Anne-Marie Saint-John, Alva, Long Island City, NY >
Small Business Insurance
Insurance protects your business in the event of various losses or situations. Only you can decide what type of insurance your business requires.
To select insurance there are two key questions:
- What do I need to protect? For example, your office from a possible fire, your equipment from possible theft, or even the responsibility to the demands of other people.
- How much is that protection worth?
Once you are clear on this, you must select the type of insurance and the amount that fits your own situation.
- Quote and inquire with various companies to pay the most reasonable fee.
- Choose insurance with enough coverage to properly insure your assets.
- Always read the policy and make sure you understand it before signing.
- Avoid duplicating coverage.
The following are different types of insurance policies.
#1 – Business Owner Policy:
A standard business owner policy provides coverage for property (fire, theft, etc.), liability (injury to someone in your business or because of your product), business interruption, and in some cases, compensation to workers. The components of each policy are different, so make sure your policy includes everything that your business requires.
#2 – Property Insurance:
Property insurance covers your business for loss or damage (such as fire or vandalism) to your property. Most business owner policies include property insurance. Coverage for commercial property typically falls into two categories: construction (covers damage to property caused by fire, lightning, vandalism, etc.) and personal property (property inside your office, such as files, office furniture, inventory, materials, etc.).
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#3 – Legal Liability:
Liability insurance covers your business in the event of personal injury to someone or damage to someone’s property that occurs within the limits of your property. For example, this type of insurance would cover you in the event that a customer gets tangled in a loose phone cord in your conference room and breaks an arm. Likewise, if you accidentally struck and broke an expensive antique on a client’s property, your liability policy would reimburse the client for the damaged property.
#4 – Professional Responsibility (Errors and Omissions):
Professional liability insurance, also called errors and omissions coverage, protects you financially in the event of a claim against you for negligence, errors, omissions, or wrongful acts in the performance of your duties. Professions for which this type of insurance is recommended or required include computer technicians, systems analysts, accountants, hairdressers, lawyers, and consultants.
#5 – Umbrella Insurance:
These types of policies offer additional coverage to insurance when losses exceed the limits of your primary liability policy. Umbrella coverage often applies to Commercial Liability or Auto Liability insurance.
