by Nate Jones, CPCU, ARM, CLCS, AU - Wexford Insurance - Indianapolis, IN
Every small business should purchase some sort of liability insurance. The most common name for commercial liability insurance is general liability insurance.
This policy helps protect your business from insurance claims of:
Bodily Injury
Property Damage
Advertising Injury
Copyright infringement
Reputational Harm
When should you purchase General Liability Insurance
If you have a store or office building that is open to the public
Work, handle, or operate near client property
Advertise or create marketing materials for your business
Use social media for your business or personally.
Although most state laws do not require you to carry General Liability Insurance, not having liability coverage could put your business in financial risk.
If your business owns any type of property including; real property (Buildings), business personal property (Equipment, desks, chairs, office equipment, machinery, etc.), and mobile equipment (non-street legal heavy equipment, fork lifts, etc.) then you will more than likely need to insure it.
If any property mentioned above is financed, it is highly likely that the finance company will require you to purchase property insurance.
Property Insurance covers your property against numerous perils depending on the form used.
It is always good to keep your statement of values (List of Property on hand) up to date. Some property will need to be listed on your property insurance policy and some will be under the blanket limit. These are questions your agent should answer.
If you are a business that uses an auto for business purposes you will need to insure this commercial auto for at least commercial auto liability. This covers your business auto if you or an employee were to get into an accident while driving.
If you are a business that employs workers then you will need to purchase workers compensation insurance. In the state of Indiana workers compensation insurance can be purchased through an independent agent.
This policy covers medical expenses, lost wages, ongoing care expenses, and funeral expenses for your employees that get injured while working.
This coverage reduces your liability for work related injuries that your employees incur. Without this coverage, your employees can sue you for a work-related injury or illness to help pay for their medical costs and lost wages.
Make sure your agent properly understands your business when pricing this coverage.
Cyber Insurance
Most businesses today have some sort of online connection. Even just having an email for your business accounts open you up to a cyber attack. Cyber criminals can hack into your computer and hold your information for ransom. This causes a huge disruption to your business because without insurance this could take weeks if not months for you to do resolve this issue yourself.
Most insurance companies today have apps or 24 hour response teams that will be able to jump at a moments notice to resolve your claim.
As a fellow agent I encourage you to contact your agent if you have not heard of these coverages. Feel free to use Wexford Insurance as a resource for your business insurance needs.