Business Insurance

For those who own their own business, especially a small one, having adequate business insurance is a necessity. There are eight different types of business insurance with various options in coverage. Business insurance can cover everything from property damage to your store or office, liability if someone gets hurt on your property or for business interruption if sales are lost for an interruption in business.

Property and casualty insurance for your business insures your assets against loss or damage to your location. It is also possible for your insurance to insure the property of others that you are in control of when the loss happens. Business insurance applies to the business itself and the location can be owned, leased or rented. Property insurance can be for a specific risk. For example, many business owners during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 believed that their business was well insured because had a hurricane coverage policy. Little did they know, that because the levies failed and the damage was actually flood related they were no longer covered by their hurricane coverage.

Liability insurance protects your business against any liability that is legally imposed upon a business because of the negligence of a business or any of its employees. Most commonly this would be used if a client or customer were to injure themselves at your business and it is proven that it was caused by employee carelessness or neglect.

Commercial auto insurance is used for any vehicles that are used by your business. Though you may have a personal auto policy, it will not cover any vehicles that are used by your business. Your commercial auto coverage insures your vehicle against any property damage and any damage your autos cause to other vehicles.

Workers compensation is a requirement in most states, so it would be wise to research before you hire employees for your business. Workers compensation is in place to protect both employers and employees. But law, employees are not allowed to sue their employer for any on the job injuries if they received workers compensation benefits. Once an employee is injured on the job they will receive compensation for medical bills and damages.

Business interruption insurance protects your business against damages or loss to the profit or cash flow of a business caused by the interruption of the business and making it unable to operate. If you have a fire in your store, your fire policy will rebuild the interior of your store and help you restock the contents. Your business insurance policy will cover the loss of income until your store is able to reopen again.

Health insurance is offered by most employers. Offering insurance to their employees keeps them competitive with other employers. By offering health insurance, you are providing a benefit to both you and your employees.

Life and disability insurance is a benefit to a business by protecting against the death or disability of any of key partners. If one of the partners were to die, they carry a policy that names the partnership as a beneficiary. They then in term use the proceeds to buy out the share of the deceased's interest in the business.

Sometimes your business is unique and you are in need for coverage that is specific to your needs. It could be a mixture of different policies or a policy that is written specifically for your possible risk. One possibility would be singers that insure their voice or an athlete that insures their legs or arms.

The most common business insurance policies are liability insurance. Please visit our Business Liability Insurance page for more information on this particular type of policy. Then visit our Business Insurance Quote and Business Insurance Rates pages.