Legal Definitions - key-employee life insurance

Key-employee life insurance is a type of life insurance that a company takes out on an essential or valuable employee, with the company as the beneficiary. This means that if the employee dies, the company receives the payout from the insurance policy.

For example, if a company has a CEO who is crucial to the success of the business, they may take out key-employee life insurance on that CEO. If the CEO were to pass away, the company would receive the payout from the insurance policy to help cover the costs of finding a replacement and any other expenses related to the loss of the CEO.

Another example could be a small business owner who is the sole provider for their family. The business could take out key-employee life insurance on the owner to ensure that if something were to happen to them, the business could continue to operate and support the owner's family.