by Jan Pinney
Each year, businesses spend over $100 billion on insurance premiums. Yet many firms have the wrong coverage, or pay too much for the protection they get.
But understandably, purchasing business insurance—with its complexities, industry jargon, and intricate legalities--isn't exactly a task most people relish. In fact, even inexpensive office products tend to get a far more thorough pre-purchase evaluation than business insurance does.
But unlike a copier or a new payroll service, business insurance is a purchase that, when not investigated properly, can literally mean life or death for your company. Because research gets short shrift, some firms are left underinsured, while others end up over-insured on unnecessary or overlapping coverage.
Almost any risk can be lessened through some type of insurance policy. Large firms often have the luxury of hiring full-time risk managers, but smaller businesses almost always have to face this challenge solo, without the assistance of a specialist.
Although it may seem overwhelming, most smaller firms can limit their investigations to three basic types of protection: property, liability, and workers compensation insurance. Property insurance protects against physical damage or loss in the case of theft or other catastrophes.
Liability insurance provides coverage for legal damages should your company be up against a claim that it is liable for specific damages. Workers' Compensation is a specialized form of liability insurance that protects a firm against claims from job-related injuries or illnesses, and is generally classified separately from the other forms of liability insurance.
Often businesses can bundle property and liability insurance needs into a Business Owners Package Policy, also known as a BOP. Similarly, liability insurance often comes in the form of a commercial general liability policy, also known as a C.G.L. (Workers compensation, however, is typically a separate purchase.).
As specialists in providing business insurance for companies in the California and Nevada area, we can help you design a cost effective risk program to protect what you have worked so hard for. Click here for information on obtaining a FREE No Obligation price analysis on your business insurance.
