Would your business survive a serious illness such as cancer?

This page is very different from others you may have read. It is not pleasant, but it is serious. 1 in 2 of us will get cancer at some point in our lives.

Those who work for a large employer or in the public sector will get six months on full pay and six months on half pay – should they need it – to take time off to beat cancer or another dreadful disease.

But, if you own your own business – who protects you?

What would happen to your business if you did not work for a year?

1. Who would look after your customers?
2. Who would manage your team if you have one?
3. Who would pay your bills?

Cancer and other serious illnesses destroy great small businesses. They can also destroy the finances of great small business owners.

What can you do?

Step 1 is to work out what the impact would be on your business if you could not work for a year.

1. Would you employ someone else?
2. Would you lose existing customers?
3. Would you achieve new sales?

BuBul users can get a free easy to complete check list by emailing rob@deathanddisease.com with “Free Keyperson Checklist” as the title.

Step 2 – work out the financial impact of everything on your list – for example if you would need to employ someone else, what would it cost to employ them? (do not forget employers NI, Pension contributions etc etc).

Step 3 – add up the total cost to your business of you not working for a year.

Step 4 – if you would find it difficult to pay your own bills if you were not working, think how much you would need each month to pay essentials like: your mortgage, council tax, utilities etc. The easiest way to not miss anything is to go through your bank statement.

What next?

You can find an insurance policy that:

1. Pays your business a lump sum (the figure you worked out in Step 3) if you were diagnosed with cancer or other serious illness. Expect to pay between £20 – £200 per month.
2. Pays out a monthly amount (the figure from Step 4) to the business owner (a bit like sick pay) if they are too ill to work. Expect to pay between £10 – £150 per month.

There are some great insurance policies. There are also some bad policies, overpriced policies, and policies that are very difficult to claim on.

Some policies can reduce your tax bill, others can increase it.

Some policies are really good if you have a complicated medical history (e.g. diabetes, high blood pressure or depression), and others are not.

If you have an accountant, they should be your first stop for business advice. If you don’t have an accountant or they can’t help, BuBul has a wide range of experts available. For help protecting yourself and your business, contact our expert* Rob on LinkedIn.

*We’ve picked experts we know and trust who are good at what they do. All of them will give you at least an extra 30 minutes free advice if you contact them and would then charge their normal prices. They don’t pay to be on BuBul and don’t give us any money from anything they earn as an expert.