As a business owner, you might be wondering what kind of insurance policy you should get. Here are the 7 essential types of insurance for every small business owner:
1. General Liability Insurance
This insurance is a necessity for all businesses—whether big or small, home based or mainstream. It can protect you and your small business from a variety of claims such as bodily injury, property damage, and any other problems that you, your employees, or your products or services have caused or are alleged to have caused.
2. Commercial Auto Insurance
This kind of insurance covers vehicles owned by your company and anything inside it—your employees, products, or equipment. This policy protects your work cars, SUVs, vans, and trucks from damage and collisions.
Make sure that you apply for commercial auto insurance locally. If your business premise is in Charlotte, North Carolina, make sure that you try to get the best car insurance in North Carolina.
In cases where employees use their own car for business purposes, consider getting a non-owned auto liability policy especially if your employee has inadequate coverage for his or her car insurance.
Auto insurance has a dual function – protecting against both physical damage and bodily injury resulting from a crash and also any liability that might arise from a crash or collision.
3. Property Insurance
If you own the building or space where your business resides in, you need to have property insurance. This policy protects your building, office equipment, computers, inventory, or tools from fire, vandalism, theft, and other damages.
You may also want to add business interruption or loss of earning as part of the policy to protect your earnings if the business is unable to operate after a property damage has occurred.
4. Worker’s Compensation
Worker’s compensation gives medical benefits and wage replacement to your employees if they have been hurt or injured in your place of business. In exchange, the employees give up their rights to sue their employer for the accident.
As a business owner, it’s crucial that you have worker’s compensation insurance so you and your business are protected against legal issues that may arise in the future.
5. Life Insurance
With a life insurance policy, your insurance company will award a pre-determined amount of money to a beneficiary upon your death.
As a business owner, you might want to consider getting life insurance not only for yourself but also for your employees. Corporate accounts usually get discounts when they get life insurances for the whole company.
You do not need to shoulder the costs. The payment can be divided between you and your employee.
Health Insurance
With the increasing cost of medical expenses, health insurance has become a necessity. A hospital stay can be more expensive than a vacation at a luxury resort.
Although the ever-increasing cost of health insurance can be a financial burden, the cost of not having this policy is even higher. You can get a health insurance for yourself or get it as a plan for your employees.
Business owner’s policy (BOP)
If you want to save money, you should get a business owner’s policy (BOP) instead of individual policies. It often costs less and packages all required coverage a business owner would ever need.
It may include liability insurance, business interruption insurance, property insurance, automobile insurance, and crime insurance. You can choose what is included in the BOP based on your company’s specific needs.
