Tennessee contractors & trades
Life insurance for contractors who are the business
When you run the crew, sign the loans and bring in the work, your family and your business both ride on you. Most owners carry no group life insurance at all. Workers' comp, even where it covers the owner, pays only for deaths on the job, and only what the state schedule allows.
Our owner spent 20 years in construction, so we know how your business actually works. Apply online in about ten minutes and see your real price. No obligation.
Apply onlineSullivan James Insurance: independent life insurance agency
Life insurance we write: term life insurance and mortgage protection (term life sized to a home loan), applied for online in about ten minutes.
Office: 230 Franklin Rd, Building 2B, Franklin, TN 37064 · (615) 378-7187
The gap
No HR department bought this for you
Employees at big companies usually get some life insurance through work. Owners and independent tradespeople usually don't, and many assume workers' comp or a general liability policy covers it. Neither one replaces your income for your family.
The fix is usually a term policy sized to the house, the business debt and the years your family depends on you. Partners can use one to fund a buy-sell agreement, so the business survives if one of you doesn't.
Does the trade change the price?
For most construction work, carriers price life insurance mainly on age and health, not the job. Some higher-risk work, like working at heights, blasting, or certain aviation or diving jobs, can affect underwriting at some carriers.
If your work involves any of those, call us before you apply and we'll tell you what to expect.
What to cover
Four things ride on you
Size the policy to what would actually be left behind.
The house
The mortgage balance, so your family can stay put whatever happens to the business.
The business debt
Equipment notes, trucks, a line of credit, or an SBA loan. Lenders often ask for life insurance on the owner and may require it to be assigned to them.
Your income, for the years it's needed
What the household would lose, for as long as the kids are home or until retirement savings could carry it.
Your partners
If you co-own the company, life insurance can fund a buy-sell agreement. Your family gets paid fairly and your partner keeps the business.
Add up what applies and subtract what you already own. That's your starting amount, and you choose the final number during the online application.
Questions
The ones worth asking first
Does workers' comp cover me if I own the company?
In Tennessee construction, owners must carry workers' comp on themselves unless they qualify for and hold an exemption, and many do hold one. Even where it applies, it pays only for work-related deaths, on the state's benefit schedule. It isn't a substitute for life insurance.
Can my business pay for my life insurance?
Businesses can own and pay for life insurance for some purposes, like key-person or buy-sell coverage. The tax treatment depends on how it's set up. Talk to your CPA before you set it up.
My lender asked for life insurance on the loan. Do I need a special policy?
Usually not. A standard term policy can be collaterally assigned to the lender for the loan amount, and anything above that still goes to your family. Match the amount and term to what the lender asked for.
Do I need a medical exam?
Often not. Many carriers use accelerated underwriting for healthy applicants and moderate amounts. Larger amounts, or some health histories, may be referred for more review or an exam, and the application tells you if yours is.
Is Sullivan James the insurance company?
No. Sullivan James is an independent insurance agency in Franklin, Tennessee. Policies are issued by the carrier, and no coverage is in force until the carrier issues the policy and the first premium is paid.
You insure the trucks. Insure the person who drives the business.
Tell us a little about you, then apply online in about ten minutes and see your real price.
Apply onlineOr call (615) 378-7187 and talk to a licensed agent.
Term life insurance on this page is offered through Birdies Insurance LLC, doing business as Sullivan James Insurance, a licensed independent insurance agency in Franklin, Tennessee, and is applied for through the Ethos platform. It is an independent insurance agency, not an insurance company. Policies are issued and underwritten by the carrier, and all coverage is subject to underwriting approval, policy terms, exclusions and limitations. No coverage is in force until the carrier issues the policy and the first premium is paid. Riders and their availability vary by carrier and state. This page is general information, not tax, legal or lending advice, and is not an offer of insurance in any state where Sullivan James Insurance is not licensed.