What Key Person Insurance Requirements Apply in Hawaii?

Hawaii’s reported life guaranty limit is $300,000 for death benefits, which can leave a large key-person benefit above the association’s stated coverage level. Confirm the legal insurer and treat the guaranty limit as a backstop, not a policy limit. For a business-owned policy issued in Hawaii, ask the carrier to identify the state-law basis for insurable interest and the role evidence it will retain. Retain the role record alongside the application. Compare your ownership and insured’s role with Haw. Rev. Stat. § 431:10-204(b)–(c).

What Is Key Person Insurance?

Key person insurance pays the business, not the person’s family, when a founder, partner or employee it relies on dies. Disability, overhead expense and buyout funding are separate products to discuss on their own. Read the national Key person guide.

What Should You Watch for With Key Person Insurance in Hawaii?

Document the Business Interest
For a business-owned policy issued in Hawaii, ask the carrier to identify the state-law basis for insurable interest and the role evidence it will retain. Retain the role record alongside the application. ¹
Complete Written Notice and Consent
Federal tax treatment of an employer-owned life policy turns on written notice and consent before issue. In Hawaii, keep proof of the maximum face amount disclosed. Check that the file records the notice date. ^2,³
Check the State Guaranty Backstop
The state table puts Hawaii’s life death-benefit limit at $300,000. Ask how the per-life amount interacts with the reported $5 million owner aggregate for multiple nongroup policies. Use the state amount when discussing carrier concentration. For issuance, also check Haw. Rev. Stat. § 431:10-204(b)–(c). ^4,^5,¹

Which Key Person Insurance Providers Have Hawaii License Records?

These providers publish a national listing for Key person; the license records below name the licensed entities and roles. Some records rely on company-reported information rather than independent regulator verification. A national listing does not confirm the product is available in Hawaii. Check the regulator’s license lookup and confirm state availability for your business when requesting a quote.

Vouch
Insurance producer, Surplus-lines broker · checked 2026-09-28
Vouch Specialty Insurance Services, LLC
Vouch’s licenses page, effective January 16, 2025, lists producer licenses in all 50 states and DC. Its separate surplus-lines table includes Idaho number 870820, while a footnote says Georgia and Idaho do not issue agency-level surplus-lines licenses. Because those statements conflict for Idaho, this record keeps Idaho producer-only and does not treat the table number as established agency surplus-lines authority. The page is company-reported and does not establish product availability. ¹⁷
Vouch arranges key person coverage for technology businesses.

Who Regulates Insurance in Hawaii?

Hawaiʻi Insurance Division

The Insurance Division oversees insurance companies and producers, examines Hawaiʻi-based insurers, reviews rate and policy filings, and investigates insurance complaints. It is part of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. ^6,^7,⁸

Website: Regulator website
License lookup: Search licensed producers
Complaints: File a complaint
Phone: 1-844-808-3222

Surplus-Lines Tax and Stamping Office in Hawaii

Reported tax rate. 4.68% of premium when Hawaiʻi is the home state ^9,¹⁰

Hawaiʻi applies a 4.68% tax when it is the insured’s home state. Surplus-lines coverage is placed with an unauthorized insurer, so do not assume the Hawaiʻi Insurance Guaranty Association protects the policy; confirm the insurer’s status and policy terms with your broker.

What Should You Ask Before Buying Key Person Insurance in Hawaii?

What Hawaii law supports our business’s insurable interest in this person, and what should we retain to prove the role?
What written notice and consent must the insured receive before this policy is issued, and can coverage continue after employment ends?
How would Hawaii’s guaranty-association limit apply to this policy and our other business-owned life policies?

Key Person Insurance in Hawaii: Frequently Asked Questions

How much of a key person life policy is protected if an insurer fails in Hawaii?

The guaranty report shows $300,000 against death benefits in Hawaii. That is an insolvency backstop, not the face amount you can insure. NOLHGA reports an aggregate $5 million limit for one owner’s multiple nongroup life policies. ^4,⁵

Does my business need an employee’s consent for key person insurance in Hawaii?

Yes. Federal rules require written notice and consent before issue for the employer-owned life tax exception. Federal tax treatment of an employer-owned life policy turns on written notice and consent before issue. In Hawaii, keep proof of the maximum face amount disclosed. Check that the file records the notice date. Confirm the stated maximum face amount matches the application. For state-law details, check Haw. Rev. Stat. § 431:10-204(b)–(c). ^2,^3,¹

