Keyman insurance is defined as an insurance policy where the proposer as well as the premium payer is the employer, the life to be insured is that of the employee and the benefit, in case of a claim, goes to the employer. The `keyman’ or ‘key person’ would be any person employed by a company having a special skill set or substantial responsibilities and who contributes significantly to the profits of that organization.
The death of the employee can incur two types of losses to the company:
(a) Loss arising from profit reduction for the company
(b) Costs for the company in replacing the keyman
In case the company has keyman insurance, on the death of the employee, the sum assured is paid to the company. This sum assured is generally quite large and sufficient to not only tide over any business downturn, but also hire a new senior executive. If the insured person survives the term of the insurance then no money is paid to the company.
Who can be a Keyman?
Anybody with specialized skills, whose loss can cause a financial strain to the company, is eligible for Keyman Insurance. For example, they could be: Directors of a Company, key sales people, key project managers, people with specific skills etc.
How can keyman insurance be used?
Basically, it is a pure term plan that can be bought by a company to cover the life of an important employee. But, the policy has many uses. The amount that can be claimed with such a policy allows you to not only recruit and train key personnel, but also secure and settle loans, offer salary continuation arrangements to the spouse of the deceased and fund executive compensation plans.
What are the advantages of keyman insurance?
Be it a small business or a large company, keyman insurance provides quite a few advantages:
In case of death of the employee, the company receives the sum assured to cope with the loss and also ensures business continuity without any hiccups.
The policy contributes to the company’s tax planning* - Premium allowed as business expense under section 37(1) of Income Tax Act, 1961, subject to satisfaction of the assessing officer.
Options such as recruiting and training capable employee replacements, handling debt and liquidation of the company, or even successfully selling the company are all within reach when a business is covered by keyman insurance.