Hi,
Opening new business or buying existing business depend on your local research. Living in Ottawa, I knew a case that the seller open the same business after selling his previous company and take back all clients. So, the purchaser, in fact, has just bought a company on paper. Don't forget the non-competition clause in the S&P agreement.
With regard to insurance, there are many types of insurance in Canada to protect business owner's family from the financial burden raised by the company activities if any including overhead expenses, key person, buy-sell agreement, .... If you need more details, please PM me.
Rgds,