Risk management is an important part of business management. If you are a business owner, it is crucial you protect your business from all the risks it may be exposed to. After all, you do not want to spend years building your small business only to end up losing all the business assets. With Smart Business Insurance, you can be assured of protecting your business effectively from all the risks that may arise. Keep reading to learn how to effectively protect your business with the right insurance policies.
Types of Business Risks
There are many types of risks that businesses usually face in their everyday operations. There is the ever-present risk of fires, which can cause significant damage and property loss. Burglars and thieves can also break into your business premise and steal valuables. Hurricanes, floods and storms can also cause serious damage to your business assets. If you own commercial vehicles, they can get into an accident and cause significant financial losses. You will need to purchase a suitable insurance policy to protect your business from these losses. Lawsuits are also a major risk that business owners should guard their businesses against.
Insurance Policies for Every Business
i) Workers Compensation Insurance
This is perhaps the most important insurance policy for businesses as it protects the most important assets in any business – the human capital. Workers compensation insurance protects your workers from liabilities arising from work-related injuries. It also protects your business from the risk of injury lawsuits filed by injured workers because employees usually give up their right to sue their employer to get guaranteed benefits. When an employee is injured at work, this policy will pay all medical bills associated with the work-related injury. If the worker has to spend days, weeks, months or years out of work, the policy will pay temporary disability benefits. Other benefits include death and funeral benefits.
ii) Public Liability Insurance
There is an ever-present risk of lawsuits in business. Clients, customers and other members of the public can decide to file a lawsuit against your business for one reason or another. Whether the suit is warranted or not, the cost of defending your business against the suit can be financially-crippling. The court can also award a huge financial reward to the plaintiff, which your business may not be able to pay. With public liability insurance, you can run your business comfortably knowing that all the liabilities can be sorted out by the insurer. In addition to paying all the legal fees, the insurance company will also sort out the damages awarded by the court.
iii) Commercial Property Insurance
This is a basic insurance policy that every business must have because it protects the business assets from damage or losses brought about by fire incidents, storms, hurricanes and other types of disasters as well as burglary incidents. It covers furniture and fittings, stationery and computers as well as inventory among other types of assets. When you incur financial losses relating to your business assets, the insurance company will compensate you for your losses.
iv) Commercial Vehicle Insurance
Commercial vehicles are expensive assets, and they usually carry a lot of costly goods. When an accident occurs, therefore, the business can suffer huge losses. With commercial vehicle insurance, your business will be effectively protected from all the losses. The insurance company will compensate you for the property damage and losses. This means that your business will not be adversely affected.
v) Business income insurance
Your business may be getting huge profits currently, but things may change in the future for one reason or another. The best way to protect your business from economic downturns is to get a suitable insurance policy to protect your business income.
Choosing a Suitable Policy
When purchasing business insurance, you need to understand that all policies are not the same. The liabilities they cover, extent of their liability coverage and premiums charged all differ greatly. Therefore, the first thing you need to check is the inclusion clauses to confirm that a policy covers all the risks your business is exposed to. Secondly, you have to read the exclusion clauses to find out what the policy does not cover. Thirdly, you have to check the liability coverage limits. This is because you want a policy that offers sufficient coverage. This will help to ensure that your business will not be affected adversely when a liability arises. Lastly, it is imperative you compare the insurance premiums quoted by different insurers for their policies to find the most affordable insurance policy for your business.
While you can get these policies from different insurers, it is best to identify the best business insurance company and purchase all your policies from the same insurer as this will provide you with huge discounts. That said, you can always be assured of getting the best results when you work with a trusted and reliable insurance brokerage company. Therefore, it is imperative you take some time to compare brokers to identify the most suitable insurance broker for your coverage needs. Ideally, you should never rush to make a decision when conducting your research.
