Fernleigh Wearden & Company Ltd
Independent Financial Advisers
Four fields. That’s it.
One of our advisers will ring you back by the end of the next working day, at the time you asked for.
In a hurry? Call us on 01772 864314, 9am–5pm Monday to Friday.
For business
Most small firms have one or two people they genuinely could not trade without. Very few have done anything about it.
Overview
Businesses insure their premises, their vehicles and their stock as a matter of course. The people the whole thing actually depends on tend to be the last thing anyone thinks about.
There are two separate problems. The first is what happens to the business itself if a key individual dies or becomes seriously ill — lost revenue, lost relationships, the cost of recruiting a replacement and lenders who may want their money back.
The second is ownership. If a shareholder dies, their shares usually pass to their family. The family may not want them and cannot run the business; the surviving owners may want them but cannot afford to buy them. Sorting that out in advance costs very little. Sorting it out afterwards can be ruinous.
This is the area we know best. Mark spent nine years at what is now Aviva, latterly managing their Business Protection team and training other advisers on how this planning works. It is an unusual depth of experience to find in a firm this size.
Cover is only half of it. Shareholder protection needs the right agreement between the owners as well as the right policy. The legal side is a solicitor’s job and we will work alongside yours.
Advice areas
Which of these you need depends on how the company is owned and who it depends on.
Pays the business a lump sum if a critical individual dies or becomes seriously ill. Buys time to recover rather than scramble.
Provides the funds for surviving owners to buy a deceased shareholder’s shares, at a fair price, from their family.
The same principle for partnerships and LLPs, where the consequences of a death can be even more immediate.
Individual death-in-service style cover paid for by the company. Often tax-efficient for small firms and directors.
Repays borrowing if a guarantor or key individual dies. Many owners have given personal guarantees and forgotten.
The legal framework that makes shareholder cover work. Drafted by a solicitor, arranged alongside the policy.
Working with us
Nothing is committed until step five and the first two cost you nothing but time.
A chat, at our office, your home or over video. We listen, you ask questions. There is no charge and no obligation and if we can't help we'll say so.
What you have, what you owe, what you want and how you feel about risk. This is the part most people find surprisingly useful in itself.
We review your existing plans, charges and funds against the whole of the market. Being independent means nothing is off the table.
A written report in plain English setting out what we suggest, what it costs and why. You take it away and think about it.
Only once you're happy. We handle the paperwork, the providers and the chasing, which is usually the tedious bit.
If you'd like us to, we'll review everything at least once a year and tell you honestly if nothing needs changing.
Who you’d be dealing with
Before joining the firm, Mark managed the Business Protection team at the company now known as Aviva, training financial advisers on the technicalities of exactly this kind of planning. We will happily meet you and your co-owners together, which is usually the most productive way to have this conversation.
In their words
We have had a long and successful working relationship with Fernleigh Wearden & Company. They are always striving to do the best for our business and personal needs. I would highly recommend them to anyone.
I have always found Fernleigh Wearden & Company to be very helpful and professional in company and personal matters. They are on hand to answer any of our queries promptly and efficiently.
Always attentive and at the end of a phone or an email. Positive, professional and reliable.
Often relevant alongside this
Protecting the business, then building something outside it.
Read more Often nextYour own cover and your family’s, usually needs looking at in the same conversation.
Read more Often nextGroup cover for the wider team, rather than just the owners.
Read moreCommon questions
Commonly a multiple of the individual’s contribution to profit, or the cost of replacing them plus the revenue at risk while you do. There is no single formula, which is why it is worth talking through rather than guessing.
They typically pass under the will, usually to family. The surviving owners then have a co-owner who may have no interest in the business and no ready means of buying them out. It is one of the most common causes of a small company failing after a death.
Usually far less than owners expect, particularly relative to the sums involved. Because we are whole of market we can compare across insurers, whose pricing for the same risk varies considerably.
For shareholder and partnership protection, yes. The cross-option agreement is a legal document. We arrange the cover and work alongside your solicitor so the two align.
It depends on the type of cover and how it is set up and treatment differs between key person and shareholder arrangements. Your accountant should be part of this conversation and we are happy to have it jointly.
Quite the opposite. The smaller the firm, the larger the proportion of it any one person represents.
Our services
Advice areas overlap. Part of our job is spotting which ones actually apply to you.
Tell us when suits and we’ll ring you back by the end of the next working day.
