Running a business is a risky venture, an entrepreneur exposes himself to risks right after he opens up for business. A single event or perhaps a lawsuit can take a small business under even before it has had a fighting chance. It is, therefore, important that businesses are insured to provide certainty in the advent of risk occurrence. Fortunately, there are several insurance types available to business owners to protect their businesses. Here are some of the most important ones.
General liability insurance
This policy covers your business, employees, yourself or your product if there is an allegation that any of these have inflicted body injuries or damage on property to third parties. This policy quote often includes medical payments, damage to the premises you rent, property damage and bodily injury, completed products operations, personal and advertising injuries.
Professional liability
It is also referred to as Errors and Omissions insurance (E&O) and covers your business against harm resulting from human mistakes or performance failure and or negligence claims. If you want to take this policy, you need to negotiate a customized policy with your insurance provider. Providers underwriting small business insurance quotes often refrain from creating a one-size-fits-all policy. This is partly because the claims that arise from it can be quite costly.
Workers compensation insurance
Once you have hired your first employee, you should talk to your insurance broker and add this to your “nofollow”business insurance policy. It covers your employees against medical treatment, work-related disability or death. Regardless of the work your employees are handling, if an injury happens within your business premises, it can result in an expensive claim. It is therefore important for you as a business owner to insure your business against such events.An employee has a right to sue the employer for injuries for tort of negligence. Your small business might not survive such a civil suit if you had not insured against it. Furthermore, it is a requirement of the law that your business is protected from legal implications arising from such. Depending on the state, penalties for non-compliance can be fatal.
Business owner’s policy (BOP)
This policy puts all the packages a business owner would need and puts it under one cover. The requirements covered would include vehicle coverage, business interruption, crime insurance, property insurance, liability insurance, among others. However, what is to be included in this package is subject to your business specific needs. The insurance underwriters are flexible when it comes to this aggregate cover and allows the business owner some degree of latitude. It is also flexible and cost-effective. Compared to taking all these policies individually BOP saves you money.
Data breach policy
Following the growth of technology, insurance policy underwriters are coming up with tailor-made policies that are designed to move with technology. In the past insurance companies never used to insure data. Going into the future, technology will dictate how policies will be underwritten. Since most businesses today are using technology systems to do business; sensitive and invaluable information regarding their employees’ information, business operations, and product prototypes are stored on servers where they are at risk of being maliciously attacked. If and when this happens a business ought to have a policy that protects it against such loss. The lawsuits that can follow after such a breach are enough to grind the business operations to the halt. There can also be state legal suits regarding non compliance with business security guidelines and protection against cyber-attacks. The damage that would be caused would be hard to repair. That is when such a cover saves the business from paying millions of dollars in fines and compensations.
Conclusion
Small business owners cannot afford to leave anything to chance. The security and protection of their business future is paramount. Taking an insurance cover right when the business is starting can help save the business from going under. These are just five of the insurance types you can take for your business. Explore more depending on your business requirements.
