Most business owners have a plan for growth. Very few have a plan for what happens if growth stops, through disability, the loss of a partner, or an exit without a structure. Goshen Financial works with small business owners, sole proprietors, and self-employed professionals throughout Southeast Michigan and virtually nationwide to build the financial foundation their business cannot afford to operate without.
36.2M
small businesses in the U.S. in 2026
employing 62.3 million people, 45.9% of the private-sector workforce
40%
have no succession plan
of small and mid-sized business owners have not prepared for the future of their business
1 in 4
workers will become disabled
before retirement, yet most business owners carry no disability coverage
70%
of small businesses never sell
leaving the majority without a funded exit strategy when the owner is ready to leave
Built for Business Owners
Most business owners save, invest, and plan using the tools they were handed, savings accounts, retirement plans, market-based investments. These instruments serve a purpose. But none of them protect your income if you cannot work. None of them fund a buy-sell agreement when a partner dies. None of them guarantee your principal while also providing a tax-free death benefit.
Insurance-based financial strategies fill the gaps that conventional financial tools leave open, and they are among the most underutilized instruments available to business owners today. Goshen Financial specializes in making them accessible, understandable, and matched to where you are right now.
We work alongside your legal and tax professionals. Where needed, our network can connect you with qualified attorneys who specialize in business succession and insurance-based planning structures.
Businesses with employees whose continuity, ownership structure, and key personnel need formal financial protection and succession infrastructure.
Individuals whose income is entirely dependent on their own ability to work, with no employer safety net, no paid sick leave, and no group coverage to fall back on.
Owners who want to use their business as a vehicle for tax-advantaged wealth accumulation, executive compensation, and generational legacy, strategies conventional financial tools cannot replicate.
For a business owner, income protection is not a benefit, it is a survival strategy. There is no employer to cover your salary, no paid sick leave, and no group plan backstop. If you are out for a week, a month, or a year, the bills do not pause.
The Most Important Coverage Most Business Owners Don't Have
Own occupation disability coverage is the most protective form of disability insurance available, and the one most business owners are never offered. Under an own-occupation definition, you are considered disabled if you cannot perform the specific duties of your occupation, even if you could technically work in a different capacity.
A surgeon who suffers a hand injury is disabled under own-occupation even if she could consult or teach. A contractor with a back injury is disabled even if she could manage projects from an office. Any-occupation coverage, the most common and cheapest form, pays only if you cannot perform any job for which you are reasonably suited.
3×
A working-age self-employed professional is roughly three times more likely to become disabled than to die before age 65, yet most carry no disability coverage at all.
Pays a monthly benefit if you become unable to perform the specific duties of your occupation, regardless of whether you could work in another capacity. The most comprehensive income protection available to self-employed professionals and business owners.
Covers the fixed operating expenses of your business, rent, utilities, payroll for support staff, equipment leases, while you are disabled. Protects the business itself from closure during your recovery, not just your personal income.
Provides income replacement during a temporary disability, covering a portion of your monthly income for a defined period following an illness, injury, or recovery. Bridges the gap while long-term coverage kicks in or while you return to full capacity.
Replaces a portion of your income for an extended period, up to age 65 in many cases, following a qualifying disability. For business owners with no employer-sponsored coverage, long-term disability is the primary safety net against a career-altering health event.
Most small businesses are built on a small number of critical people, often just one. The death or disability of that person, or the departure of a co-owner, can destabilize or destroy what took years to build. These strategies ensure the business survives the loss of its most important people.
A life insurance or disability policy owned by the business on its most critical individual, founder, top producer, or specialist whose loss would cause significant financial harm. The business receives the death benefit tax-free, providing capital to stabilize operations, recruit a replacement, or fund a transition.
A legally binding agreement between co-owners governing what happens to an ownership stake when an owner dies, becomes disabled, retires, or exits. Life insurance ensures surviving owners have the cash to buy out the departing owner's family at a predetermined value. Life insurance-funded buy-sell agreements increased 23% in 2025 due to rising business valuations.
A buy-sell structure in which each owner purchases a life insurance policy on the other owners. Upon the death of an owner, surviving owners use the death benefit to purchase the deceased owner's share directly, a structure that can provide a step-up in cost basis not available in entity-purchase arrangements.
A comprehensive structure for what happens to your business when you are ready to leave, through sale, family transfer, or planned wind-down. Life insurance funds buyouts, equalizes inheritance, and provides estate liquidity. Only 30% of small businesses successfully sell. A funded exit strategy separates planned transition from financial loss.
