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Business Insurance Coverage You Need
by Gannon Pierpont
http://www.fproinsurance.com
If you're still in the planning stages of starting a new
business, you've probably enumerated all your expenses and
laid out all your needs in a business plan. In the
excitement of actually getting your business up and running,
it's too easy to plan for the best and forget to prepare for
the worst. A little insurance can go a long way to help your
business over crises and rough spots.
At a bare minimum, the Small Business Administration
recommends that your business carry at least the following
types of insurance:
Most Important Of All: Property Insurance Property insurance
is like homeowners' insurance for your business. It will
insure the physical assets of your business against loss in
the event of catastrophic events like fire. The SBA
recommends that you check your policy carefully to be
certain that the most likely events that will cause damage
are covered. In many states, for instance, it's common to
exclude floods from standard property insurance. You'll need
a specific rider to cover that.
Vehicle Insurance If your business owns or uses automobiles,
trucks or vehicles, you'll need to insure them for personal
injury and collision. Even if your business doesn't own
vehicles, but you use personal vehicles for business
purposes, the SBA recommends a rider on your personal car
insurance to cover damages that happens while using your
vehicle for business purposes.
Specialty Insurance Depending on your business, you may need
special coverage for equipment or activities that are a part
of your business. In fact, many business insurance plans
will not cover computer equipment, and especially not data
on your computers in case of damage. It is possible to get
insurance that will even cover the cost of attempting to
restore data on a failed hard drive.
Insure Against Financial Loss Business income insurance will
reimburse you if an unexpected catastrophe like a fire
causes you to close your doors temporarily. Based on
estimated earnings for that period, it can help you pay your
bills and expenses even while you are unable to do business
normally. If your business is a seasonal one, you might
consider peak season coverage in case a fire or accident
causes you to close your doors during your busiest time of
the year.
Many insurance companies offer package policies for small
business owners that combine all needed insurance under one
umbrella - a Business Owners' Policy. Usually, the premium
on a business owners' policy will be substantially less than
you'd pay if you purchased each coverage separately. Your
insurance agent can help you tailor a plan that takes all
your business needs into account. He can even add specialty
coverage to a standard umbrella policy at a discount if you
combine everything into one plan.
Besides insurance that protects your company and its assets
in case of damage, most states also require that you carry
workers' compensation coverage if you employ others on your
premises, or to carry out tasks for your business as an
employee. Again, an insurance agent can help you decide
whether you need to carry workers' compensation for your
employees, but in general, unless those that work for you
are specifically employed as independent contractors or
consultants, they are considered your employees and you are
responsible for providing coverage for them.
You should also check your state's laws regarding health
insurance, not only for your workers but for yourself. Each
state has different laws regulating what insurance must be
provided for what size business, but in some states, it
works to your benefit if you are a self employed owner of a
business with one employee - yourself. In Maine and several
other states, certain insurance plans must be offered to you
at group rates even if you are the ONLY employee of your
business.
The needs of some businesses are complex enough that you
should consult an insurance agent who has experience in
insuring your type of business before. If you own a
restaurant or a retail store, an agent experienced in
writing insurance policies for those businesses can advise
you as to the best and most necessary coverage that you
should carry.
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