Tips on Selecting Your Business Insurance Coverage

​If you have a business, you know that having a business insurance policy is necessary. There are several types of risks that a business faces especially when considering all the assets that a business will have invested in it. However, not all businesses may require a similar level of coverage. For example, a business enterprise engaged in transporting people or goods essentially requires a policy that focuses mainly on commercial auto insurance, but another business that does not involve the use of any vehicles for business purposes, would not require such a coverage. Consequently, the insurance companies offer several “primary liability insurance.”

Here are some tips to choose your Business Insurance Coverage

• Determine the nature of your business and the type of assets involved in it. Determine their values so as to decide whether you need to buy a primary liability insurance coverage.  For example, if you are into home-based business or Internet-related business, you may not require commercial auto insurance but cyber liability insurance would have to be on your radar. Note that exclusions, eligibility, inclusions, coverage, and definitions differ from one policy to another. You will also have the option to buy non-owned auto liability if the vehicles are not owned by the business. This saves the company from any claims if an employee who owns the vehicle has not bought auto insurance. Likewise, small business owners would need personal automobile insurance as well as life insurance.
• You might need to purchase property insurance. Property insurance basically covers the risks related to the workplace premises, be it a destruction of the building or any part thereof. Such insurance coverage can be extended to include inventory, computers, and office equipment that is kept at the premises. Such an insurance policy could also include theft, arson, damage due to smoke, etc. Other varieties of this policy include homeowners insurance and renters insurance. Though these are bought by individuals, they help in the case of small and medium-sized business enterprises. Much depends upon the nature of the business and the associated risks.
• General Liability insurance is needed if the products or services that your business sells are likely to damage properties owned by others, your properties, or cause injuries to you, your employees, or third parties. In general, it is advisable to buy this type of primary liability cover, because it covers a wide range of risks, and therefore, it supplements the gap that other policies may not be able to cover.
• Inland Marine Insurance is one of the special business insurance products. It covers risks associated with any goods or materials in transit. Such coverage may have to include risks associated with instruments related to communication and transportation.
• If your business is located in an area prone to catastrophes or is a large business, you can consider purchasing primary insurance policies that cover damages to some extent, and thereafter, the rest of the coverage can be claimed under a Commercial Umbrella Policy. This policy is a blessing in disguise. It works like a top-up policy of medical insurance. When the claim goes beyond the primary insurance coverage, then the claim under this policy is triggered. It is also not confined to one type of primary insurance, though it could be bought that way.

Conclusion:
There is no end to the possible risk scenarios in life, and a business enterprise is no exception. Insurance products are brought to reduce such risks, and recover at least part, if not the whole amount of the loss sustained. But buying any business insurance costs money and the business owner will need to choose wisely the primary insurance policies they should be buying and how much they should be paying as premiums. A Commercial umbrella policy helps to reduce such costs because not all events covered under the policy result in a substantial loss. Therefore, it is possible to buy lower coverage in primary insurance products, and buy higher coverage under the commercial umbrella policy because it ends up being cheaper. Knowing various insurance products available on the market always helps to make a well-informed decision.