When
starting a new business, initial capital isn’t the only thing you need to be
worried about. As a shrewd business person, you also need to be thinking about
what happens if things go south.
For
instance, what if your marketing campaign doesn’t work out as planned? Many
campaigns have failed in the past – even those of big companies. What if yours
were to fail? Or it could be something else such as a flood that wipes your
establishment clean. Where would you start from?
This is
where insurance plans come in handy. Although the insurance cover alone can’t
solve all your future problems, with a cover in place, you always have
somewhere to start from whenever a disaster or unexpected event rocks your
business.
The great
news is – you can now get small
business insurance online! The following are seven types
of insurance you may want to consider;
1- Liability Insurance
Liability insurance is a business cover that protects you, your workers, and the business in general if you’re sued for damages to third parties. For instance, if a customer slips and falls in your establishment, your liability cover would pay for the damages, including legal costs and medical fees.
2- Professional Liability Insurance
This is
slightly different from liability insurance because it covers the damages
resulting from the professional actions and inactions of the covered person.
For instance, if as a doctor you provide an incorrect prescription to your
patient and are sued for that, your professional liability insurance would
cover the damages.
3- Property Insurance
Property
insurance protects the property in case of disasters such as floods and fires.
What’s better, it not only covers the structure but also its contents. So, if
your premise was raged down by a fire that consumed everything within the
building, your property insurance would pay you for the structure, computers,
furniture, and so on.
4- Workers Compensation
Workers
compensation (or just workers comp as it is popularly known) covers lost wages
and the medical fees of workers injured on the job. In the event that the
injured worker suffers permanent disability or dies, the policy would also
reimburse them of their families accordingly.
5- Commercial Auto Insurance
Many businesses have special cars used specifically for business activities, i.e. delivery vans, employee transportation vehicles, food trucks, etc. If you do too, it’s important that you purchase commercial auto insurance for all your business vehicles including special vehicles and business cars.
Even if you use your own car for transporting business goods, your normal car insurance won’t pay for cases where the car was being used to transport commercial goods.
6- Product Liability Insurance
You also
need product liability insurance in case one of your products injures or kills
a third party. This especially applies to businesses that manufacture product.
You never know; even inherently safe products sometimes end up injuring users
or causing some kind of damage. If you’re sued, you’ll need product liability
insurance.
7- Business Interruption Insurance
Finally, to be on the safe side, it’s also advisable to purchase business interruption insurance. This insurance reimburses business owners for income lost when the business is suspended for covered reasons. Common covered reasons include storms, data breaches, and fires.
Wrapping it up
These are
just a few but there are many other business insurance covers out there that
you can also consider. For the start, the seven discussed here should always
top your list.
