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Business Insurance for the Small Business
by Gannon Pierpont
http://www.fproinsurance.com
If you own a small business, the Small Business
Administration has some advice for you regarding business
insurance. One of the most important investments you can
make when planning your budget is adequate insurance. If
you're just starting out and haven't yet planned for your
insurance needs, the SBA recommends that you carry the
following kinds of insurance the see you through bumps in
the business road.
Based on information gathered from the SBA web site, your
business should carry, at the very least, insurance against
property damage, liability, personal injury and business
losses due to unexpected catastrophes. In addition, your
state may require certain health and injury coverage options
if you employ others to work for you.
Most Important Of All: Property Insurance Property insurance
is like homeowners' insurance for your business. It will
insure the physical assets of your business against loss in
the event of catastrophic events like fire. The SBA
recommends that you check your policy carefully to be
certain that the most likely events that will cause damage
are covered. In many states, for instance, it's common to
exclude floods from standard property insurance. You'll need
a specific rider to cover that.
Automobile Insurance If your business owns one or more
vehicles, you'll need insurance coverage for them. In
addition, if you're a sole owner, or small business owner
and you use your car for business purposes, check with your
insurance agent about getting a business rider on your
personal auto insurance. In many cases, your personal auto
insurance won't cover you in an accident that happens while
you're driving your car for business purposes.
Specialty Insurance Depending on your business, you may need
special coverage for equipment or activities that are a part
of your business. In fact, many business insurance plans
will not cover computer equipment, and especially not data
on your computers in case of damage. It is possible to get
insurance that will even cover the cost of attempting to
restore data on a failed hard drive.
Insure Against Financial Loss Business income insurance will
reimburse you if an unexpected catastrophe like a fire
causes you to close your doors temporarily. Based on
estimated earnings for that period, it can help you pay your
bills and expenses even while you are unable to do business
normally. If your business is a seasonal one, you might
consider peak season coverage in case a fire or accident
causes you to close your doors during your busiest time of
the year.
Many insurance companies offer package policies for small
business owners that combine all needed insurance under one
umbrella - a Business Owners' Policy. Usually, the premium
on a business owners' policy will be substantially less than
you'd pay if you purchased each coverage separately. Your
insurance agent can help you tailor a plan that takes all
your business needs into account. He can even add specialty
coverage to a standard umbrella policy at a discount if you
combine everything into one plan.
In addition to insurance that protects your business in case
of catastrophe, if you employ others to work for your
business most states require that you carry workers'
compensation insurance to cover their medical expenses if
they are injured in the course of carrying out their work
duties or on work premises. While this protects your
workers, it also protects your business and you from being
held personally liable for medical expenses in that case.
You should also check your state's laws regarding health
insurance, not only for your workers but for yourself. Each
state has different laws regulating what insurance must be
provided for what size business, but in some states, it
works to your benefit if you are a self employed owner of a
business with one employee - yourself. In Maine and several
other states, certain insurance plans must be offered to you
at group rates even if you are the ONLY employee of your
business.
There are some businesses that have unique needs related to
their business. If you own a restaurant, a lodging house, a
retail store, or offer professional services in accounting,
law or other sensitive areas, you should consult an
insurance agent with expertise underwriting your kind of
business.
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