Does the thought of being your own boss excite you? Some people don’t want to work for anyone but themselves. It takes a certain type of person who wants to open and run a business. It may not be for everyone, but if its something for you do you know how much insurance coverage you need?
Your business insurance is a big part of running your own company. We are going to break it down for you with exactly what you need. This blog is just to help you understand the basics. Always call us or visit us at our website for any questions or to get a policy started today.
Lets get down to the basics of what you will need:
General Liability Insurance
General liability insurance, is coverage that can protect you from a variety of claims including bodily injury, property damage, personal injury and others that can arise from your business operations. Every business, even if home-based, needs to have liability insurance. The policy provides both defense and damages if you, your employees or your products or services cause or are alleged to have caused Bodily Injury or Property Damage to a third party.
Property Insurance
If you own your building or have business personal property, including office equipment, computers, inventory or tools you should consider purchasing a policy that will protect you if you have a fire, vandalism, theft, smoke damage etc. You may also want to consider business interruption/loss of earning insurance as part of the policy to protect your earnings if the business is unable to operate.
Business owner’s policy (BOP):
A business owner’s policy is a special type of commercial insurance designed for small and medium-sized businesses. A business owner policy packages all required coverage a business owner would need. Often, BOP’s will include business interruption insurance, property insurance, vehicle coverage, liability insurance, and crime insurance . Based on your company’s specific needs, you can alter what is included in a BOP. Typically, a business owner will save money by choosing a BOP because the bundle of services often costs less than the total cost of all the individual coverage’s.
Commercial Auto Insurance
Whenever a business owns vehicles – whether they are passenger cars, trucks, or vans – they need to be insured with a Commercial Auto Insurance policy. This coverage offers protection and financial assistance in the event of auto accidents, collisions, vandalism, theft, and some types of storm damage
Commercial auto insurance protects a company’s vehicles. You can protect vehicles that carry employees, products or equipment. With commercial auto insurance you can insure your work cars, SUVs, vans and trucks from damage and collisions. If you do not have company vehicles, but employees drive their own cars on company business you should have non-owned auto liability to protect the company in case the employee does not have insurance or has inadequate coverage. Many times the non-owned can be added to the BOP policy.
Worker’s Compensation
Workers’ compensation is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee’s right to sue their employer for the tort of negligence.
Worker’s compensation provides insurance to employees who are injured on the job. This type of insurance provides wage replacement and medical benefits to those who are injured while working. In exchange for these benefits, the employee gives up his rights to sue his employer for the incident. As a business owner, it is very important to have worker’s compensation insurance because it protects yourself and your company from legal complications. State laws will vary, but all require you to have workers compensation if you have W2 employees. Penalties for non-compliance can be very stiff.
Professional Liability Insurance
This type of insurance is also known as Errors and Omissions Insurance. The policy provides defense and damages for failure to or improperly rendering professional services. Your general liability policy does not provide this protection, so it is important to understand the difference. Professional liability insurance is applicable for any professional firm including lawyers, accountants, consultants, notaries, real estate agents, insurance agents, hair salons and technology providers to name a few.