It is always a concern for a business owner to have their business covered for anything unexpected that could happen. The factor of the unknown is something successful business owners prepare to handle because they know it’s always possible. A business owner’s insurance policy is the best way to be protected against the unexpected.
Business Owner’s Policy
This is a type of insurance designed to protect businesses from all significant liability and property risks in a single policy. This type of insurance is good for a business but is also essential for professionals. This includes property managers, accountants, real estate agents, doctors, lawyers, dentists, and more. It is a good policy to have for any type of business that operates on its own property.
Cost-Effective
Purchasing a business owner’s policy is much cheaper for a business than paying out-of-pocket for expenses associated with a liability claim or property damage that could happen. Depending on the incident, it could result in financial devastation for a business. This is the reason some states require a company to carry certain types of business insurance.
Common Incidents
There are things that can happen at a business and lead to legal claims or property damage.
*A customer claims to have been harmed by a product or service and files a lawsuit for damages.
*Someone sustains an injury while waiting in a storefront or waiting room.
*A company’s computer system is breached.
*A natural disaster, such as a tornado, hurricane, windstorm, or earthquake, could occur and result in serious damage to the place of business.
Cybercriminal Coverage
There are individuals who hack into a company’s computer system and take control of their data. They then demand to be paid money to return the data back to the company. It has been estimated that more than 42 percent of these types of attacks were on small businesses. These hackers have a history of slowly deleting files until the amount of money they want is paid. If not handled correctly, this situation can ruin a business.
Property Insurance
This is part of a business owner’s insurance policy designated to cover damage caused by certain events such as natural disasters, fire, vandalism, explosions, and other similar events. These policies will usually cover business property that is either rented or owned.
Liability Insurance
This provides a business with protection against legal liability for damage that could take place where a business is operating. This could involve products causing damaged, employees or customers getting injured, and more. Liability also provides protection if a person, business, or even government entity decides to sue because of an accident or unintentional mistake made by a business.
Business Interruption Insurance
This covers a loss of income by a business due to a natural disaster, fire, and more. It is the type of incident that requires a company to close down for a specified period of time. Some business insurance policies will also cover the costs associated with operating at another location.
Liquor Liability
This insurance coverage is important for restaurants and other types of foodservice businesses. A business that serves patrons liquor has an increased liability for problems to occur. Should a patron be served alcohol, and this patron causes a fight or gets into an accident, the business that served them the alcohol could be held liable. Liquor liability is designed to cover the costs associated with a claim based on selling liquor from a restaurant or other type of foodservice business.
Temperature Change Coverage
This is designed to protect a restaurant and other types of foodservice businesses if their refrigerator units break down, and it results in food spoilage. When this happens, having temperature change coverage will help to pay for the replacement of the lost stock.
Data Breach
The number of people able to hack into computer servers is regularly increasing. This has resulted in data loss and theft becoming an increased threat to all businesses. This data could include private financial records and other types of sensitive information. It is also possible for this information to be released to the public. This would leave a company guilty of breaching its fiduciary responsibility to its customers. This makes a business liable for all the damage resulting from the data breach. Huge corporations as well as the federal government and mid to small size businesses have all experienced a breach in their data security.
Off-Premises Operations Coverage
Arborists, landscaping companies, plumbing companies, construction companies, and others businesses that operate away from their office should consider purchasing off-premises operation coverage. This will provide insurance coverage if a company has lost income and is unable to operate at their job site because they’ve had equipment damaged. It is recommended for landscapers and others who apply chemicals to also have pesticide or herbicide insurance coverage. This will help cover the costs associated with pollution occurring from the use of herbicides or pesticides.
Business Income from Dependent Properties Coverage
This type of coverage is designed to help retail businesses. It can cover business losses that occur because a third party is responsible for their loss. A company could lose business if the company that manufactures the goods they sell shuts down unexpectedly. They will be unable to have their orders fulfilled and will have to spend time searching for another supplier or sell other products. This could result in a company losing money for a significant amount of time.
Businesses With Employees
There are many situations where a state will require a company doing business within their borders to have certain types of coverage for their employees.
*Disability Insurance
*Workers’ Compensation Insurance
*Unemployment Insurance
Disability insurance provides compensation in the event a worker is unable to work and earn an income because they’ve developed a disability. Workers’ compensation insurance provides income to employees who have proven they are unable to work due to a job-related illness or injury. It’s possible for an employee to injure their back as they lift a heavy piece of equipment and more. This coverage will also help to pay their medical costs. Unemployment insurance provides compensation to workers who are let go from their jobs for no fault of their own.
Risk Assessment
It is strongly advised that a company perform a detailed risk assessment of their company before deciding on what business insurance policies to purchase. This will keep a company from getting an insurance policy that is too expensive and doesn’t meet their coverage needs. Under-insuring could also leave a business open to experiencing devastating consequences.
A company needs to have business insurance. It is designed to help cover the cost of liability claims, property damage, and more. Should a company not have business insurance, it will be solely responsible for any costs resulting from damage and liability claims. Many businesses have been able to survive serious catastrophes by having the right business insurance in place.
