Business & Estate Planning · Canada
Insurance Strategies for Business & Estate Planning in Canada
For incorporated business owners, professionals, and high-net-worth families — and the CPAs and lawyers who advise them. Gavin Dyer handles the insurance component of your plan; your own accountant and lawyer handle the tax and legal structuring.
Written & reviewed by Gavin Dyer, AIC-Licensed Insurance Advisor (Alberta)
Last reviewed September 8, 2026
Most insurance conversations are about protecting a family if someone dies too soon. This section is about something adjacent but different: using insurance as a planning tool once a business or an estate has grown large enough that tax, succession, and liquidity become the real questions.
If your corporation holds more retained earnings than the business needs, if your estate will owe tax it doesn't have cash to pay, if one child will run the business and another won't, or if a shareholder agreement has no funding behind it — these are planning problems with an insurance component. Frank Cover handles that component. It doesn't replace your accountant or your lawyer; it works alongside them.
Recognize the Situation
When Insurance Becomes a Planning Tool
Insurance moves from a personal-protection product to a planning tool once one of these situations applies to your business or your estate:
Your corporation has accumulated money you don't expect to spend.
Your business represents a large portion of your estate.
One child will inherit the business and another won't.
Your estate may face a substantial tax liability.
Your business partner's shares would need to be purchased if they died.
You're planning an estate freeze or business succession.
Explore by Situation
Find Your Planning Situation
The pages below are grouped by what's actually happening in your business or estate — not by insurance product. Start with whichever one matches your situation.
Retained Corporate Wealth
Your corporation is holding more capital than the business needs to operate — sitting in GICs or investment accounts and getting taxed passively every year.
Estate Tax & Liquidity
Valuable assets — shares, real estate, investments — don't automatically create cash when tax comes due at death. Someone has to fund that liability.
Family & Succession
One child runs the business, another doesn't want to. A plan to keep the business intact without making one sibling buy out another.
Buy-Sell & Key Person
What happens to the business — and to the surviving owners — if a shareholder or a critical employee dies or becomes disabled.
Professionals & Holding Companies
Physicians, dentists, lawyers, consultants and other incorporated professionals — plus Opco/Holdco structures with their own planning considerations.
For Your Accountant or Lawyer
If your CPA or lawyer flagged an insurance gap, this is where Gavin steps in — without stepping on their relationship with you.
Business & Estate Review
Request a Business & Estate Insurance Review
A short questionnaire so Gavin can understand your corporate structure before your call — not an application, and not a substitute for advice from your own accountant or lawyer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Reading
Corporate-Owned Life Insurance
Structure, tax mechanics, and when it doesn't make sense.
Read moreCorporate Wealth Transfer
Self-funding vs. insurance for retained corporate capital — a genuine comparison.
Read moreEstate Equalization
How insurance lets one child take the business without shortchanging the others.
Read moreLife Insurance for Estate Taxes
Funding the tax bill at death without a forced sale.
Read moreInsurance for Incorporated Business Owners
The full picture for professional corporations and incorporated owners.
Read moreFor Accountants & Advisors
How Gavin works alongside your CPA or lawyer on client files.
Read moreHow Much Life Insurance Does a Business Owner Need?
Rarely one number — usually several purposes added together.
Read moreLife Insurance for a $5 Million Company
A practical checklist of what usually needs attention at this size.
Read moreThis is not tax or legal advice. Gavin Dyer is a licensed insurance advisor in Alberta — not a lawyer, accountant, or tax advisor. This page explains how insurance is generally used in situations like these; it is not a personalized recommendation for your corporation or estate. Frank Cover handles the insurance analysis and implementation. Your own accountant and lawyer should confirm the tax and legal treatment for your specific structure before you act on anything here.