Every business needs to be prepared for certain risks; whether it is knowing thebest business checking accounts for your LLCor buying the right business insurance. But in addition to considering insurance to cover damage to your business from a natural disaster or fire, or insuring your own personal health or your employees’ health with health insurance or disability insurance, every business owner needs to consider buying business liability insurance.
Business liability insurance can help protect your business from certain risks and significant costs of being sued as a result of doing business. Even if you are a solo entrepreneur orsmall business ownerwith only a few employees, there are several reasons why business liability insurance is a good investment to help your business avoid catastrophic costs and legal vulnerability in case something goes wrong in your business operations or if a client relationship ends badly.
了解有关业务责任保险的更多信息,如何选择正确的保单以及如何帮助保护您的业务。
What Is Business Liability Insurance?
Business liability insurance, also called “general liability insurance,” is a type of insurance for businesses that helps protect the business against the costs of lawsuits. If your business gets sued, business liability insurance can help pay for your attorney fees and legal defense expenses. If your business is found liable in a lawsuit and is ordered by a judge to pay damages, the business liability insurance policy can help to cover those costs, up to the limits of the policy.
What Situations Does Business Liability Insurance Cover?
A typical general liability insurance policy should cover a few key types of risks and situations, most of which might apply to your business:
- Product Liability:If you sell products, business liability insurance can help protect you in case your product causes bodily injury or property damage to your customers.
- Third-Party Bodily Injury:If someone is at your business location and they slip and fall and suffer a serious injury, they might be able to sue you for damages and medical bills.
- Third-Party Property Damage:If you or your employees damage someone else’s property as a result of doing business, such as accidentally breaking a door while making a delivery, insurance can help cover those costs.
- Tenants Legal Liability:If you or an employee cause damage to a property that your business is renting, such as office space, warehouse space or other rental property, the policy can help cover the costs of repairs.
- Libel, Slander and Copyright:If your business gets sued for false advertising, stealing someone else’s ideas or intellectual property or bad-mouthing a client, customer or competitor in a way that violates the law, you could benefit from business liability insurance.
How Much Business Liability Insurance Do You Need?
According to Incfile partnerCoverWallet, most business liability insurance policies provide coverage of up to $1 million per occurrence and $2 million in aggregate. You can also buy additional coverage in the form of an umbrella policy or excess insurance policy.
When choosing a policy, make sure your business liability insurance covers all of these aspects of going through a lawsuit:
- 国防成本:These are attorney’s fees, witness costs, court costs and other costs involved with defending your business against a lawsuit.
- Judgments and Medical Expenses:This is beneficial if you are found to be at fault and the court orders you to pay for someone else’s medical bills or any other damages.
- Lost Income:A good policy will also help cover your lost or interrupted business income in case you need to take time away from the business to appear in court or assist with your legal defense.
There are a few other risks and situations that are typically not covered by a business liability insurance policy, such as Business Vehicle Insurance, Professional Liability Insurance, Business Identity Theft Insurance and Employment Practices Liability (ELI) Insurance. Depending on your business, you might want to get additional coverage for these specific risks.
如何选择正确的业务责任Insuran吗ce
Not every business liability insurance policy is the same, and not every business has the same risks and specific needs for liability coverage. Before you buy a business liability insurance policy, or if you are thinking about making changes to your current policy, consider these questions:
- What are the biggest risks facing your business?并非每个企业都需要以相同的方式保护风险;如果您是一家生产产品或拥有实体零售地点的公司,则可能需要更多的产品责任或第三方身体伤害责任。如果您经营咨询业务或法律实践,则可能需要更多的专业责任承保范围,以防客户声称他们受到您的建议受到伤害。对于拥有员工和单人LLC的企业的企业而言,风险也有所不同。仔细考虑您最关心的与业务相关的风险以及使您在晚上保持兴起的原因,然后通过您的业务责任保护解决这些问题。
- Do you have an insurance broker or insurance agent?If you are already working with an insurance agent or broker for your health insurance and other insurance coverages, this same insurance professional can often help you find a business liability policy. Insurance agents and brokers can help you navigate your options and understand the costs, limits and coverages of various types of policies. If you have not worked with an insurance agent before, Incfile is partnering withCoverWalletto help small business owners get the right coverage at the right price.
- What’s the insurance company’s rating?保险公司由几个不同的保险评级组织(例如A.M.)进行评级。最好,惠誉,穆迪和标准普尔。这些评级可以帮助您了解您感兴趣的保险公司的财务稳定性。此信息可以让您放心,该公司将能够为您的保单提供服务并支付索赔。还要检查您正在考虑的任何公司的客户评论。他们的索赔过程缓慢吗?您是否可以在需要时与电话中的某人交谈,或者所有基于Internet的一切?这些因素都会影响您的经历
- Did you read the fine print?作为保单持有人,您有责任阅读和理解您的业务责任保险单的确切细节。阅读整个东西。如果需要,问问题。确保您了解覆盖范围的局限性,并要求填补任何特定问题领域的空白。
- What are my costs?The cost of your deductible and premiums will likely be a big factor in choosing the right insurance for you. Make sure you understand what you’ll be paying each month or annually. Determine what you may pay out of pocket in the event of a lawsuit or injury too. These costs can add up and you want to know what your potential costs may be so that you can select the right plan.
- Have there been changes to your business’s insurance needs and liability risks?Businesses go through lots of changes as they grow, and this includes the types of risks that businesses have to manage. Have you recently opened a new retail space? Have you rented office space? Have you hired your first employee? Have you started offering a new line of products or professional services? If something big about your business operations has recently changed, your business liability insurance coverage might need to change too. As your business grows, you have more to protect.
Business liability insurance is not most business owners’ favorite topic to think about; no one wants to get sued or cause suffering and harm. Most business owners take pride in doing business the right way, have high ethics and integrity and want to simply make a living selling great products and services to their customers.
But sometimes even with the best intentions, costly accidents, mistakes and misunderstandings happen. In the worst-case scenarios of being in business, you need to have business liability insurance to protect your business’s future and help you keep doing what you love for years to come.