What to Know When Buying Insurance for Your Small Business

Professional and small business insurance are very important. Of course, the nature of insurance won’t enhance your profits, but it functions as a spectacular loss limit mechanism. Without it, an unfortunate turn of events may torpedo your enterprise. Here we will go over what to be aware of when buying insurance for a small business: awareness of the business’s physical location, the target market, risk and litigation assessment, and insurance coverage limits.

Physical Location

Insuring against events like theft, vandalism, floods or extreme weather is largely a function of local crime and climate statistics, respectively. Sadly, those who would need such insurance the most will end up paying the most for a given level of coverage. When pricing your products/services, it is foolhardy to try to underprice the competition if doing so forces you to skimp on coverage that could save your business when natural or man-made large-loss events hit it.

Litigation Risk

Getting sued by a contractor or employee you hired can be a disaster and a slap in the face when you thought you had a good relationship. Likewise, lawsuits from customers can prove ruinous not only through a legal ruling but due to public relations if the case becomes newsworthy. As such, general liability coverage, especially if tailored to your specific type of business, is an excellent first step to maximum protection from the ruinous effects of unfavorable judgments.

Cash Flow Assessment

Here we come to the type of business you have and its risk/reward profile. Insurers understand that small businesses have hiccups and bumps, but that doesn’t mean they will overlook missed or incomplete payments. A small business has to manage its liquidity and cash flow such that it can make regular payments to its business insurer. Here, the key is to avoid being asset rich and cash-poor over an extended time period. Growing your business is not a sprint race. Growth is strategic and avoids the trap of spending cash required for insurance premiums and other short-term needs in favor of speculative and risky “jackpot” payouts.

Coverage Limits

Lastly, too much of a good thing is not necessarily better. According to this site, insurance for liability, property, income interruption and other aspects of business operations specifies coverage limits. This can be a dollar amount, a time frame, or other details best settled between you and the insurer. In any case, the most expensive and generous coverage is reserved for enormous operations or extremely unlikely events that a reasonable entrepreneur can safely ignore. There exists a balance between good coverage and spending all your revenue on exorbitant premiums. Finding it is important to healthy business growth.

Summary

The type of business, specifics about operations and sales, location, target market, hiring strategy and more will influence the price of a given coverage level. Nonetheless, very generally speaking, business insurance is a wise investment. Again, insurance coverage will not lead to riches, but it will defray painful losses.

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Types of Insurance Every Business Attorney Should Have

With new opportunities come new risks, like any insurance agent worth their license will tell you. Even though attorneys likely pride themselves on their ability to recognize and avoid risk, especially when it comes to their practice, the truth is we all live in interesting times, and the challenges facing small businesses today are unique.

With the sheer volume of information available and the near constant potential for distraction, it would be easy for someone in a position of authority to simply choose to buy all the options and over-insure themselves in the interests of avoiding even the slightest possibility of a problem arising from what they might believe was foreseeable.

Fortunately, things aren’t quite that bad. If you are an attorney either in private practice or even employed in an attorney-client capacity, here are some things to consider.

Business Insurance

Almost all companies that do business with the public and a high number of those who only serve other companies carry some form of business insurance. If you are working on your own or are running a small firm, this kind of policy is a must, as it will alleviate you of the responsibility of defending yourself against what might be considered nuisance lawsuits.

General liability coverage combined with a policy to replace your income in the event property damage or other incapacity prevents you from practicing law are a good solution to the basic needs of the average law firm. You might also consider commercial property insurance, especially if you lease your office or store client property on the premises.

Legal Malpractice

Leaving aside the obvious joke about our litigious society, the truth is you may need occasional protection from your clients, especially when it comes to matters of business and commercial litigation. Your Bar Association likely recommends malpractice insurance and may also serve as a resource for you to find representation in the event you run across an unsatisfied former client. While this kind of insurance is rarely used, having it in place before you run into problems will provide you peace of mind at the very least.

