When most people hear “life insurance,” they think family protection. And they’re right—but that’s only half the story. For business owners, life insurance is also a practical tool for continuity, choice, and calm in the middle of chaos. As an advisor, a business owner, husband, and dad, I’ve seen many times how one unexpected event can ripple through a household and a company. You can’t replace a person, but you can reduce the financial shock that follows.
Why This Topic and Why Now?
September is Life Insurance Awareness Month. It’s a good moment to pause and ask: What happens if…?
- A spouse dies and the household drops from two incomes to one—while the bills don’t drop by a penny?
- A partner or key employee passes away and production, sales, or client care is cut in half overnight?
- You want your family to have options instead of being forced into a quick sale?
Life insurance won’t make loss easier. It does, however, make decisions easier. In a word, it buys “choice.”
The Family Side: Cash Flow, Stability, and Time to Breathe
When a wage earner dies, expenses don’t neatly shrink. Mortgages, utilities, car payments, and groceries keep coming. Benefits may change (or disappear). Life insurance can create a bridge—covering debt, replacing income, paying for childcare, and giving the surviving spouse time to grieve, reorganize, and make thoughtful decisions instead of rushed ones.
I’ve lived pieces of this. My father died at the young age of 58; fortunately, the policy he carried bought our family time. Last year I had major heart surgery myself; for a period, I would have been uninsurable if I hadn’t already had coverage. Here’s something to think about: you’re rarely healthier—or cheaper to insure—than you are today.
The Business Side: Continuity, Partners, and Protecting Value
For entrepreneurs, life insurance provides options such as these:
Paying off debt or leases. If the company owes on equipment, lines of credit, or the building itself, insurance proceeds can clear balances and preserve options—keep operating, sell cleanly, or retain the property as a rentable asset.
Buy-sell agreements. In partnerships, each owner carries a policy on the other(s). If one dies, the surviving owner(s) use the policy to buy the deceased partner’s share from the estate—fair to the family, stabilizing for the business.
Key person coverage. If your “right hand” drives revenue or operations, losing them can feel like a stick in your bike spokes—you stop cold. Key person insurance provides funds to recruit, train, or bridge operations while you recover capacity.
Preserving enterprise value. A business can lose value fast when work stops. Liquidity lets you maintain payroll, keep the lights on, and avoid a fire sale that hurts your family’s nest egg.
Bottom line: life insurance gives owners, partners, and families choices—not ultimatums.
“How Much Do I Need?”
There isn’t a magic number (even though $200–250k policies get tossed around a lot because many times they are done without underwriting and as a “throw-in” with your other insurance). A thoughtful assessment of life insurance needs considers the following:
- Debts & obligations: mortgage, business loans, leases
- Income replacement: how many years do you want to cover, and at what level?
- Dependents: ages of children, childcare needs, education goals
- Business goals: keep running, wind down, or position for sale; partnership terms; key roles to replace
- Legacy wishes: gifts to family or charities, or simply a cushion for flexibility
For many families, term insurance offers the most affordable coverage during high-need years (big mortgage, young kids). For some owners, whole-life insurance can play strategic roles (e.g., funding buy-sell agreements or building accessible cash value). The right mix depends on your situation—not a quota.
“I Don’t Want To Talk About This.”
I get it. Many owners avoid the topic because it feels morbid—or because the business is their “baby” and they can’t imagine anyone else running it. Here’s a gentle nudge: avoiding the conversation is a decision, and almost always not a good one. If you pass unexpectedly, your “non-decision decision” could very well force your family to sell the house, push your partner into a distressed sale, and leave your staff unemployed overnight. The decision to secure adequate life insurance today will profoundly shape the future of the people you care about most.
Independent Guidance Matters
I run an independent planning and insurance practice—Stich Financial Partners. That means I’m not tied to one carrier or one set of products. We can explore options across many insurers—useful if health history, underwriting, or price becomes a hurdle. More importantly, independence helps keep the conversation focused on your goals, not a company’s quota.
Quick Self-Check: Where to Start This Month
- Family: If one income disappeared, which bills would still be due—and for how long? Do you want to fund childcare, school, or a runway for career changes?
- Business: If a partner or key employee were gone tomorrow, how would operations continue? Do you have a buy-sell agreement actually funded by insurance, not just sitting in a binder?
- Coverage: When did you last review your policies? Have debts, headcount, or family needs changed?
- Next step: Talk with a professional who will ask uncomfortable-but-necessary questions and run numbers specific to your life and business.
The Takeaway
Life insurance isn’t about fear—it’s about freedom. Freedom for your family to stay in the home. Freedom for a partner to buy time and keep the company steady. Freedom to choose your path instead of being forced into one.
If you’re responsible for a family, a business, or both and haven’t reviewed your coverage lately, now is the right time. Let’s have a straightforward conversation about what you want protected—at home and at work—and build a plan that gives you options. Contact me at (262) 853-4541, [email protected], or LinkedIn. I offer a no-cost coverage review.
Daniel Stich, CPFA — And Small Business Milwaukee Advisor
Stich Financial Partners
Independent financial & insurance planning. Multiple carriers. Client-first approach.
N27 W23957 Paul Road | Suite 105 | Pewaukee, WI 53072