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

Endorsement to a property insurance policy providing all risks coverage for insured property. Excluded properties include residences, farms, and manufacturing properties. This endorsement ...

Act that provides new funding for the Bank Insurance Fund and enhances the safety and soundness of the financial system. The FDICIA includes the Foreign Bank Supervision Enhancement Act ...

Coverage of the employer for all employees on a blanket basis, with the maximum limit of coverage applied to any one loss without regard for the number of employees involved. Both ...

Insurance coverage that protects a company's and/or individual's assets against financial loss resulting from acts of confiscation, expropriation, or nationalization by a foreign ...

Annual report to policyholders of certain cash value life insurance products and annuities to inform them of the value of the investment portion of their contracts. Buyers of whole life ...

Contract sold by insurance companies that pays a monthly (quarterly, semiannual, or annual) income benefit for the life of a person (the annuitant). The annuitant can never outlive the ...

Process under which terminally ill people sell their life insurance policy for value thereby excluding the policy from being subject to the transfer for value under the three-year rule. ...

Reduction of private pension benefits to avoid "duplication" of Social Security benefits, according to a formula. Many pension plans "offset," or reduce, monthly pension benefits by a ...

Restriction on the benefit that owners and other highly compensated individuals may receive from a qualified pension or other employee benefits. The U.S. Tax Code requires that benefits ...

Popular Insurance Questions