Umbrella Liability

Any experienced attorney knows insurance policies are among the most complex documents ever drafted by man. Finding all the potential loopholes and coverage gaps in numerous interlocking insurance policies is often a task best left to a jury, which is why the insurance industry invented umbrella coverage. If your primary insurance either refuses to cover a claim or if your coverage limits are reached, having a buffer between you and your personal or business assets may end up saving your firm and your practice.

Insurance is like advertising. Half the expense is probably wasted, but nobody can say for sure which half. Premiums are just part of the cost of doing business. One thing is certain, however. Insurance is a necessity in a risky business world.

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What Types of Insurance Should a Moving Company Have

Insurance is like advertising. Half the money spent on it is wasted. The problem is, nobody knows which half. Add in the wildly confusing array of products, services and types of insurance policies, throw in some legalese, and it’s a wonder anyone knows what’s going on from one minute to the next.

For a moving company, the choices are a little clearer, given the type of business and the fact they have a custodial responsibility for other people’s property. The details, however, can still be intricate. Making a mistake or not getting the right kind of coverage can be risky and even rise to the level of a potential financial disaster if management isn’t careful.

Is there a solution? What should a moving company look for in an insurance package?

A Note on Surety Bonds

Many people encounter companies that claim to be “bonded.” This is different from insurance. A surety bond exists to guarantee the moving company does its job. If it does not, the customer can recover losses from the bond and the moving company is responsible to pay the claim. An insurance policy, on the other hand, covers losses suffered by the moving company. Bonds are more common among companies that are licensed in some way. Many moving companies, like New York mover Imperial Moving & Storage (83 Washington Place, New York, NY 10011, (212) 879-6683), are licensed, bonded, and insured.

General Liability Insurance

A liability policy is a bit like a bond in that it covers any losses incurred by the moving company based on damage they cause to a third party. It’s also very much like auto liability insurance, which fixes the other guy’s car if you are at fault in an accident.

The reasons a moving company need a liability policy are voluminous. If someone’s furniture is damaged in transit, or if someone drives the moving truck into the side of someone’s house, that’s when a liability policy will pay the damaged party for whatever costs are incurred to make them whole.

Bodily Injury and Property Damage are two of the most common categories of coverage under a liability policy. These types of insurance will cover things like medical bills, repairs and even legal representation costs in the event of a court dispute.

Cargo Insurance

Covering the costs of repairing or replacing freight carried by a truck or, in some cases, a rail car, is performed by cargo insurance. Unlike general liability, cargo insurance is a commercial policy which is generally unavailable to the average driver. Cargo insurance covers, among other things, the costs of removing a spilled load, repairing or replacing freight in the event of a collision or fire, and refunding charges paid by a customer for hauling the cargo.

Umbrella Liability

Many basic insurance policies have coverage limits which may leave the moving company liable for expenses over and above what their insurance will pay. In these circumstances, it is often a good idea to look into additional liability coverage. An umbrella policy only kicks in when other coverages run out, but often such a policy will have a very high limit, which gives the moving company considerable peace of mind no matter the nature of any claims.

Required Insurance

At both the state and federal level, moving companies are bound by regulations that require them to carry certain kinds of policies. At the federal level, long distance movers must offer a range of liability policies. In California, for example, moving companies must have workman’s compensation, cargo and general liability insurance and must also be bonded in some circumstances. Using Route 66 Moving as an example, you should be able to look up the company’s insurance information by searching the state or federal database.

A properly structured policy with the right deductibles and the right coverage limits and scope can not only protect a moving company but can also put customers’ minds at ease knowing their possessions are well protected. It is worth the extra time to get it right.

 

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5 Things to Know About How Workers’ Compensation Insurance Works

Workers’ compensation insurance is designed to provide benefits to individuals injured in the course of their employment, according to Cornell University School of Law. Workers’ compensation laws exist to provide fixed monetary awards. This is done in an attempt to avoid litigation regarding injuries sustained in the workplace. There are five key facts that you […]

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The Six Types of Insurance Your Small Business Needs

All business have associated risks. Some of these risks are unavoidable. For example, a natural calamity such as an earthquake may destroy your business premise. Such a thing happens unexpectedly, and you have no control over it. Numerous other risks hinder business growth. The safest way of preparing for unprecedented dangers is through taking an […]

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