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Key Person Insurance in Minnesota

Minnesota’s reported life guaranty limit is $500,000 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. Minnesota requires written consent before a benefit-plan trustee insures a plan participant. Ask for the insured’s consent and confirm whether the policy owner is the business or an employee-benefit trustee, since the statute treats them separately. Compare your ownership and insured’s role with Minn. Stat. § 60A.0783(g). 4,1

What Is Key Person?

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 to Watch for in Minnesota

  • Document the Business Interest

    Minnesota requires written consent before a benefit-plan trustee insures a plan participant. Ask for the insured’s consent and confirm whether the policy owner is the business or an employee-benefit trustee, since the statute treats them separately. 1

  • Complete Written Notice and Consent

    Minnesota’s trust rules condition trustee insurable interest on the insured’s connection to the trust settlor and on proceeds primarily benefiting beneficiaries with an insurable interest. Ask the carrier to document the trust structure if a trust owns the policy. 2,3

  • Check the State Guaranty Backstop

    The published Minnesota life-association limit is $500,000 per insured life. For a multi-person program, compare the per-life amount with the separate owner aggregate reported in NOLHGA’s model. Include it when assessing exposure to one insurer failure. For issuance, also check Minn. Stat. § 60A.0783(g). 4,5,1

Who Regulates Insurance in Minnesota

Minnesota Department of Commerce

The Minnesota Department of Commerce regulates insurance companies and producers, reviews rates and forms, and investigates complaints. You can use its state lookup or complaint service to check a license or raise an insurance issue. 6,7,8

Surplus-lines tax and stamping office

Reported tax rate: 3% of taxable gross premiums less return premiums, plus a 0.04% stamping fee on taxable premium when Minnesota is the insured's home state When Minnesota is the insured's home state, 3% tax applies to taxable gross premiums less return premiums; the separate 0.04% stamping fee on taxable premium is paid by you to the broker. Minnesota requires a policy warning that insolvency loss payment by a nonadmitted insurer is not guaranteed. A diligent search generally applies unless a Minnesota-licensed producer unaffiliated with the surplus-lines broker refers the risk, which the statute deems unavailable from a licensed insurer; an exempt commercial purchaser also has a separate written-request route after the required admitted-market disclosure. 9,12,10,11,13

Minnesota Surplus Lines Association

Providers With Documented State Licenses

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

  • VouchVouch Specialty Insurance Services, LLCInsurance producer, Surplus-lines broker · checked 2026-09-28Vouch’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. 20

Questions to Ask Before You Buy in Minnesota

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

Key Person in Minnesota: FAQ

How much of a key person life policy is protected if an insurer fails in Minnesota? 4,5

Life death-benefit coverage for Minnesota is shown as $500,000. A separate owner aggregate may matter when the same company holds several nongroup policies. 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 Minnesota? 2,3,1

Yes. Federal rules require written notice and consent before issue for the employer-owned life tax exception. Minnesota’s trust rules condition trustee insurable interest on the insured’s connection to the trust settlor and on proceeds primarily benefiting beneficiaries with an insurable interest. Ask the carrier to document the trust structure if a trust owns the policy. Ask for a copy of the dated notice before the carrier issues coverage. For state-law details, check Minn. Stat. § 60A.0783(g). 2,3,1

Key Person in Other States

Other Coverage in Minnesota

Sources

  1. 2023 Minnesota Statutes § 60A.0783 — Insurable Interest Required. State statute (Justia U.S. Codes and Statutes); Minn. Stat. § 60A.0783(g). 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. Insurance; Insurance regulator and consumer resources. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  7. Insurance License Lookup. Insurance; State-designated producer/company search. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  8. File an Insurance Complaint. Insurance; Insurance complaint topic; filing portal, complaints line, email contact. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  9. Minn. Stat. §297I.05. Minnesota Revisor of Statutes; 3% on gross premiums less return premiums when Minnesota is insured's home state; 100% taxable in Minnesota. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  10. Instructions for 2026 Semiannual Stamping Fee Report. Minnesota Surplus Lines Association; 2026 report p.1, lines 82–94: stamping fee rate .0004 (0.04%) of policy premium for transactions effective on or after October 1, 2016; current report linked from the association's 2026 site. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  11. Minn. Stat. §60A.207. Minnesota Revisor of Statutes; 2025 text, lines 250–255: policy notice states insurer is not otherwise licensed in Minnesota and insolvency loss payment is not guaranteed. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  12. Minn. Stat. §297I.01. Minnesota Revisor of Statutes; Definition of gross premiums for nonadmitted insurance includes fees, assessments and other consideration, with stamping fee and operating assessment exclusions. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  13. Minnesota Statutes 2025, §60A.201. Minnesota Revisor of Statutes; 2025 Minn. Stat. §60A.201 subd.1 (admitted-market restriction); subd.5 (ECP disclosure and subsequent written request); subd.6 (risk referred by unaffiliated Minnesota-licensed producer deemed unavailable). Amendments listed through 2025. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  14. Licenses. At-Bay; Current producer introduction and state table; At-Bay Insurance Services LLC; P&C and surplus-lines identifiers. Accessed 2026-09-21.
  15. 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.
  16. 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.
  17. 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.
  18. 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.
  19. 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.
  20. 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.

Updated .

This guide is informational and does not determine whether a policy is available or meets your needs. Editorial policy. To suggest a correction, contact Spot with a supporting source.

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