many policies are too small. here’s another option.
by anthony glomski
no matter where your client grew up or how they accumulated their wealth, they can be a target for a host of unscrupulous people. many affluent investors, including entrepreneurs, are worried about keeping their assets safe from potential creditors, litigants, children’s spouses, ex-spouses, and disgruntled former employees and partners. they also want to protect their assets from catastrophic losses that could cripple them financially. as a cpa, you have an important role here.
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wealth protection involves strategies you can use to ensure that your wealth is not unjustly taken from you by potential creditors, litigants, ex-spouses and children’s spouses. wealth protection is also designed to protect you against catastrophic loss. identity theft is another emerging threat to wealth protection that should be addressed carefully with your clients.
common actions you might take to protect your client’s wealth include controlling risks though business processes, employment agreements and buy-sell agreements. you can also restructure various assets and consider legal forms of ownership – such as trusts, limited liability entities and more – that can put your client’s wealth beyond the reach of creditors and others who might pursue it.
insurance can also offer your clients protection, of course. in addition to “key man” and “key person” insurance for your client’s business, your client and their family might need (or require) additional insurance for high-risk adrenaline-pumping hobbies such as auto racing, surfing, hang gliding, back-country skiing and powerboat racing. property and casualty (p&c) insurance can cover everything from the obvious (autos, homes) to the exotic (expensive artwork, high-end yachts). even something as simple as rental properties should be protected by p&c insurance. if a renter’s dog bites a neighbor, for example, your client could be liable if their insurance coverage is simply a typical homeowner’s policy. however, by setting up a special umbrella policy, they could avoid liability and protect their assets more completely.
when it comes to umbrella policies, even affluent, successful people are under the impression that such policies are very expensive. you’d be surprised how much valuable protection umbrella policies provide policy holders for a very reasonable cost. i’m always shocked by how many successful entrepreneurs i encounter have umbrella policies with only $1 million to $2 million in coverage. that’s really not enough, considering their current – or soon to be received – wealth. it only costs slightly more to get a $5 million to $10 million-plus umbrella policy. insurers are now providing umbrellas with coverage as high as $100 million-plus for their most affluent and successful clients.
think of an umbrella policy as a “litigation insurance” policy. unfortunately, accidents happen all the time. after speaking with a number of personal injury attorneys about how their businesses work, i’ve learned that these opportunistic attorneys typically look at the potential payout from an umbrella policy as the “easy money.” therefore, if the umbrella is large enough, then the personal injury lawyers will go for that covered amount. that’s why matching your client’s umbrella policy to their net worth can be a wise move. again, cost should not be what’s preventing your client from investing in an umbrella policy – they’re surprisingly affordable and they provide tremendous bang for the buck.
to help make an umbrella policy more affordable, consider raising the deductibles on other lines of insurance your client may have – such as p&c and auto. increasing deductibles on other policies is a form of “self-insurance” with a defined amount of risk. however, self-insuring by not having sufficient umbrella coverage opens up your client to an unlimited amount of risk.
have you and your client sat down recently to assess their current net worth? they’ll need to know that number in order to determine how large an umbrella policy to obtain. is your client’s umbrella policy greater than their net worth? if you answered “no” or aren’t sure, then you’ve stumbled on a major gap in their wealth protection plan.
here are some essential questions to ask them, as well as their controller and financial advisors:
with their newfound wealth in hand, your client is likely be offered many “investment opportunities of a lifetime” that lack appropriate controls. unless there is a big four accounting firm auditing the numbers and financial statements of the controlling entity, i strongly recommend urging your clients to let these “once-in-a-lifetime opportunities” pass. caveat emptor! |
when it comes to helping clients protect their assets, this is a very broad, but important area. here are some additional questions to ask your client:
- does your business have an erisa retirement plan?
- did you know that assets in erisa plans are nearly bulletproof?
- have you done everything you possibly can to maximize the amount of money packed into an erisa for yourself, your spouse and your kids?
- do you have a living trust or some other type of trust?
- if you have an umbrella policy, is the trust named as an additional insured?
my guess is your client doesn’t know the answer to many of the questions above. in my experience, more than half the time the trust that your client has in place is not named as an “additional insured.” this means everything in your client’s trust is on offer in the event of a lawsuit. they’ve essentially left the back door wide open for the burglar. this is an immediate red flag and nobody is really in place to coordinate the efforts of all the professionals working on your client’s behalf. on a positive note, this creates a great opportunity for you to step in as a quarterback.
real world example of the unexpected
the unexpected happens more than you might think. a prominent comedian purchased a 1970s muscle car that he had painstakingly refurbished and restored. one day, the comedian and some friends took the car out for a drive. while one of his friends was behind the wheel, the car veered off the road and crashed. several passengers were injured in the accident. a few days later, a multimillion-dollar lawsuit was filed against the comedian, even though he wasn’t the one driving the car at the time of the accident. why? because he had neglected to retrofit the air bags in the car when he restored it.
perhaps your clients aren’t high-profile entertainers. but sadly, in today’s world, successful people – including entrepreneurs – become targets of lawsuits. without having an umbrella policy and other protections in place, assets can be exposed to seemingly limitless legal fees. even if lawsuits are later found to be frivolous, the cost of defending oneself can be alarmingly high.
if your clients face unfortunate situations like this, a properly structured umbrella policy can afford them the representation of a top-notch legal team, for little of no out-of-pocket cost. further, the umbrella policy can kick in if needed and cover judgments rendered against your client.
however, if that umbrella policy is out of date or if it contains deficiencies in coverage, then your client’s assets could be on offer.
take a moment and think about your most successful clients. how many of them own vintage cars, boats or planes? what about four-wheelers or jet skis? do their children drive their vehicles? these can create significant risks for your client that they haven’t fully considered. how well are they protected?
other asset protection strategies include the creation of trusts in “trust-friendly” states to shield assets from creditors. these advanced planning techniques are sophisticated, but some variations can add a nearly bulletproof layer of protection to your client’s assets and they tend to be underutilized by well-off people with potentially a lot to lose.