Understanding Business Insurance

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The key is to have your business fully protected without paying more than you should. It is, therefore, important to review your business needs with an insurance advisor to ensure that you have the right insurance coverage.

After determining the type of insurance coverage right for your business, you should shop around for the best rates.

Start with insurance premiums that are mandated by law. According to your state, you’ll be required to have certain insurance premiums. After you’ve purchased the premiums mandated by your state, you can now think insurance needs that are not required by law.
It is your responsibility as a business owner to ensure that your business is properly protected.

Business Insurance Policies Mandated by the Government

Business Auto Insurance
Just like you private, all vehicles owned by your business needs to be insured.
The business auto insurance policy covers both the vehicle and the driver. Depending on the type of company and how the vehicle is used, requirements will vary.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Workers’ compensation insurance protects employees in the event they suffer work-related injury or disability. Businesses in every state are required to carry this type of insurance.
It also protects your business against lawsuits in case an employee or their family decides to sue following an injury or death.

Disability Insurance

Businesses in New York, Hawaii, New Jersey, or Rhode are mandated by law to buy disability insurance. In case an employee or the business owner is unable to work due to a disability, the disability insurance will cover a portion of that person’s income.

Needed Business Insurance but Not Mandated

Errors and Omissions Insurance
You might need this type of insurance if your business handles customer documents or property. Errors and omission insurance will cover liability claims if an error or omission by an employee or business owner leads to a loss to a customer.

Property and Liability Insurance
As a business owner, you’ve invested heavily in property, including equipment and furnishings. You need property and liability insurance to cover the replacement of property loss caused by theft or fire.

Business Owner’s Insurance
Business owner’s insurance protects business owners in case they’re sued due to inadvertent damages.

Criminal Liability
Criminal liability protects your business in case of criminal acts by your employees.

How to Buy Business Insurance Online
Depending on the complexity of your business, your knowledge of insurance coverages, among other factors, you can buy your business insurance online.
Below you’ll see the advantages and disadvantages of buying insurance online.

What are the Considerations?
While you can get business insurance in minutes online, you need to ask yourself some questions before buying. They include:

What’s Your Knowledge About Commercial Insurance?
You might not have trouble reviewing insurance policies or quotes if you have adequate knowledge regarding insurance policies. However, if you know very little about business insurance or your insurance needs, it might be advisable to stick to a traditional agent or broker when purchasing insurance.

How Long Has Your Company Been Operating?
In general, underwriters prefer businesses with a solid track record when deciding which businesses to insure.

Insurance companies are aware of the fact many new businesses fall. They don’t want to insure a business that might not exist when the policy matures. You’re more likely to face difficulty when shopping insurance for a startup than if your company is well established.

Do You Need Any Personalized Service?
If you need more personalized service, it is advisable to meet insurance brokers and agents in person. This way, you’ll get one-on-one service to help analyze your risks better. You’ll rarely receive the same level of service when dealing with an online agent.

Advantages of Buying Business Insurance Online
Convenience is the number one reason you should buy insurance online. Since insurance websites are available 24/7, you can fill and complete an application anytime. However, it is important to note that you can only get quotes during normal business hours.
Another advantage is the cost. Sometimes buying policies online comes at a cheaper price than when you obtain them from an agent or broker.

Disadvantages
Buying insurance online has its downsides too. For instance, it may be challenging to obtain insurance online for a new business or if you perform risky operations like tree trimming or roofing.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kristina Knight-1
Kristina Knight, Journalist , BA
Content Writer & Editor
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Kristina Knight is a freelance writer with more than 15 years of experience writing on varied topics. Kristina’s focus for the past 10 years has been the small business, online marketing, and banking sectors, however, she keeps things interesting by writing about her experiences as an adoptive mom, parenting, and education issues. Kristina’s work has appeared with BizReport.com, NBC News, Soaps.com, DisasterNewsNetwork, and many more publications.