Common insurance mistake: Business owners believe property and general liability insurance will cover all the risks they face; or they’re aware of other dangers but don’t think they can be protected.
In most cases, they’re wrong on either count.
Scores of additional hazards may threaten a business, while almost every conceivable risk can be protected with insurance- if you know where to get it.
The principal categories of business insurance are:
- General Liability- for accidents and negligence claims
- Product Liability- for defective or unsafe products you make or sell
- Professional Liability (aka Errors & Omissions, or Malpractice) – for claims alleging malpractice of mistakes
- Employee Benefits including health, life and disability
- Vehicle and Equipment Insurance
Trouble is that the way insurers define these groups, and the range of perils they cover varies hugely.
For instance, some commercial property insurance protects against loss of income or business interruption, some doesn’t. Others may exclude particular perils- flood damage being one of the most common.
Some coverage can be combined into a single plan called a Business Owners Policy (BOP) but, again, this doesn’t cover everything.
There are many types of additional protection you can secure, either as a separate policy or as an endorsement to an existing one– for example insurance for special events, damage caused by pollution, loss of key personnel, data protection, and risks specific to your particular type of business.
The other factor where owners sometimes fall down is in estimating the amount of coverage they need.
It’s not uncommon to read about incidents where policies turned out to be totally inadequate for meeting the costs of lawsuits. Owners simply thought they were getting a great bargain when they bought the policies.
It would probably be a good idea for us to get together sometime soon to review your existing coverage. Give me a call when you’re ready and we can make sure you are properly protected.
If you want to learn more about business insurance, CWI Underwriters has licensed professionals that are ready and willing to help answer your questions. In the meantime, you can also check out this great overview from the Small Business Administration- http://tinyurl.com/SBA-ins.
