Having a business may seem like a piece of cake; however, it also comes in with a package full of risks. One of the employees you hired could come across a workplace accident, property destruction due to natural disaster or a small slip could trigger the client to file up a lawsuit. These are just a few out of the risk packages that you would have to go through.
Being an entrepreneur, you would be held responsible for any tragedy that befalls over your business. To avoid all these, you need to protect your assets, be it business or personal. The only way to protect yourself and your business is to ensure that you both are adequately insured. Why? Business insurance helps you recover the costs of liability claims and costs associated with property damage as well as protecting your employees.
If you don’t opt for any insurance plan, you need to be a trillionaire to pay up the cost of all these damages caused to your business. Even a trillionaire entrepreneur would opt for a good business insurance plan to clean up the damages rather than him having to pay from his pocket.
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What insurance(s) would I have to signup for?
Every business differs from the other: you could own a restaurant or have a real estate business up and running. However, there are some certain practical rules about the general insurance needs of a business. When choosing what insurance coverage do you want to choose, it is also important to know what aspects of operation need protection. These are a few points mentioned below:
- The type of work you do
- Employees and customers
- Your physical premises
- Intellectual property
- Property and equipment
Keep in mind that as your business grows, so would your coverage needs.
If you still are not convinced, below, we have listed down some crucial reasons why you should go for business insurance in the first place.
Employees’ protection
The most valuable asset is not the product or services you offer but actually are your hardworking employees. They strive along with you to keep your business alive. As a responsible business owner, you need to make sure that your employees are protected at all costs.
As per the law, it is required that you carry workers’ comp; nevertheless, you could also consider offering disability coverages even if you have to charge them a small amount for it. There are many healthcare insurance plans, like the PPO network plan. This plan covers all contract medical providers specialists, doctors, urgent care clinics, pharmacies, and hospitals with the flexibility to choose the ones you want to work with.
An important note to consider: protecting your employees also protects your business indirectly from lawsuits or liability claims; you don’t have to worry about being sued.
It’s part of the law
If you look through the SBA, it is stated in the law book that businesses having employees should offer specific categories of insurance: disability, workers’ compensation, and unemployment, depending upon the state the company is grounded in.
Those businesses who don’t abide by the law would have to come across heavy fines, criminal or civil penalties, “cease or desist” orders, and exclusion from public contracts. All this would cost you even more than signing up for insurance.
Avoid being sued
The society that we live in is litigious by nature. In case you find yourself neck to neck with a lawsuit, your business could end up in hot waters. An accident, a broken contract, a resentful employee, and you would have to say goodbye to your business. Even if you win the case, you would still end up bankrupt since the legal defense costs are a lot higher.
Instead of worrying about what ought to happen, it is better to plan ahead and sign up for the insurance that can put you at ease.
Your business stays intact
So what about your business get struck by any natural disaster, fire, or any other tragedy that could bring the house down? Having hail damage or hurricane insurance would help you incur the loss of building, property, or equipment. What happens to all the losses you face due to the calamity?
That’s when the BOP, aka Business Owners Insurance, steps in to save the day. It will help your business to survive the income loss that you incurred. How does it work? It simply pays you the expected amount of money if there hadn’t been a calamity. It also reimburses for general expenses like rent and utilities, that you had to pay for at that time.
Portrays a credible image of your business
Here is one thing that may have slipped through your mind. Having your business protected with insurances would make your business seem reliable in the eyes of your customers and clients, giving them the image that you are a safe bet. Presuming that anything goes out of the margin with the product or service you provide them with, you can recoup that.
Conclusion
Having all the necessary business insurance protecting your business, it gives you a stress-free work environment. You would be able to focus more one running a successful business without any fear.