No business can withstand accidents and disasters without insurance; having adequate policies in place can ease the blow when disaster strikes. This article will examine what types of coverage most small businesses need:
Commercial property insurance protects the physical assets of your business from damage or theft, while also covering potential income losses due to repairs being completed on it.
Business Owners Policy (BOP)
A business owners policy (BOP) is an all-in-one package of property and liability coverage designed to simplify coverage needs while often costing less than purchasing policies separately. BOPs are particularly useful for smaller businesses such as restaurants, wholesalers and retail stores.
BOPs typically combine general liability, commercial property and business income protection into one comprehensive policy. General liability covers you against third-party bodily injuries, property damages and advertising injuries caused by your operations (like customers slipping on your premises). Commercial property helps safeguard physical assets like buildings and equipment (owned or leased), furniture, inventory and cash against threats like fire and theft; while business income protection can provide extra revenue if interrupted operations interfere with operations – until you return back up and running again.
Although BOPs can be beneficial to many types of small businesses, it’s important to remember that they may not cover every potential risk. For instance, if you employ people, you will require workers’ compensation coverage; or have valuable inventory or equipment which needs protection beyond what a basic policy offers. Our licensed agents are on hand to assess your risks and recommend suitable policies from multiple providers.
General Liability
General liability coverage provides essential defense for businesses against claims related to bodily injury and property damage caused by products, services or operations of their company. For instance, should one of your trucking drivers accidently drop heavy boxes onto flimsy shelving at one of your clients’ sites resulting in damages, your general liability policy can help cover repairs.
Legal expenses and settlements related to bodily injuries or property damage resulting from work performed on your premises can also be covered under commercial general liability coverage, as can product and completed operations liability protection which covers work completed at another location. It’s wise for all businesses to purchase commercial general liability policies, since clients or agencies may require this before agreeing to work together; similarly landlords often stipulate it before renting space in their building.
Based on your industry, additional types of business insurance may also be necessary to safeguard it properly. For example, professional service firms might require errors and omissions insurance or malpractice cover as extra protection against errors or malpractice claims; similarly, commercial property coverage might provide more comprehensive protection than general liability for the equipment and inventory owned by your business.
Commercial Auto Insurance
Commercial auto insurance works similarly to personal car policies in that it covers vehicles owned or leased by businesses. Like its personal car counterpart, this coverage provides liability and physical damage coverage with collision, comprehensive and specified perils policies available as options.
Hired and non-Owned Automobile (HNOA) coverage provides protection if any employee drives a non-company owned car for work related activities, or when renting one while your own is in for service. It will cover any associated costs when driving personal cars for professional purposes or renting one in case your own is in the shop for maintenance.
How you and who is driving vehicles at your business is an inherent risk that poses accidents, injuries and property damage risks. Commercial auto policies tend to have higher liability limits than personal car policies as well as wider physical damage coverage options – so talk with your licensed broker-agent today about adding commercial auto coverage into your portfolio of business protection.
Workers’ Compensation
Most states mandate businesses carry workers’ compensation insurance to cover medical costs and wages lost if employees are injured on the job, including death benefits for those who die on the job. Premium costs vary by state; for smaller business owners however, a claim could quickly bankrupt them; to protect against this risk many companies purchase separate policies to safeguard against it.
Business Owners Policies (BOPs), which combine property and liability coverage into one convenient contract suitable for many small businesses, provide significant cost-cutting potential as well as making applying for additional coverages easier.
In certain instances, insurers offer industry or business type-specific policies. For instance, professional indemnity insurance in Melbourne provides extra protection to lawyers and other professionals in case claims are made against them.
Some states offer assigned risk plans or pools as an alternative means of providing workers’ compensation insurance to businesses that cannot obtain it through private markets. High-risk industries with a history of workers’ comp claims or newcomers without industry experience must often purchase this coverage through these state-run plans, with premiums likely being higher than on regular markets.
