What Types of Insurance Should My Small Business Have?
There are many different types of insurance coverage available to small business owners. Knowing what you need will depend on many factors, including the type of services or goods you provide, where your business is located, its corporate structure, and the applicable state laws. As Miami Insurance Coverage Lawyers, we can help you navigate the many options, as well as evaluate whether your current coverage is adequate. First, here’s a summary of the most common types of insurance for business owners.
General Liability
Every business needs to have a liability insurance policy. This policy, often referred to as The Commercial General Liability Policy (or “CGL”), provides coverage to a business for personal injury and property damage caused by the company’s operations or products, or personal injuries to third parties that occur on the company’s premises. Many insurers use what is known as the standard Insurance Services Office CGL form.
Property
If you own your office building or have business personal property, such as office equipment or computers, you should consider having a policy that will protect you in the event of fire or theft. You may also want to consider including business interruption insurance to protect your earnings if the business is unable to operate because of property damage.
Professional Liability
This policy, also known as Errors and Omissions Insurance, provides defense and damages for failure to or improperly providing professional services. This is different than your general liability policy. Professional liability insurance applies to any professional firm, including lawyers, accountants, consultants, real estate agents, among others.
Directors and Officers
This type of insurance, referred to as “D&O,” protects the directors and officers of a company against their actions that impact the profitability or operations of the company. For example, if as a direct result of his or her actions on the job, an officer of your company is sued, D&O insurance can cover costs or damages lost as a result of a lawsuit.
Workers’ Compensation
Workers’ Compensation provides wage replacement and medical insurance benefits to employees who are injured on the job. In exchange for these benefits, employees give up their rights to sue the employer for the incident in court. All states require businesses to have workers compensation if they have W2 employees.
Business Owner’s Policy (BOP)
This policy packages all required coverage a business owner would need, including business interruption, property, vehicle coverage, liability, and crime.
Other Types of Insurance
If you have company vehicles, you should consider commercial auto insurance. If your employees drive their own cars on company business, you should have non-owned auto liability to protect the company in case an employee does not have insurance or lacks adequate coverage.
A data breach policy will provide protection against loss occurring electronically or from a paper file. You should consider this if your business stores sensitive or non-public information about employees or clients on their computers, servers or in paper files, as you are responsible for protecting that information.
Let Miami Insurance Coverage Lawyers Evaluate Your Company’s Insurance Policies
If you have questions concerning coverage for your business, contact Miami insurance coverage lawyers at Ver Ploeg & Marino, P.A., today.
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