Business Insurance

A Business Owners Policy (BOP) contains many, but not all coverages a business needs. The basic BOP covers a business in three key areas:

• Business Liability– covers you if a person is injured on your premises (e.g. a slip and fall). Coverage is also provided if your product or service leads to an injury or damage to someone’s property. Examples include:
• Manufacturing or selling a hair care product that damages your customers’ hair or skin.
• An Auto Repair facility works on a customer’s brakes and installs them incorrectly, leading to an accident and damage to their car.
• A customer in your restaurant claims food poisoning.
• Business Property– covers you if your business property is damaged on your premises from a covered peril (fire, theft, smoke, water, vandalism, etc…). Examples include:
• A theft where your inventory and/or office equipment is stolen
• A fire that damages your custom flooring, lighting fixtures, and the design improvements you made to the space
• A water hose in your restroom breaks and the water damages boxes of inventory on your warehouse floor.
• Business Income and Extra Expense– covers you for lost business income after a covered loss. It will also cover extra expenses needed to bring your business income back to pre-loss levels as quickly as possible. Examples include:
• Your restaurant is damaged by a fire and it takes 11 months to rebuild. Your lost business income during this period is covered. The additional advertising needed to let the community know that you re-opened so you can quickly build revenue to pre-loss levels, would be covered as an Extra Expense.
• A key piece of equipment is damaged by a covered loss. The cost to repair the machine and the resulting lost income are both covered. The cost to get expedited delivery for a replacement part to shorten the repair time would also be covered as an Extra Expense.

Depending on your business, different types of insurance are needed. The most common insurances needed are:

• Business Owners Policy (BOP) – Learn what a BOP covers
• Workers Compensation– If you have any employees (even one part-time employee) the law requires you to carry Workers Compensation. This protects both you and the employee including paying the employee while injured, in the event they are unable to work.
• Professional Liability (a.k.a. Errors and Omissions)– Protects your business if you offer professional services or advice, and a client claims your advice or service caused them a financial loss. Whether you made an error, gave inaccurate advice, or did everything correctly, the policy provides you legal representation, and if necessary, will pay the claim on your behalf. Bookkeepers, Accountants, Business Consultants, Marketing Consultants, and many other professionals need this coverage.
• Commercial Auto– If you use your vehicle in your business, you may need a Commercial Auto policy. This will depend on the vehicle, how the vehicle is used, who drives the vehicle, and how it is registered.
• Cyber Liability– If your business maintains private personal or employee information, you are a target for hackers. The National Cyber Security Alliance recently released statistics that show 20% of small businesses experience such an attack every year, and that 60% of these businesses were forced to close within 6 months of being hacked. This coverage pays the various costs associated with this type of attack.
• Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI)– Per the Insurance Information Institute, the number of lawsuits filed by employees against their employers has been rising. EPLI provides protection against many kinds of these suits. The most common claims are for:

• • • Sexual harassment
    • Discrimination
    • Wrongful termination
    • Retaliation

    This coverage pays for legal representation, and if necessary, will pay the claim on your behalf.We can help you determine which coverages your business will need.

It’s important to know that homeowner policies exclude coverage for most business exposures. Therefore, depending on your business, you have risks that need to be covered. Consider the following:

• What liability exposure do you have from the products you sell, the services you provide, the advice you give, or if people come to your home?
• Do you have inventory, equipment, or tools that you use in your business that need to be covered?
• Do you have any employees? Even if your employees are home-based, Workers Compensation is still required.
• What personal client information do you maintain and how well is it protected from hackers?

The fact that your business is home-based does not change that you have business risks that need to be insured. We can review these risks with you to determine what coverage is needed.

• The easiest way to lower the cost of insurance is to raise your deductibles. Taking a higher deductible can lower your overall premium provided your business can handle the higher out-of-pocket cost.
• Packaging products together with the same company can also save money. Many insurance companies offer discounts when multiple lines of coverage are placed with them, including the Business Owners Policy, Workers Compensation, and Commercial Auto.
• Asking for “Credits”. Most commercial insurance companies offer “credits” (discounts) if you can justify how your business prevents losses. This can include safety programs, tenure of employees, training programs, regular equipment maintenance, quality checks, or anything else that your company does better than your peers that will prevent losses.
• Reviewing your coverage limits and rating factors. Lowered inventory levels, reduced revenue, or lower payroll are all opportunities for a lower premium. Dropping a line of business or service, or renting a smaller space create additional opportunities for reduced premiums.

We can review your coverage to determine if there are any opportunities for savings.