Some insurance policies benefit all small businesses, while others provide unique protections for businesses in certain industries or those that face specific risks. When starting a small business, it is essential to understand what risks it faces and what policies will offer the best protection.
Consider the following insurance policies to protect your small business:
General Liability Insurance
General liability (GL) insurance, also known as small business liability coverage, protects a business against “general” claims involving property damage or bodily injuries resulting from a business’s products, operations, or services. A GL policy may also provide coverage if a business owner is liable for damages to a landlord’s property.
Commercial Property Insurance
Commercial property insurance protects a business’s physical assets from various unforeseen events, such as storms, fire, theft, vandalism, and explosions. Businesses in certain locations may also seek additional coverage for earthquakes and floods. Commercial property insurance can protect owned and rented buildings and all tools and equipment used to operate the business.
Professional Liability Insurance
Professional liability insurance is a policy that covers a business owner or the company if a mistake is made while providing professional services to a client or customer. Also called errors and omissions (E&O) insurance, this type of coverage typically covers claims of misrepresentation, negligence, inaccurate advice, or personal injuries like slander or libel. Even if a business did not do anything wrong, having professional liability insurance can still help cover costly legal defense costs.
Commercial Auto Insurance
A commercial automobile insurance policy provides policyholders coverage for vehicles they own, hire, lease or use in their business. This could be a car, truck, van, or another vehicle used to transport goods or for similar purposes. Commercial auto insurance policies can cover property damage, theft, liability, business interruption, or worker injury.
Business Income Insurance
Business income insurance is a form of insurance that covers a business’s loss of income following a disaster. Examples of covered perils on standard business income insurance policies include fire, wind, and theft. Some policies may include extended business income coverage that protects a business from a slowdown once it has reopened.
Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Workers’ compensation insurance provides medical care and cash benefits to employees injured or ill due to their job. Employers are required to pay for this insurance, and employees are not required to contribute to the cost of the compensation. A claim is only paid if an employer or the insurance carrier agrees that the illness or injury is work-related.
Business Owner’s Policy (BOP)
A business owner’s policy combines business liability and property insurance into one convenient policy. This type of insurance is generally used to protect businesses from claims that result from theft, fire, and other covered disasters.
Additional coverage options, such as data breach protection and business income for off-premises utility services, are available. BOP policies can also be customized to meet the unique needs of an industry-specific business.
Employment Practices Liability Insurance
Employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) protects businesses from claims that their legal rights as company workers have been violated. This type of policy can protect against a wide range of lawsuits, such as discrimination, sexual harassment, breach of employment contract, wrongful termination, and failure or employ or promote. EPLI costs depend on the type of business, risk factors, and the number of employees.
Data Breach Insurance
Small businesses face physical risks, such as personal injuries and property damage, and technology risks. To protect against these risks, small businesses often rely on data breach insurance. Data breach insurance or cyber insurance protects against various technology-related losses, such as if a computer gets a virus that exposes sensitive information or when a patient sues a business after they lose PII or PHI.
Commercial Umbrella Insurance
Commercial umbrella insurance protects businesses by covering costs beyond other liability coverage limits. Without a commercial umbrella insurance policy, a company could be held responsible for out-of-pocket costs exceeding their policy limits, such as medical costs, legal costs, judgments, settlements or damage to other people’s property.
Request an Insurance Quote
Getting insurance is one of the most important aspects of starting a business. New business owners want to take the necessary steps to protect their company, employees, and assets and avoid costly out-of-pocket claims. Contact Atlas Insurance today at (808) 400-6634 to learn more about different types of small business insurance policies or to get an insurance quote.