Key Person Insurance / Key Man Insurance

Categories: Insurance

Tom Brady should have this. So should Jeff Bezos. And so should Superman (you never know when the Kryptonite will strike.)

Some companies are filled with equally talented people who all work very hard and row the boat together in a beautiful rhythm, such that if any one of them evaporated Avengers-style that moment, the team would be fine.

But then there's the other side of the world.

Many companies have rock stars. Amazon does. Jeff Bezos is the key person at Amazon. If he got whacked by an agent (or a bus), AMZN stock would print down massively.

At a smaller level, you can imagine a hospital which covers a wide range of services. But there's this one surgeon, Dr. Octopotto, who injects 8 women at a time for Botox and, um, other physical enhancements, all day long. He bills some $18,000 a day on average and comprises over a million bucks in profit contribution to the hospital. He's half their billings. If he ever ended up getting eaten by a rogue sperm whale, the hospital would suffer greatly, maybe even going out of business in the process. So St. Luke's Lip and Tuck Center holds Key Person Insurance on Dr. Octopotto, hoping that he continues to serve the needs of the many.

Find other enlightening terms in Shmoop Finance Genius Bar(f)