Insurance coverage is available for every conceivable risk your business might face. Cost and amount of coverage of policies vary among insurers. You should discuss your specific business risks and the types of insurance available with your insurance agent or broker. Your agency can advise you on the exact types of insurance you should consider purchasing.
Commercial Auto Insurance
Auto insurance is a necessity for any automobile owner – especially those who pay other people to drive the automobiles they own. If your company owns and operates automobiles, your company should invest in commercial auto insurance. In many places, you may actually be legally required to do so. This is because, if an incident occurs, your company may be liable to property losses as well as bodily injury to employees and anyone else involved. Such financial liabilities can sometimes run in the millions. To mitigate the chances of having to deal with such excessive financial burdens, you should make sure that you have insurance covering liability as well as medical expenses for your employees and repairs to your vehicles – regardless of fault.
Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Again, this type of business insurance is so important that it may even be a legal requirement where you are. Such insurance covers injuries sustained while on the job. For instance, if you have a roofing business and your employee falls and suffers a paralyzing back injury, a workers’ compensation insurance policy will probably make regular payments to that employee until he or she reaches retirement age. Such insurance will help to shield your business from the financial burdens of civil suits.
Property Insurance
Whether you own it or rent it, your business probably has a specific piece of real estate property associated with it. Owning such a piece of property comes with a number of risks, and there are specific types of insurance policies that cover these risks. For example, if you own a storefront, you should invest in property insurance. This protects against things like vandalism and the theft of machinery and equipment. It also protects against things like flood and fire damage. If you are a commercial tenant, the property insurance policy will probably come under the property owner’s name, but you will usually be charged for it.
General Liability Insurance
As its name suggests, general liability insurance protects businesses against a broad range of liabilities. If your business is sued by customers, employees, associates, or other companies because of losses its operations cause, general liability insurance usually covers this. However, such policies can only cover compensatory damages: any punitive damages ordered by the court must still be directly paid by the business.
Product Liability Insurance
If your company manufactures and sells a product that turns out to have harmful effects, it will most likely face legal consequences. Such consequences may involve fines, civil suits, recalls, disposal or recycling costs, and a loss of inventory investment. Product insurance can cover the financial damages associated with such costs and losses.
Professional Liability Insurance
For certain professionals and businesses, the operations in which they engage are intrinsically sensitive. The slightest mistake could result in losses for clients – and those losses become the financial responsibility of the professional or business. For instance, accountants, investment brokers, and insurance agents handle transactions involving large sums of money and are privy to personal financial information. If they make mistakes in their paperwork or make sensitive information available to other parties, this can result in a civil suit. Professional liability insurance – sometimes called errors and omissions insurance – protects against such losses.