Types of Business Insurance
When you run a business – big or small – you need to protect that business against liabilities and damages. If your business has been damaged by a floods or fires, or if an irate customer or even a resentful employee is suing you for damages, then it can cost a lot to resolve such issues. Sometimes these kinds of problems can lead to the shutting down of your business. And this is why business insurance is need.
But what kind of business insurance should you choose? There are so many policies in the market that is can become difficult to decide which policy or policies would help you and your business. Therefore, in this article, we look at the main types of business insurance policies in the market and what they can help with.
Public Liability Insurance
Public Liability Insurance covers the cost of liabilities due to personal injury, the loss of or damage to property and death on your business property. This type of insurance does not cover incidents that may have taken place away from your business property.
– Do You Require This Insurance?
If you run a business where your customers come to you (such as a store, a restaurant and so on), then it is a good idea to get this kind of insurance. After all, even if you put up a Wet Floor sign, a customer who slips, falls and sustains an injury could sue you for damages.
Employers’ Liability Insurance
Employers’ Liability Insurance protects your business – and you – against claims from employees who may have sustained injuries or become ill due to the work they were doing in your company. This type of insurance covers the legal costs such as hiring a lawyer for your defense, court fees and settlement costs.
The common types of claims that are covered under this insurance policy include:
– Third-party over actions / Third-party counter suit: If your employee sues a third-party for causing them an injury or illness, then that third-party can sue you for negligence.
– Loss of Consortium: This is when your employee’s family members sue you for losses they have suffered because of the injuries or illnesses sustained by your employee.
– Dual Capacity Suits: If your employee is injured by a product that you have manufactured, then they can sue you in two ways: as a manufacturer and an employer.
– Consequential Bodily Injury: This is a lawsuit that is usually filed by your employee’s family member where they state that the injury or illness sustained by your employee was a direct result of an initial illness or injury caused at work.
– Do You Require This Insurance?
If you have employees, then this is an insurance that you must have.
Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Most insurance companies usually sell Employers’ Liability Insurance and Workers’ Compensation Insurance as a package. However, it is possible to buy just one of the two insurance policies too.
In case your employee is injured or taken ill as a direct result of the job they are doing in your company, then this insurance policy will cover the cost of medical treatment as well as lost wages.
– Do You Require This Insurance?
If you have employees, then this type of policy is a must, especially if you are in a high-risk business.
Professional Liability Insurance
Professional Liability Insurance is also known as Errors and Omissions Insurance or even Professional Indemnity Insurance, and it protects you from liabilities caused by mistakes made in your professional services. Such mistakes include negligence, inaccurate advice and misrepresentation.
The thing is you don’t have to have made a mistake. If your client or customer feels that you have made a mistake, they can sue you for damages. And these litigations can cost a lot of money.
– Do You Require This Insurance?
You should get this insurance if:
– You provide professional services to your customers directly
– Advise your customers regularly
– A contract requires you to have this kind of insurance
Product Liability Insurance
This policy protects you from claims of injuries or illnesses caused by a product that you have manufactured, designed, repaired or simply supplied to your customers. You do not need to have manufactured that product to be liable.
– Do You Require This Insurance?
If you deal with products that can be dangerous, then this is a policy that you should consider having.
Business Interruption Insurance
This type of insurance covers your business for the loss of sales as well as profits caused by an interruption in your operations. This policy will usually cover costs from events such as:
– Fires or floods that have damaged your business operations
– Equipment breakdowns that are critical to business operations
– Suppliers are unable to supply goods to you because of which your business operations have been interrupted.
– Do You Require This Insurance?
This is a must have policy!
Cyber Insurance
This policy will protect you from cyber-crimes and data breaches that involve sensitive information – especially those related to your customers. This type of insurance will cover legal expenses in case of a libel as well as notifying your customers about the cyber-attack, protecting and restoring customer information, and repairing computer systems that may have been damaged in the attack.
– Do You Require This Insurance?
If you use computer systems in your business, then it is best that you get this kind of coverage.
Key-Man/Person Insurance
There are key people without whom a business would collapse. The Key Person Insurance policy covers these individuals so that in case they are taken ill or injured, then your losses will be covered.
– Do You Require This Insurance?
If you are a sole proprietor of a business or have key people in your business you cannot do without, then this is an insurance policy that you may want to consider.
Conclusion
These are just some of the most common types of business insurance policies available in the market today. For you to decide which type of policy or policies would suit your business, it would be best if you discuss your options with your insurance company or shop around to find the most appropriate fit for you and your business.
This content was contributed by Insuranks.com. Compare all types of business insurance and get cheap quotes via https://www.insuranks.com/compare-business-insurance-quotes