Types of insurance business owners often overlook
When you have your own company, you carry a lot of responsibility. You’re the head of business development, human resources, and operations — just to name a few. As you manage all the moving parts, worries can arise. Can you make payroll? How can you attract new customers? Then there’s the creeping thought in the middle of the night: What if something were to happen to you? Would your business survive without you, even if only for a little while?
Every business owner wants the answer to the last question to be “yes.” To get there, there are things you can do to help your company weather the unpredictable, such as getting proper insurance policies for yourself. According to research, successful entrepreneurs tend to be more comfortable with uncertainty than the average person.1 But protecting yourself in your personal life can help protect your business in the long term. As a starting point, consider these four personal insurance options that business owners often overlook.
1. Spousal coverage offers household protection
This may seem like a surprising place to start, especially if your life partner is not involved in your company, but difficulties in your personal life could take away from time spent on your business. Research shows that if stay-at-home parents were to earn a salary, their work would be valued at $205,000 a year.2 If your spouse suffered an accident or illness and couldn’t contribute, how would your household cover these services? Our research shows that 81% of workers who lost their spouse or partner five or more years ago still feel their finances have not yet fully recovered.3 With spousal coverage policies, the supplemental income you receive when your partner is unable to contribute to the household during a sickness or injury can help you get through that rough patch, so you can focus on your spouse’s recovery and your business.
2. Disability insurance can help protect you, too
Large employers typically offer group disability insurance in case their employees get sick or injured and can’t work (though group policies provided by employers don’t always cover the full disability need). As a business owner without access to an employer-offered group policy, you may want to acquire your own disability insurance policy.
Don’t fall for the myth that disability insurance is only for rare, catastrophic accidents — research shows that 1 in 4 20-year-olds will become disabled during their working years.4 If an accident or illness prevents you from working for an extended period, disability insurance helps you bridge the paycheck gap by replacing a percentage of your lost income. It’s typically untaxed income, and you can even use the money to cover retirement contributions and student loan payments.5 You’re the cornerstone of your business, so making sure you’re protected means greater confidence for everyone in the company.
3. Whole life insurance can help boost your business
People generally know that whole life insurance provides financial protection and support to beneficiaries when they die. But it’s less commonly known that a whole life policy can do a lot more, even while you’re alive. As you pay your whole life premiums, your premiums accrue a growing cash value, paying your survivors a guaranteed death benefit if you unexpectedly pass away.6,7,8
You can tap into this lesser-known reserve to fund various expenses for you personally and for your business, including well-deserved time off. We’re all human, and naturally there are days when you don’t feel 100%. Instead of pushing yourself through a sickness or continually postponing a much-needed break, take the time you need to feel ready to return to work. When you have access to the cash value of whole life insurance, you can use it to help cover bills and expenses during your time off. You can use your cash value to withdraw cash when needed for unexpected business or personal expenses or use the funds for expansion.
4. Health insurance to help prepare you for the unexpected
Health care is expensive, and even one trip to the emergency room can be devastating financially if you’re uninsured. In fact, the inability to pay medical bills is one of the leading causes of personal bankruptcies in the US.9 And going into debt can derail your business plans, not to mention the possible loss of working time during your recovery period. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has made health insurance more economical for the self-employed and those with low to moderate incomes, so do your research and find health insurance you can afford. Whether it’s a solution on the ACA marketplace or a health savings account (HSA) that gives you a tax-advantaged way to set aside money, you’ll want to be properly protected in case the unexpected happens.10
Other lesser-known business insurance products can also help
Once your personal insurance policies are in place, take a look at other kinds of policies that can help support your business. For instance, perhaps you took out a business loan to fund capital improvements. In this case, a business loan protection policy could help cover the repayment if you became unable to work.
Or, what if one of your business partners couldn’t return to work due to a disability? How would your company carry on? This may be hard to think about, but in such an event, disability buy-out insurance can help your business. These kinds of policies are not as well-known as other types of business insurance, but they can help protect the business you’ve worked so hard to build.
Let’s create a strategy
Many business owners are familiar with the types of insurance they need for their business, whether it’s workers’ compensation, product liability insurance, or other policies. But business owners often overlook the fact that they need to protect themselves personally to keep the business on track for the long term. Together we can discuss insurance strategies for both your personal life and your business.
Disclaimer:
1 Risk-Taking: The Fuel That Drives Entrepreneurship, Medium, October 2025, https://medium.com/@namishhemdev/risk-taking-the-fuel-that-drives-entrepreneurship-a79e86c4c3fa
2 How Much Is a Stay-at-Home Parent Worth?, Investopedia, January, 2025, https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0112/how-much-is-a-homemaker-worth.aspx
3 Prepared and Protected: How life insurance helps support a family’s financial wellness, Guardian, August 2025, https://connect.guardiangroupbenefits.com/l/503851/2025-08-28/72dr65/503851/1756410463ZWvSjPkR/12476_Life_insurance_report_V04.pdf
4 Disability Statistics, Council for Disability Awareness, 2025, https://thecdia.org/disability-statistics/
5 Income protection insurance vs. disability insurance, Guardian, April, 2025, https://www.guardianlife.com/disability-insurance/income-protection
6 Some whole life polices do not have cash values in the first two years of the policy and don’t pay a dividend until the policy’s third year. Talk to your financial representative and refer to your individual whole life policy illustration for more information.
7 Policy benefits are reduced by any outstanding loan or loan interest and/or withdrawals. Dividends, if any, are affected by policy loans and loan interest. Withdrawals above the cost basis may result in taxable ordinary income. If the policy lapses, or is surrendered, any outstanding loans considered gain in the policy may be subject to ordinary income taxes. If the policy is a modified endowment contract (MEC), loans are treated like withdrawals, but as gain first, subject to ordinary income taxes. If the policy owner is under 59 ½, any taxable withdrawal may also be subject to a 10% federal tax penalty.
8 All whole life insurance policy guarantees are subject to the timely payment of all required premiums and the claims paying ability of the issuing insurance company. Policy loans and withdrawals affect the guarantees by reducing the policy’s death benefit and cash values.
9 States confront medical debt that’s bankrupting millions, Associated Press, April 12, 2023, https://apnews.com/article/medical-debt-legislation-2a4f2fab7e2c58a68ac4541b8309c7aa
10 What Are the Pros and Cons of a Health Savings Account (HSA)?, Investopedia, December 19, 2023, https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/090814/pros-and-cons-health-savings-account-hsa.asp
Material discussed is meant for general informational purposes only and is not to be construed as tax, legal, or investment advice. Although the information has been gathered from sources believed to be reliable, please note that individual situations can vary. Therefore, the information should be relied upon only when coordinated with individual professional advice.
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