Small business liability insurance is just as important for your business as health insurance for small business. This is not unlike business health insurance where you would be looking for affordable group health and comparing prices between insurance companies. When it comes to small business liability insurance, you definitely need to do some comparision shopping.
There are several types of small business liability insurances to choose from, just as there are different types of health insurance, including:
- General Liability
- Product Liability
- Professional Liability
- Employment Practices Liability
Which Is The Right Small Business Liability Insurance?
How can one choose what type of insurance they need? It involves a process of determining what you need to protect in your establishment and what kinds of risks you’re able to incur.
The risks that one can incur are infinite, and one can go crazy thinking about the “what ifs” and worst case scenarios that can happen. Talking with an experienced insurance agent can help because they can recommend providers, rates, and give quotes for the types of insurance your business can benefit from. Small business owners can benefit greatly from shopping around to compare prices for ways they can protect their business.
Some of the basic insurances businesses need are health insurance, life insurance to protect the entity of your business and the future of such in case of a death of a key person, and liability insurances to protect against litigation that may be brought against your business and you personally.
1. General liability insurance protects you against general liability claims as is described in the name. It protects against libel and slander, negligence that results in injuries, property damage caused by an worker, bodily injuries to customers, visitors, customers, workers, or anyone else coming onto your property (FYI, even “trespassers” on your property can sue for bodily injuries incurred on your property, even if they were not legally supposed to be there!) and can even cover infringement on intellectual property.
Purchase this kind of plan if your business needs protection against any of these types of claims (and if you are an astute business person, you will want to be protected every way possible.)
2. Product liability insurance protects your company against defective products you may produce. If you have a company that manufacturers products or comes up with prototypes, you may need product liability insurance. Sometimes, unfortunately, products can result in injuries, deaths, and accidents. Depending on the risk of the product is how much you would need, and this would have to be determined by the insurance agent and your attorney, as well as the owners.
3. Employment practices liability insurance protects from discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful termination, hiring, retention, and promotion, and a laundry list of other claims that could potentially harm your business. This is not an umbrella policy, but one that covers many claims that have been filed in recent years against employers that the insurance agency thought could be helpful to business owners. This policy can protect against claims made from past workers and events that occurred in the past, as well as current workers and events.
4. Professional liability insurance is for professionals who need coverage from malpractice, negligence, errors and omissions. Attorneys, insurance agents, physicians, architects, information technologists, and artists are all professionals that require, to some degree, professional liability insurance. Affordable liability insurance can be acquired from many resources. Price quotes can be obtained from agents, online insurance providers, and various insurance companies.
Other Types of Small Business Liability Insurance
Business Owner’s Policies, also known as BOP’s, are policies that are many types of liability put together into one policy. The contents of one of these policies can be custom made by the agent as to what a business owner needs.
For example, other types of small business liability include Storekeepers Liability Insurance, Uninsured Motorists Coverage (because you never know what might happen!) Landlords and Tenants Liability Insurance Policy, Employers Liability and Compensation, Commercial General Liability Insurance, Physicians, Surgeons and Dentists Professional Liability, and Manufacturers and contractors Liability.
Just as health insurance for small business is vital to the owner to protect the business entity, these types of insurances also work to protect the business against loss in the event of a third party claim. The type of business one owns will determine the type of insurance plans you will purchase.
Self-insured Retention can be negotiated in events where several policies are required. This means that the entity that is being insured will self-defend smaller claims as well as self-insure the smaller claims. This is a riskier type of insurance for insurers as well as the insured, but it can cut down on liability premiums.
Self-employed individuals who own small businesses need to speak with professionals in the insurance industry and do their homework before purchasing any type of insurance concerning their businesses. All decisions need to be informed and fine print read so that the most extensive and cost effective coverage can be purchased.
As with purchasing anything, shop around between insurance providers, different insurance companies insurance plans, and get insurance quotes from a variety of agents. Different insurance companies have different price quotes that could make a huge difference in your balance sheet. Your small business will thrive and not suffer if you make the right decisions comparing prices.