Businesses present unique exposures for insurers, so it is harder to generalize about coverages. The categories of policies listed below are only an outline of the coverages available through our carriers.
Whatever your commercial insurance needs, I can design a protection program that’s right for you.
The following types of business insurance protection are available:
- Auto-Commercial
- Business Owners Package
- Business Interruption
- Commercial General
- Commercial Property
- Commercial Umbrella
- Contractor’s Liability
- Employment Practices Liability
- General Liability
- Product Liability
- Professional Liability (E&O)
- Property Liability
- Restaurants
- Surety Bonds
- Worker’s Compensation
Auto – Commercial
A commercial automobile insurance policy is required under most circumstances when the vehicle is used for business purposes and meets certain other requirements. It is not just the registration that determines the requirement for a business automobile insurance policy. Other requirements are ownership by a corporation, use in hauling goods for hire, and gross vehicle weight of the vehicle. Some small trucks can be owned and insured under a personal automobile insurance policy under specific circumstances.
Commercial automobile insurance policies are not regulated in pricing, as are private passenger policies. There is price competition between insurance companies for good commercial automobile insurance.
BOP (Business Owners Package)
Business Owners Package policy, commonly called a “BOP” contains many of the insurance coverages needed by most small businesses. While these policies are not standard, there is great variation from insurance company to insurance company; there are certain common elements. The basic BOP offers business property coverage – both building and contents, and liability insurance protection for the operation of your business. This liability protection will generally include both the operation of your business, at its established location, and the liability from your products or completed operations.
Some, but not all of the policies, will also offer business income and extra expense protection after an insured loss. BOP policies do not contain all of the coverages needed by a small business. Notably they do not cover any workers compensation, professional liability, or business vehicle coverage.
Business Interruption
If your business suffers a property loss it could cause the business to slow or close down while repairs are made. This may mean a complete or partial revenue loss depending on the time frame and the damage. From the time the loss occurs until your business is running again, insurance can replace your lost profits, and provide a source of money to pay your necessary continuing expenses, like rent, payroll, taxes, etc.
Commercial General
Determining the appropriate type and amount of insurance coverage for your business is a delicate balancing act. A commercial insurance agent with the right knowledge and experience in your industry can help you identify risk exposure and suggest strategies to mitigate your risk, whether it is through insurance, loss control techniques or other risk management alternatives.
Commercial Property
Commercial Property protects your business against the loss or loss of use of company property. “Property” can include a variety of types: lost income or business interruption, buildings, computers, money, and valuable papers.
Commercial Umbrella
Most package policies provide a liability insurance limit of $1 million for any one loss and $2 million in any one year. For many businesses, this limit is inadequate for real economic security. As a result, additional layers of protection in million-dollar increments are readily available in today’s insurance market for most businesses.
Contractor’s General Liability
Exceptional primary general liability and umbrella cover can be provided for virtually any type of contractor—from commercial drywall contractors to electricians.
Employment Practices Liability (EPLI)
Employment Practices Liability Insurance otherwise known as EPLI is insurance that helps protect you against claims from your employees that result from the general conduct of your business. Common examples of employee related claims include:
- Discrimination
- Wrongful Discharge
- Sexual Harassment
- Hostile Working Environment
- Wrongful Termination
- Lack of Advancement
General Liability
Normally, it is difficult for businesses or general contractors to work without general insurance. General liability insurance is intended to guard operators and owners of companies from claims that may come from a broad spectrum of sources. These exposures could be just about anything, including liability engendered by accidents from the operations of the insured party, contractual liability, products manufactured by the insured party, etc.
The liability you select, whether it is one, two, or three million dollars, determines the cost of general liability insurance. Also factored into the rates are the kind of work undertaken, gross receipts and total payroll expenses. Similar to auto insurance, when it comes to general liability insurance, you will first have to make a down payment and then follow it up with installments. Before buying general liability insurance, it is best to compare the quotes available in the market.
It is the business owner’s or general contractor’s job to make sure that the people working under him/her are covered by an insurance policy. If for example, a person who is not a part of the project gets injured, the injured person’s lawyer can target just about anyone involved in the project. The more individuals that are involved, the greater the chances of a successful lawsuit.
Product Liability
Product liability insurance protects you in case a product you produce or provide causes harm to a user or a user’s property. A “product” is anything that is tangibly used, touched, or consumed. This type of insurance is recommended for every business that manufactures a product, but is especially important for companies that produce food, clothing, toys or anything else that could conceivably cause harm to someone.
Most business owner’s policies include limited product liability coverage. If, for some reason, you do not have this coverage through a business owner’s policy and your product runs the risk of inflicting harm on other people, you may need to buy product liability separately. Similarly, if your product presents a higher risk of injury (for example, it contains a hazardous material), you may need to purchase additional coverage.
Professional Liability (Errors & Omissions)
Errors and Omissions insurance, also sometimes referred to as professional liability, is insurance to protect you and your company in the event a client alleges they have suffered a financial loss as a result of an error or an omission committed by you in the delivery of your professional services. Professional liability coverage is separate from a General Liability (GL) policy which would cover you mainly for bodily injury or property damage liability.
Property Liability
The general or public liability policy provides protection for claims of liability that are made by third parties. The policy provides defense protection even if the allegations are groundless. In addition the policy will pay any judgment up to the policy limit of coverage.
Restaurant
The right restaurant business insurance coverage for restaurant owners. Your customers expect a great experience, and you know how to deliver. It isn’t easy – even before you consider all of the risks.
Whether you run a small cafe or a national chain, you could be held liable for anything from contaminated or spoiled food to spilled coffee. That’s why you deserve an insurance company with commercial restaurant insurance coverage specifically designed for the risks you face.
Eligible classes include, but are not limited to…
Surety Bonds
I work with many of the country’s top-rated surety companies to secure:
- Contract Payment and Performance Bonds
- Fidelity Bonds on Employees
- Code Compliance Bonds
- Judicial and Court Bonds, including estate guardianship and repletion bonds
- Professional Service Bonds
Workers’ Compensation
Workers’ Compensation insurance protects employers from claims resulting from injuries to employees. It protects your business from lawsuits and provides employees with compensation for on-the-job injuries.
By law, most employers are required to provide coverage for lost wages and medical bills incurred as a result of on-the-job accidents or illnesses. For many businesses, this coverage is the largest part of its insurance expense.
