Depending on your industry, you may need various types of insurance to safeguard against unique risks and challenges. Here are eight essential insurance policies that can help protect small businesses from a range of potential issues:
- General Liability Insurance (GLI) General liability insurance covers your business from claims involving:
- Bodily injury to others
- Damage to another person’s property
- Personal injury, such as libel or slander
- Commercial Property Insurance This insurance covers your owned or leased building and the equipment used in your business. Note that it doesn’t cover damages from natural disasters like earthquakes or floods; separate policies, such as commercial flood insurance, are necessary for these events.
- Business Income Insurance Also known as business interruption insurance, this policy helps replace lost income if your business operations are halted due to covered property damage. It can help pay for ongoing expenses like rent, utilities, and payroll.
- Professional Liability Insurance Known as errors and omissions (E&O) insurance, this covers legal claims that your business made mistakes in the services provided.
- Workers’ Compensation Insurance This insurance provides benefits to employees who get injured or sick due to their job. Benefits include:
- Medical expenses
- Wage replacement during recovery
- Funeral costs in the event of a work-related death
- Ongoing care like physical therapy Most states require businesses with employees to have workers’ compensation insurance, with non-compliance resulting in fines or criminal charges.
- Data Breach Insurance Also referred to as cyber insurance, this policy helps your business respond to data breaches involving personally identifiable information. It covers costs for:
- Notifying affected individuals
- Providing identity theft monitoring services
- Managing public relations efforts
- Commercial Umbrella Insurance This insurance extends the coverage limits of your existing liability policies, covering claims that exceed those limits.
- Commercial Auto Insurance This policy protects you and your employees while driving company-owned vehicles for business purposes. It covers property damage and bodily injury claims from accidents caused by your business. Personal car insurance policies typically do not cover accidents involving business-owned vehicles.
By securing these types of insurance, small businesses can better manage and mitigate various risks inherent to their operation
