A buy-sell agreement is a contract providing for the sale of a businessownership interest when a specified event happens. Generally, this event is the death of one of the businessowners but it can also be disability or retirement. A fully funded buy-sell agreement can help solve many problems arising at the death or disability of  a businessowner. The surviving owners want to retain control of he business while the deceased's heirs require funds for income and/or for the payment of death taxes or administrative expenses. The needs of both the deceased's heirs and the surviving owners can be taken care of with a properly designed buy-sell agreement.

An Executive Bonus Plan can be a sound, uncomplicated executive fringe benefit. An employer makes a life insurance policy available to an employee as part of a fringe benefit plan, typically insuring an employee's life for a desired amount of coverage. The premiums for the life insurance are paid by the employer and are considered bonus payments to the employee.

The concept of Split-Dollar Life Insurance is very simple-two parties by agreement share in the rights and obligations of a single policy. In essence, the policy is "split" between the parties. More specifically, the premiums, death benefits and cash value are shared. How the policy is shared is spelled out in a written document called a split-dollar agreement. The usual reason for splitting the policy is that one party is willing to assist with the premiums, but only on the condition that they be reimbursed at some later point. The most common situation for sharing a policy under a split-dollar arrangement involves an employer who wishes to provide a key employee with an interest in a life insurance policy as an executive benefit. Split-dollar, however, is very versatile, and while its use as an employee benefit is the most common use of the concept, it can also adapt itself to non-business or private situations that can be just as attractive, but for entirely different reasons.

A Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (SERP) is an arrangement where an employer adopts a plan to provide retirement benefits to an executive, or select group of executives, and opts to purchase life insurance on the executive's life to assist the employer in meeting future plan obligations. It is a non-qualified plan. The executive receives custom tailored benefits while the employer or corporation can recover the cost of its participation in the program. Life insurance purchased and owned by the corporation can be an effective method of funding a SERP. During the lifetime of the executive, earnings inside the contract accumulate on a tax-deferred basis and since the corporation is also the beneficiary of the policy, it generally receives the proceeds tax free at the executive's death. In addition, the corporation can take an income tax deduction for all the benefits paid to employees under the plan.

A trusteed buy-sell plan involves a trustee who is appointed to perform the centralized function of overseeing and performing buy-sell duties on behalf of the shareholders pursuant to their cross-purchase agreement. Furthermore, the trustee holds on policy per insured and credits each shareholder witha pro-rata interest in the policies covering the others. The trustee typically makes sure that premiums are paid.

Key-person insurance is life insurance purchased by a business on an owner or employee whose services contribute substantially to the success of the business. The insurance is owned by and payable to the business. The insured owner or employee is a valuable asset that is insured by the firm, in the same manner that the building and equipment of the business are insured against physical damage.