You expose yourself to certain risks the moment you start a business. Your company is in danger even before you recruit your first employee, so it is critical to have the correct insurance in place. A single lawsuit or catastrophic occurrence might be enough to destroy your small company before it even gets off the ground.
Luckily, you can protect your company against these risks by choosing from a variety of insurance options. Here are four types of insurance coverage that you should have to protect your company’s assets.
General Liability Insurance
Most small businesses require this coverage, especially if they rent or own commercial space or office. Furthermore, many client contracts contain provisions for general liability insurance.
Even if none of these apply to you, commercial a general liability policy, known as a GLI coverage, is usually beneficial to small businesses that interact directly with clients and consumers. If a client or rival sues you, this policy helps keep your business financially stable.
Because a general liability policy provides such vital cover, most small company owners get it as soon as they open their doors.
What does General Liability Policy Cover?
A general liability policy covers common liability claims made by third parties. This sort of insurance covers the legal defense costs if someone sues you for bodily harm, property destruction, or advertising injury. This entails everything from attorney fees to court-ordered rulings and settlements.
However, a general liability policy might not cover all damages or injuries in all circumstances. For instance, this plan does not include medical care costs for wounded employees. In addition, a general liability policy does not cover lost income for injured personnel.
Business Owners Package
This insurance plan protects your company from claims stemming from events such as theft, fire, or other covered calamities. Business owners’ insurance coverage also helps to cover claims that may emerge because of your company’s operations. These include personal injury and property damage claims. Advertising injury claims are also covered.
What does Business Owners Package Cover?
A Business Owners Policy combines property and liability coverage into a single policy, which includes:
- Commercial Property Insurance
This policy covers the replacement or repair of business property that has been destroyed, damaged, or stolen. This comprises your business location, equipment, supplies, and product inventories. - General liability policy
As you know, this policy covers the expense of lawsuits brought by persons outside your company who claim property damage or bodily harm. It also covers legal expenses incurred because of advertising harms, such as copyright infringement and defamation.
Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Workers’ compensation insurance, often known as workers’ comp or workman’s comp, provides benefits to your employees if they are injured or fall ill on the job. This coverage can help:
- Cover the medical care and treatment of your employees
- Replace most of the your employees’ lost pay if they are absent from work to recuperate.
- Give your workers disability benefits
- Provide death benefits such as assisting with the payment of burial expenses if an employee dies because of a workplace accident or job-related sickness
Workers’ compensation also offers advantages for you, the owner. It comes with liability coverage. Therefore, if your company confronts litigation from injured employees or their families, workman’s comp might assist cover your legal expenses.
Commercial Auto Insurance
Commercial vehicle insurance helps pay the expenses of a car accident that occurs while you or a worker is using a company-owned vehicle for work purposes. Even in the case of a deadly accident, this coverage can assist pay for medical bills and property damage.
This policy may also cover vehicle vandalism, theft, and other damages and losses. Most commercial vehicle policies include liability insurance, which will pay your company’s legal expenses when one of your workers is involved in an accident.
Commercial vehicle insurance can help cover your company in the following situations:
- A worker knocks down a pedestrian while driving a work car. The pedestrian needs medical care, which results in high medical costs.
- An employee is driving to the workplace in a corporate vehicle when he collides with another vehicle, totaling it.
- You veer off your lane while traveling to work in a business car and hit a residential mailbox.
The law may compel you to carry various types of insurance based on your sort of activity and where you reside. It is critical that you are acquainted with your state’s business insurance regulations. You may consult with an insurance broker to ensure that you are in compliance with all rules.
Getting the correct forms of company insurance is critical no matter where you are in your firm’s life cycle. It can provide a solid foundation for startups when they start operating. It is also vital for seasoned business owners because policy requirements might change over time.
