Starting or running a business can be daunting, but don’t let business insurance be something that worries you. Read on to find out the eleven types of business insurance you need.
Running a business is not always smooth sailing, but by having the right business insurance in place, you can help protect your company from commercial disputes and other risks that can arise during usual operations. Like with car insurance, business insurance will help to put your mind at ease if anything goes wrong.
Choosing what types of business insurance you need can be an overwhelming process. That said, this article covers eleven types of insurance you should seriously consider.
General Liability Insurance
General liability insurance means that your company is protected from claims regarding business operations. These might include:
- Bodily injury to someone else;
- Property damage to another person’s belongings;
- Personal injury covering libel, slander, and defamation.
A general liability insurance policy will provide funds to pay the damages, as well as provide a defence to any lawsuit. This helps to cover your business from commercial disputes, such as reputation damage and defamation.
Commercial Property Insurance
Commercial property insurance helps to protect your building and equipment should a fire start, a pipe burst, a storm blow through, or a thief strike. It is also to help pay for damages to your commercial property. This can include rented or owned property.
You should make sure your cover is substantial and includes natural disasters.
Business Income Insurance
Business income insurance will help to replace lost income if you are unable to work, for example if your building has been damaged by a fire.
Although not compulsory to have, it is important to consider. This is because income insurance will cover ongoing expenses such as rent and payroll. This could help to protect your business from commercial disputes, such as building and regulatory issues.
Employer’s Liability Insurance
Employer’s liability insurance is required for any business that is taking on an employee. The only exception is if you are hiring a close relative, such as a parent or child.
This insurance protects the employee from any claims arising from illness or injury sustained by an employee in the workplace. The cover can help to:
- Pay medical bills, where necessary.
- Replace lost wages.
- Cover funeral costs.
- Pay for ongoing care, such as physical therapy.
It is required by law to have worker’s compensation insurance in place.
Professional Liability Insurance
Professional liability insurance helps to cover lawsuits claiming that you miss-sold or made a mistake in the services you provided.
Public Liability Insurance
Public liability insurance covers your business from members of the public or customers suffering a loss or injury in your workplace. For example, if a customer trips over a ladder on the shop floor, your insurance would cover any compensation claims made against you. This could protect you against a commercial dispute of professional and commercial negligence.
Data Breach Insurance
Data breach insurance helps your business respond to a data breach if identifiable information about your customers is lost or stolen. This insurance will help you to:
- Notify impacted individuals.
- Offer identity theft monitoring services.
- Create a public relations campaign, for example social media, and news releases to help rebuild trust with customers.
Commercial Umbrella Insurance
Commercial umbrella insurance will help to extend cover if you reach the limits on some of your other insurance policies. This could be legal costs or medical bills that would otherwise have to be paid out of your own pocket.
Contents Insurance
With the introduction of home working in the last 18 months, contents insurance might be something you need to invest in. After all, existing home contents insurance might not be sufficient to cover business equipment and stock if you are running your business from home.
Work laptops, iPads and smartphones should also have adequate cover if you are using them outside of your house.
Commercial Auto Insurance
This might be something you need to invest in if you and your employees drive company-owned vehicles. Commercial auto insurance can help to cover property damage and bodily injury.
Professional Indemnity Insurance
If you are running a business that offers a service or advice, for example a consultant or accountant, professional indemnity insurance will help cover you against claims of negligence. If you don’t take out this type of insurance, you could be liable to pay much more.
Ready to Get the Right Insurance for Your Business?
There is lots of advice out there if you are setting up a business which can help you to ensure you are ticking all of the boxes and purchasing the right insurance.
If you run a business and have some tips on what and how much insurance should be invested in, let us know in the comments below.
Please be advised that this article is for general informational purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for advice from a trained legal professional. Be sure to consult a solicitor/lawyer or financial advisor if you’re seeking advice regarding your business. We are not liable for risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.
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