Everyone can benefit from insurance to protect their property, income, health, and other assets. It makes good financial sense.

If the last decade has taught people anything, it is that you cannot predict the future. Financial crashes, unprecedented weather events, and forest fires and now a global pandemic. It really does make the case for protecting yourself and your assets.

With high net worth individuals, insurance needs can be complex because of the high financial risks involved and several other lifestyle factors that rarely occur with regular people.

The demand for high net worth insurance services has grown rapidly in recent years, following a general rise in the number of people who now have sufficient assets to be counted in that category.

This article discusses who is classified as a high net worth individual, why they need special insurance, and what that insurance can typically look like.

Who is classified as a high net worth individual?

In 2019, there were 5.91 million high net worth individuals in the United States, up from 4.78 million in 2015 (Source: Statista). They are generally classed as someone who has over $1 million worth of assets, not including the value of their primary residence.

Those with a net worth of $5 million or more are classed as very high net worth individuals, and those with $30 million in liquid assets or $20 million of disposable income are ultra-high net worth individuals.

Why is specialist insurance required?

Often, the lifestyle, businesses, and assets of people with significant wealth carry with them a different level of risk than you would typically expect. Regular insurance policies just aren’t built to deal with the levels of financial risk.

An individual may have multiple properties, cars, antiques, jewelry, and other assets that need to be insured for high sums.

There is no one template for a high net worth individual and their assets. Their wealth can come from a number of backgrounds. Some are managing inherited, family wealth, others may be successful business entrepreneurs, actors, elite sportsmen or women, even lottery winners would fall into this category.

Insurance providers specializing in this area are familiar with the complexities of multiple assets and fluctuating market values and will ensure that assets and risks are valued correctly and adequately insured.

Potential risks faced

Estate tax

The death of the chief income earner in a family can lead to a huge loss of wealth for the remaining family, especially if there is a large amount of debt to be repaid.

In this situation, substantial life insurance is very important as it will avoid potentially millions of dollars in taxes. These tax laws change often and policies and estate plans may need to be tweaked to keep up with them.

Security

High net worth individuals are at higher risk of security threats designed to gain access to their wealth. For this reason, a robust system of security on properties and when traveling is needed, along with associated insurance cover.

Those who travel frequently may want to investigate kidnap and ransom insurance.

Valuable property portfolios

Expensive property portfolios and contents can be a major area of under insurance. Should they be damaged or destroyed by weather events, natural disasters, fire, or similar, the insurance needs to be able to fund a complete rebuild and the destruction of potentially valuable items within the property.

If their property is located in areas prone to natural disasters of forest fires, then the need for specialist insurance is even higher. A fully inclusive coverage that covers a broad range of risks is preferable.  A good level of cover will include:

• Guaranteed replacement/rebuild – should the worst happen and property be completely destroyed, insurance will pay for a complete rebuild from the ground up.
• Additional structure coverage – includes garages, gates, gazebos, and fencing.
• Multi-property coverage – if a second vacation property exists, it could potentially be folded into the insurance coverage of the main residence.
• Expenses coverage – if the main residence is destroyed, insurance covers the accommodation and food expenses until the property can be rebuilt or another property purchased with insurance money.

High-value assets

While the property portfolio is often the most valuable asset, there are a number of items that need to be protected. These can include boats, classic cars, antiques, works of art, precious jewelry, and similar items.

Cyberattacks

High net worth individuals make for ideal targets when it comes to cybercrime. They, their families, advisors, and employees can be targeted by sophisticated phishing scams, ransomware, or many forms of identity theft.

Employee, theft, fraud, and injury

It takes many people to run the estates of high net worth individuals.

Executive assistants, housekeepers, gardeners, etc. These people are often given a high level of trust and this can sometimes be an ideal opportunity for theft or fraud. Doing due diligence on the people employed is a way to minimize this risk.

Of course, as an employer, they will also be expected to have insurance to cover them for employee injury, illness, and potential wrongful dismissal lawsuits.

Business or professional liability issues

Those with careers, businesses, or board positions open themselves up to potential liability lawsuits if it is claimed their advice has financially impacted a person/company or defamed them in some way.

How to arrange high net worth individual insurance

At Central Jersey Insurance Associates, we have developed a comprehensive private client service especially for high, very high, and ultra-high net worth individuals.

Our specialists work tirelessly to understand the lifestyle, property portfolio, and other high-value assets that need to be protected and find the industry-leading insurance coverage that can give them peace of mind.

Each policy is customized exactly to the individual. If existing insurance policies are in place, they can review these for any shortfalls in coverage.

They can also advise on elements of estate planning in the most tax-efficient way, and put them in touch with other experts if needed to protect the estate for those who are intended to inherit it.