Featured image by Craig Whitehead via Unsplash
If you’re a small-business owner, you might be wondering if you need business insurance. After all, you have plenty of expenses already. Why should you add another one?
On the other hand, you might also wake up in a cold sweat some nights, imagining the worst. What if one of your workers were to be injured or even killed on the job? How would you pay the medical or—heaven forbid—funeral expenses? Or what if an employee made a simple mistake that turned out to be costly for one of your clients? Your client could end up suing you, possibly causing you to lose your business.
Some types of insurance are required by law. What’s more, the US Small Business Administration recommends that you consider insuring your company beyond the legal requirements.
All in all, there are plenty of reasons to invest in business insurance. Read on to find out more.
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General Liability Insurance for Business
If your company is open to the public or your business depends on product sales, you need general liability insurance.
This type of insurance helps to pay for your legal defense when someone receives an injury while they’re on your property or suffers harm from using one of your products. Companies in nearly every industry rely on general liability insurance, because it covers bodily injury, property damage, medical bills, and personal injury.
Consider the case of Jane C. (not her real name), who owns a small upscale boutique.
“An elderly customer slipped and fell as she entered my store on a rainy day,” said Jane when she talked about it later. “The lady broke her leg. She had to spend several weeks in a physical rehabilitation facility, and her physical therapy treatments lasted for months. Naturally, her family sued me to recover her medical expenses. Thank goodness I had general liability insurance. Otherwise, I might have had to close my store.”
Business Owners Policy
If you own an apartment building or a store, you should definitely have a business owners policy. That’s because this type of insurance pays for property damage in case of disaster. What’s more, you can customize this type of policy for your industry and for your specific business. Additionally, you can insure property that you keep inside your buildings, such as equipment and furniture.
Workers’ Compensation
If you employ people in your business, you need workers’ compensation insurance. In fact, in many cases, workers’ compensation insurance is required by law.
This type of insurance pays for any necessary expenses if someone becomes injured or is killed on the job. It protects you and your family, your business, and your other employees and their families from financial liability.
Professional Liability Insurance for Your Business
Professional liability insurance will protect you and your business financially from lawsuits over expensive mistakes. For instance, this type of insurance would protect you if your nightmare about the inept employee’s costly mistake were to come true. If that were to happen, and your client should happen to sue you to recover their losses, professional liability insurance would protect your business.
Business Auto Insurance
If your company owns one or a fleet of vehicles, you must have business auto insurance. Additionally, you need to insure all of your employees who drive for you, as well as the vehicles they drive.
Business Insurance Will Give You Peace of Mind
Do yourself a favor and don’t spend another sleepless night fretting about what might happen. Insure your company with the right mix of business insurance and give yourself peace of mind.
About the Author
Carrol Strain is a Top Rated Premium copywriter on Upwork. She is also editor and on-call writer for the Business Opportunities blog.
