When you own a small business, insurance will protect the building inside and your property from damage. If you have employees, workers’ compensation and health insurance will protect your employees if they are injured or get sick. When you have commercial vehicles, insurance will help when accidents occur.
Other insurances to consider are cyber liability insurance and intellectual property insurance for trademarks, inventions, and creative work.
Commercial Property Insurance Protects the Building, Property, and Interior
Whether you own, rent, or lease a building, there are many reasons to get commercial property insurance. Your business could be robbed or damaged due to a storm or a fire. The office equipment, furniture, and supplies inside could be damaged and need to be replaced.
Most policies cover damage from fire, storms, and vandalism. Even if your business sign was stolen, you could have it replaced quickly with this type of insurance. Over 70% of consumers agreed that the quality of signs reflects the quality of the business, so it’s important that you have insurance that covers this.
General Liability Insurance Protects You From Claims of Injury and Property Damage
This policy protects you if an employee, client, or customer gets injured on your property or claims their own property was damaged. It is required in most states and will pay for medical bills and lost wages of the person injured.
General liability will sometimes cover false advertising injury, copyright infringement, trademark, brand infringement, and reputation protection. You would have to read the fine print to see if this is included. General liability insurance helps you maintain financial independence if a customer, employee, or client sues you. It covers legal costs and settlements. This policy proves that you are properly insured.
As a business owner and creative professional, you may have inventions, trademarks, brands, and copyrights that need protection from infringement and some general liability policies cover this. However, you may need to get an intellectual property insurance policy when the general liability insurance excludes this.
Protecting Your Employees With Workman Compensation and Health Insurance
When you have employees, protecting them and yourself will keep your business running smoothly. Workman’s Compensation Insurance pays for injuries or illnesses caused by the work environment. It is required in most states and covers medical care, lost wages, and disability. If you get an additional policy called employer liability insurance, this can cover the expenses that workman’s comp does not cover. If an employee sued you for damages, this insurance would cover legal fees and injuries.
If you have several employees, group health insurance will protect them from illness and injury. You can cut costs by taking the cost of group health insurance out of their salary. Having group health insurance for your employees shows you care about their well-being. It will also add to the overall ambiance of the business.
Technology Liability Insurance
This insurance policy is often called Cyber Liability Insurance. With the number of businesses that use computers, cell phones, and the Internet, it has become popular. It protects you from cyberattacks, data breaches, and hacking. It will cover the costs of someone suing you over a data breach or offer customers protection and monitoring later. Some policies called Error and Omission policies cover mistakes made by your company regarding computers and legal fees.
Commercial Vehicle Insurance
When you use cars, vans, or other vehicles in your business for commercial use, commercial vehicle insurance protects your employees and vehicles in case of accidents and injury. Your vehicles will not be covered by personal auto insurance, so being covered by commercial vehicle insurance protects you from the high cost of paying for damages yourself.
These are some of the ways insurance keeps your business safe. Because businesses are four times as likely to be robbed as a home, you need the right insurance to protect yourself, your employees, and your business. Do not skimp on insurance. It will protect you and keep your business going during unstable times. It will make your work environment safer and more stable.
