Understanding Business Insurance

What You Need to Know About Business Insurance

Opening a business is a dream for many and it certainly comes with its fair share of hurdles.  By the time opening day arrives, you have poured your heart and soul into your business and you want to make sure that it’s protected.  This is why having the proper business insurance in place is extremely important. There are several areas of business insurance to have such as General Liability, Workers Compensation, Theft, and Business Interruption insurance.  

People spend most of the time thinking about all the positives of owning a business, all the things that will go right and the ensuing success of watching an idea grow into a full-fledged reality.  The negative aspects are naturally not something that is in the forefront of a business owner’s mind, but it should be.  

As a business owner, you know that you need to protect your business from potential harm and make sure that your customers and clients are safe.  This is why you need to purchase General Liability insurance before you open your doors. This covers your business from a third party’s claims of property damage, bodily injury, and associated medical costs.  You can customize the general liability coverage you need for your business by contacting your insurance agent to discuss what you need.  

If you have any employees, even just one, Workers Compensation insurance is most likely required by law.  Workers Compensation ensures medical and wage loss benefits to employees who are injured on the job. Laws are unique to the state your business operates within so you want to check with your state guidelines to see if this insurance is required.  In Pennsylvania, if you employ one or more employees, even part-time, you must have this insurance in place or you will face severe fines and penalties should an incident occur.  

As much as you don’t want this to happen at your place of business, theft is a real possibility and you can protect your business with a Theft insurance policy.  This protects you against theft, which is defined as the disappearance or destruction of your money or securities inside your place of business. In addition, you and your employees are also covered when you are offsite.

Possibly, the most scary thought to any business owner is the destruction of part or all of your business due to disaster.  Disasters range from flooding to fires, weather events to building contained issues; but no matter what type of disaster occurs, there is coverage to keep the funds coming in while your business is closed for repairs.  Business Interruption insurance is a type of insurance that covers the loss of income that your business may suffer after a disaster. The income loss covered may be due to a disaster-related closing of the business facility or due to the rebuilding process after a disaster.  This can be added to any policy and is completely worth the peace of mind.  

If you are just starting your business or have been in operation for a while, reviewing your business insurance policy is always a good idea to make sure that you have the appropriate coverage in place for your business needs.