As you are faced with the task of making the important decisions for protecting your small business, it could seem appealing to alleviate larger costs by not purchasing full coverage. If you choose to run your business with a “bare bones” form of policy, one accident could, unfortunately, result in the demise of your dreams. With so many forms of business insurance available, it can be challenging to know which kind will best meet your needs.

The Basics of Small Business Insurance Coverage:

When various accidents unexpectedly happen, you are going to want the peace of mind that having your business protected from severe financial loss during a disaster can offer you. When it comes to business insurance there is sometimes not just one fitting solution, that’s the type of policy that will work for you depending on your company’s unique characteristics. Business insurance will help you with legal payments, multiple claims, property destruction, as well as many various issues regarding employees.

This type of coverage will also benefit you regarding important legal protection, and assist with employee injury, fire damage, help for lawsuits, or the death of a vital business partner. The insurance itself signifies a binding agreement between you and us here at the Alexander Insurance Agency of St Charles to intervene and pay for losses you incur. To properly select the type, you need to closely analyze what type of risks you are facing, and look at what your policy will cost you vs the loss you stand to incur.

What Elements of My Business are Protected with This Coverage?

Here are some of the common aspects of a business that insurance will provide you with:

• Lives of your principals
• Lives of vital employees
• Long and short-term disability of owners and employees
• Serious liability for injury of you and your employees
• Property and casualty coverage for buildings and equipment needed to function
• Liability for and damage to your business vehicles
• Workers’ compensation: earnings of employees lost after injuries

Examples of Different Types of Business Insurance:

Here are some of the most common types of business insurance that will protect and secure your life’s aspirations and very hard work:

• Business Owners Policy: this type of policy is usually a comprehensive bundling of general liability coverage and insurance for your property. You are also able to add in employment practices liability insurance policy that is a very wise choice for the protection and livelihood of your employees.
• Business Interruption Insurance: This is also commonly known as business income insurance and is one of the most frequently purchased categories of coverage. It assists with lost income along with pay function expenses if you need to close due to a disaster. You’ll be thankfully able to cover your lot rent, mortgage, payroll expenses, loan payments, and quarterly taxes, and this very useful coverage can often be bundled with your Business Owners Policy.
• Management Liability Insurance: This is another type of comprehensive insurance package that actively combines coverage such as employment practices liability, directors’ and officers’ liability, and fiduciary liability. In most cases, this is an essential form of coverage if you incorporate a board of directors or have even one single employee.
• Worker’s Compensation Insurance: If you deal with the unfortunate event of an employee getting injured on the clock, Workers’ comp will assist you by covering their medical costs or lost wages. Plus disability insurance is most likely legally required of you to carry.
• Errors and Omissions Insurance are ideal for those who offer advice, consulting, and their own unique breed of professional service. This coverage will protect you if a customer or client claims that choosing you caused them distress in their own professional or personal life. Financial advisors and real estate agents can benefit greatly from this type of policy.
• Product Liability Insurance is there to protect you against claims that your product caused damage in any way. If you work at any level with a product that is at any point in the supply chain, you need this type of coverage to remain safe. Manufacturers, distributors, retailers, online sellers, suppliers, and importers can be held liable in a claim if the final product causes any bodily harm or other risks. Even if you have strict testing and protocol in place for quality control, unexpected events can still happen.
• Auto Insurance: If you or your employees use vehicles at all during business, you’ll need to carry some form of coverage. The need for commercial auto insurance depends on what kind of vehicles you use: are they trucks, vans, or sedan-style models? The need for this type of coverage is a good reason to designate just one driver for smaller and growing businesses.

Tips for Deciding on the Business Insurance That is Right for You:

The insurance that will help you the most overtime will depend on your unique needs, as well as Missouri and other industry-specific laws. When you sit down with us to see which type of coverage would work best for you, we will look at the many different things that could happen along the course of a year’s operations and figure out the best plan for you. Here are some general steps to follow during this process:

Take Inventory of Your Assets and Your Responsibilities:

This is the initial step that helps you determine which type of insurance is going to be an ideal fit for your business. Many industries such as framing and construction are a bit more dangerous than office professions and may come along with the need for specific forms of coverage. Operating your business in a flood zone is another area of grave liability that needs to be closely assessed at every step. Many industries are susceptible to theft, while others may have a very clear need for errors and omissions insurance.

Taking Regular and Reasonable Inventory of Risk:

Carefully considering what your risk and liability will be is a huge help in determining which insurance will be the right fit for your business. Geographical and economic factors are both at play here, and many natural disasters can occur during the winter and early spring months. Succession planning is the task of allocating tasks and resources when any vital employee of the business is deceased and requires expert help to set up efficiently.

Looking at Your Interest’s Desired Level of Comprehension:

Depending on what type of business you need to insure, you may require a standard level of comprehensive insurance that will cover every single component of a loss that could occur. Then you must factor in how costly said loss will be and think about how likely it is to happen. Going over these results will prevent you from paying an exorbitant amount for unnecessary coverage, or not provide enough coverage for areas that are imperative by state or county law.

Finish by Selecting Your Provider:

Not every provider is the same, and many variables arise while you are finding your ideal coverage limits and types. It is best to pick a few that you see standing out in the form of consumer reviews, general reputation, and cost. Word of mouth can sometimes be an extremely helpful means of finding your right provider, as individuals who have filed claims and dealt with any insurance company’s pros and cons will be an excellent source of validated and resourceful experience.

We treat small business owners just like family here at the Alexander Insurance Agency and know that you want to feel as fully protected as possible each time you start up the registers, approach the loading dock, or go over your inventory. Contact us today to see what your options are for coverage, and start the process of knowing you have year-long reassurance and a superior safety net for the fruits of your lifelong endeavor!