There are many types of business insurance available to business owners. While all companies should have certain types of business insurance, insurance needs can also depend on the specific business model or structure in question. Many insurance companies offer business owner’s insurance or commercial liability policies. These policies offer a basic package of business insurance and can be supplemented with additional insurance as needed. While different types of business insurance may be bought separately, they can also sometimes be purchased as a package, which may be more cost effective.
A business insurance policy will usually include property and casualty insurance, as well as liability and/or product liability insurance. These are some of the most important policies to have as a business owner. Property insurance insures the location of the business, and casualty insurance insures the business, including the personal property of the business, such as the equipment, machines, or supplies.
Be sure to ask your insurance agent if the property and casualty insurance included within your business policy is broad or specific. Broad property and casualty insurance can cover an array of disasters, while a specific policy will only cover against one form of a disaster. Some types of businesses will require a specific kind of property coverage that may not be within the business owner’s policy.
You may want to purchase additional types of casualty insurance as well. There are insurance policies available for cyber-fraud insurance, employee-theft, and identity theft. A business insurance policy will usually include liability insurance, which can cover the loss to the business if the business or its employees are sued for their negligence or mistake. Product liability insurance is recommended for businesses that sell or manufacture any type of product. This type of business insurance will protect you if a customer is harmed by a manufacturing mistake, or even if there is a design defect in your product that you did not consider.
Some types of business insurance are required by state law. For example, if you have employees, you must carry workers compensation insurance. Workers compensation insurance protects your employees if they are injured on the job. The state workers compensation system also protects business owners, as workers compensation statutes do not allow employees to sue their employers for on-the-job injuries. Some states will allow you to opt out of workers comp if you are covered by private insurance.
Other types of business insurance required by state law may include car insurance, which will apply if your business requires any type of transportation. It's important to remember that your personal auto insurance does not cover automobiles used for your business. If you have business automobiles it is imperative to get a commercial auto insurance policy to protect yourself.
There are other types of business insurance that can offer more than just the basic protection to the business owner. These types of business insurance can meet the needs of your specific type of business, and can even make you a more desirable employer. Purchasing a group health insurance plan for your employees is a good way to attract high-quality employees who will want to commit to your business.
A business interruption policy can protect you from business income loss in case of disaster. This type of business insurance policy is complimentary to property and casualty insurance. While property and casualty insurance will cover the repairs or costs to the business in the aftermath of a disaster, business interruption insurance will cover your lost income from the interruption of the business activities.
Life or disability insurance for the owners or key employees may be a good idea as well. The owner can list his or her business as a beneficiary on the policy. This way, the business will be able to use the proceeds of the policy to buy out the share of the owner, in the case of his or her disability or death.
Depending on the type of business you run, you may want to consider special types of business insurance. For example, if you primarily do business online, you should be sure that your policies cover your website as well. If you depend on computers to run your business, it is a good idea to insure the computers in a separate policy.
Finally, once you have an idea of what type of business insurance you might need, you should contact an insurance agent to help you establish a business insurance policy. Before you contact the insurance agent, it is a good idea to write down a list of everything that your business does. This way, the agent will be able to give you the best recommendations for your particular business insurance needs.