What comes to your mind when you are planning on opening a new business? Well, we bet the very last thing you’ll likely think about is the negative aspects of it. Of course, we all strive to remain completely positive, and sometimes, we forget to actually think about the unlikely events that can happen when operating a business. This means that it might be difficult to think about how we can actually protect our businesses, as well as ourselves.
But, while we all hope for the best possible outcome, it is quite obvious that we cannot completely ignore the possibility of the worst happening to us. And, that is exactly why you need to think about insurance. In fact, this is one of the ways that you can protect your company, employees, assets, as well as your customers from any problems that might arise when carrying out your everyday activities. Take note that not only liability insurance can help you prepare for whatever negative that may happen. Life insurance also gives you great peace of mind. Check this out here for more details on how you can benefit from life insurances.
Naturally, it is always good to hope for the best thing, but, it is always important to prepare yourself for the worst. This is why getting an insurance policy can come in handy – it guards your company and allows you to have the much-needed peace of mind.
Now, you might be wondering – what type of insurance should I get for my company, what policies are mandated by law? Well, if this is something you are thinking about, this article might help. Below, we’ll discuss the various types of liability insurance that you might want to get for your new company. Let’s take a closer look:
1. General Commercial Liability
The very first thing you should consider getting for your company is general commercial liability. Whether you are a creative services specialist, a contractor that installs pools, a retail shop owner, or a professional service provider, your company is bound to have at least some liability claims.
This type of instance will cover any claim from both physical damages and assets damage. The plan that you get will come in handy if, for instance, a customer slip and falls in your shop and in the process gets injured. It can also take care of the expenses if a customer damages a client’s assets.
2. Professional Liability Insurance
If you offer several professional or creative services, you should definitely opt to have professional liability coverage or mistakes and omissions protection. By getting this policy, you’ll be able to protect yourself – as a business owner – if a client claims to have suffered major financial loss due to an error, mistake, or omission that you provided.
For instance, you might be facing lawsuits if you are a website designer and you got hired to completely design a website for a company that needs to open in a few days, however, you cannot succeed in meeting the deadline. In this situation, a professional liability policy, for example, like one at nextinsurance.com will come in handy.
There is a wide range of industries that will require this particular coverage, including:
- Web Designers
- Graphic Designers
- Lawyers
- Consultants
- Accountants
- Brokers
- Copywriters
- Photographers
- Videographers
- And so on.
- Workers’ Compensation Insurance
If you have more than one employee working for you, you are basically mandated by law to provide them with a worker’s compensation insurance policy. This will, of course, vary from state to state and city to city, which is why you need to check with your local government whether or not there are specific guidelines that you need to follow.
If your employees get injured, ill, or even dies because of work-related causes, this policy will protect you and your company against claims that you are responsible for it happening. This is a policy that you should definitely opt for having, no matter if your state demands it or not.
3. Product Liability Insurance
This insurance policy will be useful if your company offers products instead of services. If any of the items that you are selling are found to cause harm to people, animals, or our environment, you can – and probably will be – held responsible. This policy can help your business cover both the legal and medical expenses that might arise from these situations.
The claims that you can receive can occur from several issues, including things such as:
- Faulty or Bad Products
- Illnesses Due to Consuming Bad Beverages or Food
- Property Damage Cause by a Particular Products
- Bodily Injuries Caused by Using The Product
4. Commercial Auto Insurance
If you or your employees use vehicles for day to day business activities, then the law demands that you have a commercial auto insurance policy. In most cases, the insurance provider that you chose will provide you with the minimum levels of coverage that is required by the state you live in.
When it comes to these specific policies, your company actually has two options to choose from – one that is traditional and hired or one that is non-owned commercial auto policies. The first one is a policy that revolves around a specific business situation and combines property insurance and liability insurance coverage.
The other, on the other hand, is perfect for business owners if the employees use their personal or rented vehicles to finish the work that they have to. Depending on the situation in your company, you should carefully think about which policy suits your business best. In some cases, business owners are required to get both.
Conclusion
As you were able to read, there is actually a wide range of liability insurance policies that you need to be aware of. Of course, you won’t be required by law to get each one, but, this is something that you’ll need to determine by yourself, especially since different states have different regulations.
So, now that you know what you need to get, you should really not waste any more time. Instead, you should start searching for an insurance company that will help you with determining what you might need, as well as provide you with the best possible deals out there.
