02: How does key person insurance work?

The firm can take out an insurance policy on the life of the key person which will pay out to the firm if the key person dies, is diagnosed with a specified critical illness or is unable to work because of illness or disability. The main types of cover are:

• Life insurance pays out on death. In some cases, it also pays out on diagnosis of terminal illness, where the insured person has less than 12 months to live.
• Critical illness insurance pays out on diagnosis of a critical illness within the policy definition. Critical illnesses are life-threatening conditions, but which people often now survive thanks to developments in medical science. The conditions covered include cancer (excluding less advanced cases), heart attack (of specified severity) and multiple sclerosis (with persisting symptoms), and can also include more than 20 other potentially life-threatening illnesses and disabilities.
• Income protection insurance pays a regular (usually monthly) income to the firm if the key person is unable to work (usually after three months, depending on the policy) because of illness or disability.

In some cases, a policy may include more than one of these elements; in others, we shop around to get the best options, which might mean using more than one provider or individual policies to meet a particular need.Last Updated