any debts. The death benefit can also be used as a source of working capital for interim financing to operate the business in the short run.
  3. If the business is to be transferred to a child or employee, the death benefit can provide funds to effect the transfer.
  4. If the business is to be sold to a key employee (s) through a buy-and-sell agreement, the key employee (s) usually has previously bought a life insurance policy on the sole proprietor and made all premium payments. The buy-and-sell agreement stipulates the formula to be used in valuing the business as well as other conditions of the sale. Upon the death of the proprietor and the sale of the business to the key employee (s), the proprietor's estate receives the cash amount according to the buy-and-sell agreement, and the key employee (s) receives the deceased proprietor's business.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Insurance Terms

Limitation imposed on insurance companies by state law. States oversee the insurance industry, being responsible for making certain that the rates are fair, reasonable, and adequate, and ...

Right of a beneficiary of a life insurance policy to exchange the future installments due that beneficiary for a lump sum distribution. ...

Provision in business interruption insurance that excludes coverage for continuing the wages of rank and file employees. Business interruption insurance covers an employer for loss of ...

Section of the Internal Revenue Code that provides for the taking of the proceeds from one life insurance policy or annuity and the reinvesting of these proceeds immediately in another life ...

Covers all employees of a business on a blanket basis with the maximum limit of coverage applied separately to each employee guilty of a crime. ...

Assumption of total disability when an insured loses sight, hearing, speech, or a limb. When such a loss occurs to an insured with disability income insurance, the insurer often assumes ...

Individual retirement account established under the tax reform act of 1986, for a spouse who has unearned income. The maximum annual combined contribution into the worker's and spouse's IRA ...

Ratio of the company's investment in noninvestment grade bonds dividend to its adjusted surplus. This ratio shows how vulnerable the company's surplus is to the market fluctuations in ...

Methods for payment of the value of a policy. An insurance company can select one of three options in settlement of a loss: make a cash payment; take possession of damaged or destroyed ...

Popular Insurance Questions