Sources for Key Person Insurance in Hawaii

1
2025 Hawaii Revised Statutes § 431:10-204 — Insurable Interest Required. State statute (Justia U.S. Codes and Statutes); Haw. Rev. Stat. § 431:10-204(b)–(c). Accessed 2026-09-28.
2
26 U.S.C. § 101(j) — Certain employer-owned life insurance contracts. Office of the Law Revision Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives; 26 U.S.C. § 101(j)(2), (4). Accessed 2026-09-28.
3
Internal Revenue Bulletin 2009-24 — Employer-Owned Life Insurance Contracts. Internal Revenue Service; Notice 2009-48, Q&A 6–7; written notice and consent. Accessed 2026-09-28.
4
How You’re Protected: Coverage Levels by State. National Organization of Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Associations; Coverage Levels by State; life insurance death benefits; report current as of May 2025. Accessed 2026-09-28.
5
Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association Model Act. National Association of Insurance Commissioners; Section 8(A)(2)(d), owner aggregate benefit cap. Accessed 2026-09-28.
6
Insurance Division. Hawaiʻi Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs; Official division homepage; scope, license search, complaints, contact information. Accessed 2026-09-28.
7
Insurance Licenses and Registrations. Hawaiʻi Insurance Division; Insurance license information; links to state-based system for license applications and status. Accessed 2026-09-28.
8
Filing a Complaint. Hawaiʻi Insurance Division; Online complaint form and published consumer phone. Accessed 2026-09-28.
9
Surplus Lines Tax. Hawaiʻi Insurance Division; 4.68% rate and home-state application under HRS § 431:8-315. Accessed 2026-09-28.
10
HRS § 431:16-105: Definitions. Hawaiʻi Legislature; Defines a member insurer as an insurer licensed or holding a certificate of authority in Hawaiʻi; cross-read with HRS § 431:8-102 and § 431:8-301 for unauthorized surplus-lines placements. Accessed 2026-09-28.
11
Licenses. At-Bay; Current producer introduction and state table; At-Bay Insurance Services LLC; P&C and surplus-lines identifiers. Accessed 2026-09-21.
12
Licenses and Carriers. Coalition; Licenses and Carriers, re-read 22 September 2026: Insurance Licenses table for Coalition Insurance Solutions, Inc., national producer number 18419475, with producer and surplus-lines numbers for all 50 states and DC including California 0L76155, Georgia 196479, Texas 2199630 and 2205589, Pennsylvania 815731 and 817452, Colorado 539028 and Wisconsin 3000108852. Insurance Carriers table naming, with NAIC numbers, Allianz Underwriters Insurance Company 36420, Arch Specialty Insurance Company 21199, Ascot Specialty Insurance Company 45055, Ascot Insurance Company 23752, Aspen Specialty Insurance Company 10717, Chaucer Insurance Company DAC, Coalition Insurance Company 29530, Fireman's Fund Indemnity Corporation 11380, Fortegra Specialty Insurance Company 16823, Lloyd's of London, MSIG Specialty Insurance USA Inc. 34886, MS Transverse Specialty Insurance Company 41807, Steadfast Insurance Company 26387, Vantage Risk Specialty Insurance Company 16275 and Zurich American Insurance Company 16535. Accessed 2026-09-22.
13
Insurance Producer Licenses. Corgi Insurance; Current complete Insurance Producer Licenses table for Corgi Insurance Services, Inc.; 50 rows covering 49 states and DC (DC 3003091619); no New Mexico row; no NPN or as-of date shown. Accessed 2026-09-28.
14
About Hiscox US Insurance. Hiscox; Hiscox Insurance Company Inc. NAIC 10200 as Chicago, IL domiciled insurer admitted or licensed in all 50 states and D.C.; Hiscox Inc. as general agent and Lloyd’s coverholder for Syndicates 33 and 3624; surplus-lines placements through licensed surplus-lines brokers; A.M. Best rating statement. Accessed 2026-09-16.
15
Licenses. ERGO NEXT Insurance; Current entity-by-state license table reopened 28 September 2026: 50 rows under Next First Insurance Agency, Inc., including Washington, DC; New York rows instead list Next Insurance Services PC-1423070 and AP Intego BR-1198885. Accessed 2026-09-28.
16
Insurance Licenses by State. TechInsurance; Current state table; identifies TechInsurance as a division of Specialty Program Group LLC d/b/a SPG Insurance Solutions; lists DC 3000041536 and labels Rhode Island “Individual licenses,” without an agency license number. Accessed 2026-09-28.
17
Licenses. Vouch; Effective 16 January 2025: Vouch Specialty Insurance Services, LLC, NPN 19926463; P&C table (50 states and DC); surplus-lines table includes Idaho 870820; footnote says Georgia and Idaho do not issue agency-level surplus-lines licenses; Idaho retained as producer-only due to conflict. Accessed 2026-09-15.

What Key Person Insurance Requirements Apply in Hawaii?

What Is Key Person Insurance?

What Should You Watch for With Key Person Insurance in Hawaii?

Document the Business Interest

Complete Written Notice and Consent

Check the State Guaranty Backstop