Surety Insurance

business insurance

Business Insurance is Not an Option, It is a Necessity

A woman walks into the restaurant you own, and is tripped up by a nail sticking out of the floorboards. She seems fine, but a week later she is back with an attorney and a neck brace. Apparently she hit her head in that fall, and isn’t doing so well. Or perhaps you are a mechanic and a customer wandered into your shop and cut his leg. Perhaps you own a pet store and a little girl got a nasty bite from sticking her fingers in the mouse cage. Whatever your business, liability is just a part of the cost of doing business.

It is almost impossible to run a business without liability insurance, and in many places it is a legal necessity as well. Business insurance covers liability cases so that a risk you cannot afford (like paying someone else’s medical bills) is replaced by one that you can afford (such as a monthly premium).

Other types of liability include fire legal liability, which means that you are the liable party in the case of a fire. If you forget to turn of a space heater before you head home for the night and this results in damage to your landlord’s property, then you are liable and the damages are covered by the fire legal liability part of your business insurance.

Liability is not the only type of insurance to be covered by business insurance. Business insurance can also function like a home owner’s insurance policy for the office, protecting the building (if you own it) and the equipment and possessions that are inside. What responsible homeowner does not have his home protected against fire? Shouldn’t the same precautions be taken for your business as well?

If your business were to be destroyed, a business insurance policy would cover things like desks, chairs, seating in your reception area, computers, equipment, and anything else of value that is a part of your business operation. Business insurance can also provide coverage against things like loss of income, earthquakes, and in some areas even flooding.

If a natural disaster takes your business away from you, then your business insurance policy is there like an umbrella, helping to protect you and your family from the losses and breaking your fall, so to speak. Your business insurance policy is there to help you rebuild and go on with your life.

If you are an employer, you are also required to have worker’s compensation insurance. This insurance protects you in the event that one of your employees in injured on the job. Your insurance will pay for treatments for your injured employee.

Other insurance might include insurance for your company vehicles in the case of an uninsured or underinsured driver, health insurance for yourself and your employees, and life insurance. Taking good care of your employees and offering benefits to them is a sure way to attract and keep the best employees possible.

One little accident could just about destroy a small business unless that business is insured against the disaster. If you could prevent an emergency situation, why wouldn’t you? Taking care to make sure that your business is insured properly and thoroughly is only one step toward running a successful business, but it is a vital one. Insurance is not an option, it is a necessity.

How do I add my landlord onto my business insurance policy?

I just moved into a new business location. My lease states that I must list my landlord as an additional insured. Is that easy to do? Do I just call my insurance and have them add right away or do I have to wait until it is time to renew? Also, approximately by what percentage will that cause my insurance to go up? I have already had a rate increase because I live in Louisiana (Katrina). It is still affordable but I am scared that adding on the additional insured may cause it to double, which I can’t really afford.

This is a very common situation and is easily addressed by requesting your agent / company to add an additional insured endorsement. It should be done at no charge, but some companies make a modest charge just for processing the paper.

You may be interested in knowing that the standard business liability policy in use by most US insurance companies automatically includes your landlord as an additional insured if your lease agreement calls for it. Technically, you don’t even need an endorsement to the policy. Most landlords, however, want to “see it in writing” on the policy, however.

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