A strategy in which a third-party lender finances premiums on a large life insurance policy, for high-income business owners who want significant coverage without disrupting business capital. The policy's cash value serves as collateral. When structured properly, premium financing preserves working capital for operations and growth. This strategy involves complex legal and financial considerations and is best implemented in coordination with qualified legal and tax advisors.
A diversified financial portfolio is sound strategy. Insurance-based instruments are not a replacement for your existing retirement and investment accounts, they are the layer most financial portfolios are missing. These strategies use insurance to add what other instruments cannot provide on their own.
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Where Permanent Life Insurance Fits in a Diversified Portfolio
A well-built financial portfolio uses multiple instruments, each for what it does best. Retirement accounts provide tax-advantaged accumulation. Investment accounts provide market growth. Permanent life insurance adds what none of the others can: principal protection with no market floor risk, tax-free access with no contribution cap, and a guaranteed death benefit, making it the optimal completing instrument in any comprehensive financial strategy.
| Instrument | Principal Protected | Tax-Free Access | Contribution Limits | Death Benefit | No Market Floor Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 401(k) | — | — | Yes, capped | — | — |
| Traditional IRA | — | — | Yes, capped | — | — |
| Roth IRA | — | ✓ | Yes, capped | — | — |
| Bank / Savings | FDIC only | ✓ | No cap | — | ✓ |
| Permanent Life Insurance | ✓ | ✓ | No cap | ✓ | ✓ |
This table reflects general structural characteristics of each instrument type. Individual policy terms, tax treatment, and suitability vary. Consult a licensed financial professional before making financial decisions.
A properly structured whole life or indexed universal life policy builds cash value that grows tax-deferred, can be accessed tax-free through policy loans, and transfers to heirs income-tax-free. A personal financial reserve that compounds independently of the business, protected from market loss, accessible during your lifetime, and generationally transferable.
Under IRC Section 162, a business pays a bonus, in the form of a life insurance premium, to a key employee or owner. The business receives a full tax deduction. The employee owns the policy, accumulates cash value tax-deferred, and can access it tax-free in retirement. A Restricted Executive Bonus Arrangement (REBA) adds a vesting schedule that retains key personnel.
Allows a business to defer a portion of executive or owner compensation to a future date, typically retirement, when the recipient is in a lower tax bracket. Life insurance is often the funding vehicle, providing tax-deferred growth and a death benefit that protects the business's liability if the executive dies before receiving the deferred benefit.
An arrangement in which the costs and benefits of a permanent life insurance policy are shared between the business and an executive or key employee. The employer pays premiums; the employee receives death benefit protection and builds cash value, serving as both a retention tool and a retirement income supplement.
Life insurance can be used as a charitable giving vehicle, naming a nonprofit as the beneficiary or gifting a policy to a charitable organization. This can provide a significant tax-deductible gift while reducing the taxable value of the estate. For business owners with philanthropic goals, this aligns financial planning with legacy intent.
A comprehensive strategy for how the wealth created by your business transfers across generations. Life insurance passes income-tax-free, bypasses probate, and is available immediately. For business owners with multiple heirs, it can equalize an estate when business assets cannot be easily divided, ensuring a clean, fair, and efficient transfer.
The strategies in this category involve legal, tax, and financial planning considerations that extend beyond insurance alone. Goshen Financial works alongside your existing legal and tax professionals, and where needed, our network can connect you with qualified attorneys who specialize in business succession and insurance-based planning structures.
Not sure which strategies apply to your situation? Request a written overview of the instruments relevant to your business structure and goals, before any conversation begins.
Employee Benefits for Small Business
Small businesses can offer supplemental benefits, accident, critical illness, hospital indemnity, and life insurance, that cost the business nothing and mean everything to the team. Section 162 executive bonus plans also serve as powerful retention tools for key personnel. Full details are on our dedicated Employee Benefits page.
Retirement Plans for Small Business
Many small businesses don’t offer one, which makes it one of the fastest ways to stand out. A simple, low-cost plan lets your team build real savings with contributions that come from you as well as them, while lowering what the business owes in taxes along the way. It costs less to run than people expect, and it gives your team one more reason to stay for the long haul.
Get Started
Whether you need income protection, a funded succession plan, or a wealth-building strategy your bank cannot offer, the right structure starts with understanding your specific business. No pressure. No jargon. Just an honest conversation about what is possible for you right now.
We will contact you within 48 hours to confirm your time
