Starting a new business isn’t easy. Many first-time business owners do not realize how much goes into starting a new venture. Branding, logo-creation, finding office space, making sure you’ve got a viable product and hiring employees are likely among the first things you’ve thought about, but what about insurance?
Researching, getting a quote and buying insurance is not usually a step that entrepreneurs and business owners are excited about. Traditionally, small business owners will experience long waits on the phone and an even longer application process to get the coverage they need. To further complicate things, there isn’t much information readily available on the internet for first-time business owners or first-time insurance buyers to do their research.
To make things easier, we’ve created a shortlist of some of the most common and important insurance types for a business to get. This should help you get a good understanding of what insurance you may need to keep your business risk-free.
Let’s get started:
General Liability Insurance*
General Liability Insurance is the most common insurance for a business to have. It will protect a business against two major liabilities:
- Bodily Injury
- Property Damage
A General Liability Insurance Policy should cover you in the event of a lawsuit involving bodily injury (such as a slip and fall on your premises) and property damage. These policies will cover the cost of an attorney, the costs for an insurance investigation, any judgment or settlement and medical expenses in the case of a non-employee related injury.
Workers Compensation Insurance
Workers Compensation Insurance is the best protection your business can have should an employee get injured on the job.
Workers Compensation Insurance will provide medical benefits and wage replacement to an employee who was injured while working for your business. It is important to understand that the wounded party can only access wage replacement and medical benefits if they forego their right to sue. This means that Workers Compensation Insurance will provide your business with dual protection against lost cash for an employee unable to work and the chance of a hefty lawsuit.
Commercial Property Insurance*
Commercial Property Insurance will protect your business’s physical assets. This includes items such as your office building, computers, equipment, supplies, inventory, or furnishings. Commercial Property Insurance will help you rest easy because your assets are covered if they are damaged, stolen, lost in a fire or a covered natural disaster.
Note, not all natural disasters are covered by this policy, so make sure you ask your broker or carrier which disasters are covered and which require extra insurance protection.
Next Steps:
Now that you know the most common insurance types for a small business, it’s time to get in touch with a broker or carrier to discuss risks that are specific to your business. Make sure you get clarification from your insurance provider to ensure that all of your risks are covered.
I can be tempting to put this off, but it’s important that you don’t. Insurance allows you focus on running your business instead of the risks associated with it.
Rashmi Melgiri writes for CoverWallet, the world’s first online insurance manager and it is geared towards helping small businesses find the coverage that best suits their needs. We’re bringing insurance into the 21st century by enabling business owners to learn about, buy and manage it right online. Started by experienced tech entrepreneurs, we built our products with the user in mind and offer beautiful, easy to use products to simplify the lives of those who need insurance most.