What is business insurance?

Small-business insurance, also known as commercial insurance, is a form of business insurance that protects the assets and revenues of the small business owners. It’s most often offered as a BOP for business owners policy. A BOP can protect your business against things like financial losses and legal fees incurred during the course of defending a lawsuit, depending on

Perils including fire, theft, lightning, falling objects, and winds may all be covered by insurance. Business owners should consult their insurance providers to see which perils their businesses are protected from as not all polices are created equal.

The BOP includes a coverage limit. This means there is a maximum amount of money the insurer can pay for a covered claim. Other coverages may include a deductible, which is the amount a business owner pays towards a covered claim.

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What are the different types of business insurance coverages? 

1. General Liability Insurance

General liability insurance is a type of insurance that businesses can buy. This insurance helps protect the small business owners from different types of business risks claims, like property damage, bodily injury and personal injury. This type of policy also provides small businesses financial protection against medical expenses, products-completed operations, and damages to properties rented to the business.

2. Commercial Property Insurance

Business Property coverage protects businesses if something bad happens to their building or the belongings inside it. For example, if there is a fire at your building, property coverage may help pay for the repairs and replace any property that was damaged, like business equipment, machines or furniture.

Commercial property insurance can help protect your business if something bad happens, like a fire, storm, or theft. But often it doesn’t cover things like floods or earthquakes. You may need a separate policy for those.

3. Business Owners Policy (BOP)

A Business Owners Policy is a type of insurance that helps protect businesses from different types of business risks in one policy. A Business Owner’s Policy includes coverage for business personal property, liability, lost income, and extra expenses incurred due to a financial loss from covered event.

4. Business Auto Insurance

A business automobile policy (BAP) provides coverage for a business when it uses cars, trucks, vans, or other vehicles for work. This may include vehicles owned by the business, hired by the business, or employee-owned vehicles used for work.

5. Workers Compensation Insurance

Workers’ compensation is a type of insurance that provides wage replacement and medical benefits to employees who are injured while working. In exchange, the employees give up their right to sue their employer for the tort of negligence. Workers’ compensation cost is dependent on how many employees job for the business, the type of being performed and associated payroll for the policy period.

6. Umbrella Insurance

Commercial umbrella insurance gives your business more protection from lawsuits. This type of insurance helps to cover the costs of any lawsuits that go beyond your other liability coverage limits. In other words, commercial umbrella insurance helps to pick up the slack when your other liability coverage has been used up.

7. Group Health Insurance

Group health plans provide insurance coverage to a group of people. usually employees of a business or members of an organization. Group health members usually receive insurance at a lower cost or better benefits than if they bought an individual policy because their employer typically pays a portion of the premium.

8. Business Interruption Insurance

Business interruption insurance is a type of insurance that can help a business recover after a disaster. This type of insurance can help pay for the income lost and expenses incurred during the period of interruption.

9. Product Liability Insurance

Product liability insurance protects a business against claims arising from injuries or damage caused by a defective product. The coverage can also extend to completed operations and may cover damages caused by a product after it has left the hands of the manufacturer or seller.

10. Employment Practices Liability Insurance

Employment practices liability is a type of law that deals with wrongful termination, sexual harassment, discrimination, invasion of privacy, false imprisonment, breach of contract, and emotional distress.

11. Cyber Liability Insurance

Cyber-insurance is a type of insurance that businesses can use to protect themselves from the risks associated with the internet. This can include risks such as cybercrime, data breaches, and cyber-attacks.

12. Professional Liability Insurance

Professional liability insurance, also known as professional indemnity insurance or errors and omissions insurance, is a type of insurance that helps protect professionals from claims made by clients for errors, omissions, and negligence in the professional services they provide.

13. Inland Marine Insurance

Inland marine insurance in the United States protects against damage to movable or specialist kinds of property, which arose as a side effect of ocean marine insurance.

14. Builders Risk Insurance

Builders risk insurance is a type of property insurance that protects against physical loss or damage to buildings and/or their contents when under construction, renovation, or repair.

Do home based businesses need business insurance?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. The need for business insurance depends on a number of factors, including the type of business, the products and services offered, the size of the business, and the location of the business. Home-based businesses are not exempt from liability risks, so it is important to consider these risks when determining whether or not to purchase business insurance.

Some home-based businesses may be able to get by with a basic business insurance endorsed on their homeowner’s policy, while others may need to purchase a separate business owner’s policy or commercial liability insurance. Factors that will impact the type and amount of coverage needed include the number of employees, the type of products or services offered, whether customers come to the home or business location, and whether the business has any inventory on-site.

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should when it comes to insurance, business risk is just that a business risk and as a small business owner, you should opt for small business insurance for your home based business when in doubt. You need additional coverages and homeowners insurance isn’t built to cover all the potential financial losses. You may put your business assets as well as your personal belongings in danger if you try to save money on insurance costs by depending solely on your houseowners insurance.

Conclusion

So, what is business insurance and why do you need it? Businesses need insurance to protect themselves from a variety of risks, including property damage, liability, and employee injuries. There are many different types of business insurance available, so be sure to talk to an independent insurance agent to find the right insurance policy for your business.

Contact your friends at Beacon Point Insurance for a friendly review of your insurance needs