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Business protection guide · 2026 edition

You built it. Now protect it.

Most businesses run on people, not kit. The one who wins the work. The one who knows how it all fits together. The name on the bank's personal guarantee. This guide explains how to protect them, in plain English.

  • Key person cover, for the people your profits depend on
  • Share protection, so you never end up in business with your partner's family by accident
  • Loan protection, for loans, overdrafts and personal guarantees
  • Relevant life and executive income protection, paid for by the company

22 pages · PDF · general information, not tax or legal advice

Should you fail to disclose or misrepresent a fact, then you risk the insurer only paying part of a claim, declining to pay all of the claim or possibly declaring the policy invalid.

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94%Of SME owners say they have at least one key person
59%Said they would stop trading within a year of losing one
£123.25Weekly Statutory Sick Pay. Often all a director gets

Sources: Legal & General, State of the Nation's SMEs report 2021 (survey of 500 UK SME owners); GOV.UK and Acas, Statutory Sick Pay from 6 April 2026.

What's inside

Six covers. Zero jargon.

What each type of business protection does, what businesses use it for, and what can happen when there's nothing in place. Not a sales pitch, and not tax advice. The stuff I wish more business owners knew before they needed it.

  1. 01

    Why business protection matters

    Businesses run on people, and the four big “what ifs”

  2. 02

    Key person insurance

    Protecting the people your profits depend on

  3. 03

    Key person income protection

    When they're off for months, not weeks

  4. 04

    Share protection

    Keeping ownership in the right hands

  5. 05

    Business loan protection

    Loans, overdrafts, personal guarantees and director's loans

  6. 06

    Relevant life cover

    A director's life policy, paid for by the company

  7. 07

    Executive income protection

    Company-funded sick pay for directors and staff

  8. 08

    Side by side

    The six covers compared, and who's usually involved

  9. 09

    Myths and excuses

    “We’re too small to need any of this”

  10. 10

    Business-speak, translated

    Cross-option agreements, business trusts and more

  11. 11

    What's next

    Working out what, if anything, your business needs

Ask Alan tip · from chapter 09

You'd never run the business without insurance on the van. Your best people are worth a lot more than the van. Even the nice van.
Alan Greenin

Who's writing this

Hey, I'm Alan.

The Alan in Ask Alan Mortgages. I help people across the UK buy, remortgage and protect their homes, and the businesses that pay for them. I run my own business too, so I know how it feels to be the person everything depends on.

I've worked with limited company directors, business partners, self-employed tradespeople and small teams who had every insurance going, apart from the one that covered the people running the show.

“Plain English, no jargon, and the same advice I'd give a friend. That's the whole job.”

Protect what you've built.

Put the phone on silent for twenty minutes. The business survived your last holiday, it'll survive this.

Get the guide →Or book a 20-minute call

Initial consultations are completely free of charge. There's no obligation to proceed and there is no fee for protection advice.