What types of insurance do I need to protect my business?
In addition to choosing the right business organization, starting a small business requires obtaining the maximum protection for your company. By having the following types of insurance, your business will have maximum protection from a variety of situations that can lead to lawsuits.
Property Insurance
Obtaining property insurance should be a primary consideration for protecting your tangible investment, including essential merchandise, equipment, tools, and buildings. It is critical to protect your business property from the potential for loss and damage from a number of events, including fires, vandalism, theft and storms. In addition to protecting the actual building, furnishings, inventory and equipment, business property insurance may also cover other costs such as equipment breakdowns or the cost of clean up after a covered loss like a fire or storm.
General Liability Insurance
Regardless of the size or type of business, it is critical to obtain general liability insurance. This type of insurance protects you in the event you are faced with a lawsuit arising from accidents, injuries or claims of negligence. General liability insurance coverage protects you if your products, services or employees cause property damage or bodily injury to a third party. For example, if someone is injured on the premises of your business and files a lawsuit against you, general liability insurance may help to recover some of the costs, depending on the situation.
Professional liability Insurance
Errors and omissions (E&O) is insurance that typically covers doctors, accountants and lawyers. For medical professionals, E&O usually comes in the form of malpractice insurance. At the same time, lawyers, accountants, architects and engineers are covered by professional liability insurance. Moreover, even businesses like advertising agencies and commercial printers, in fact any business that provides a service to a client for a fee, needs E&O coverage. In short, E&O coverage protects you from error or omission on your part that has caused a financial loss for your client.
Workers’ Compensation Insurance
While the particular rules differ from state to state, employers are required to buy workers' compensation insurance. Generally, this type of insurance protects businesses from lawsuits arising from workplace accidents. Workers' compensation also covers medical bills and compensates lost income for employees injured on the job, whether on the premises or elsewhere, regardless of who was at fault. Workers' compensation also covers employees who are injured in auto accidents while on company business or who suffer work-related illnesses. It also provides death benefits to surviving spouses and defendants.
Business Interruption Insurance
Small business owners should consider how they would manage if a fire or other disaster damaged their business premises so that they were temporarily unusable. If you are conducting business in an area that has a high risk of natural disasters, investing in business interruption insurance will compensate you for lost income if your company has to vacate the business premises due to disaster-related damage.
The Bottom Line
Every business is different, and each faces a variety of risks; however, by investing is the right types of business insurance, a company can protect itself from a wide range of losses and liabilities.