Business Insurance

The success of a business, whether it's a tiny enterprise run out of a basement or spare bedroom, or a large corporation, is dependent on three things: hard work, ingenuity, and luck. That’s the kicker . . . luck. No matter how industrious you are, one disaster, just one unplanned for risk, can destroy your profits and cause your business to be little more than a statistic. The key then, is to make sure that your investment in time, effort, and money doesn't disappear when a disaster strikes. Appropriate business insurance is the answer.

Businessowners (Combines all basic property and liability risks)

A basic businessowner’s policy (BOP) combines protection from all major property and liability risks in one instrument instead of coverages packaged separately. These policies are created for businesses that generally face the same kind and degree of risk while other companies might purchase, or customize their policies to meet the special risks. Businessowner’s Policies frequently include:

1. Property insurance for buildings and contents owned by the company in two different forms, standard and special, one of which will provide the appropriate coverage.

2. Business interruption insurance, which covers the loss of income resulting from a fire or other catastrophe that disrupts the operation of the business.

3. Liability protection, which covers legal responsibility for the harm it may cause to others.

BOPs, as a rule, do NOT cover professional liability, auto insurance, worker’s compensation or health and disability insurance. You'll need separate insurance policies to cover professional services, vehicles and your employees.

Commercial Auto

A businessowner, needs the same kinds of insurance coverages for the car used in the business as you do for a car used for personal travel, and coverage for uninsured motorists. Whether you need to buy a business auto insurance policy will depend on the kind of driving to be done and if employees will be driving them and whether employees are likely to be driving their own cars for your business. A business auto policy differs from a personal auto policy in many technical respects.

Garage Insurance

Insurance coverage for garages is unique in that in addition to requiring insurance for property including buildings, contents, stock and equipment, there is also an automobile liability exposure. The garage liability component provides coverage for automobile liability including owned vehicles, customers autos while servicing or repair, courtesy cars and auto part sales.

Key Man

Key employee life insurance pays a death benefit to the company when a key employee dies. The loss of a key person can be a major blow to a small business if that person is an owner, partner, or the key contact for customers and suppliers, or where the loss of the key person might make the running of the business less efficient and result in a loss of capital. The losses caused by the death of a key employee are insurable. The policy is normally owned by the company, which pays the premiums and is the beneficiary.

Professional Liability

Professionals, such as doctors, lawyers, accountants, and certain other professions that operate their own businesses, need professional liability insurance in addition to an in-home business or businessowner’s policy to protect them against financial losses from lawsuits filed against them by their clients. Professional liability insurance is a specialty coverage. Professional liability coverage is not provided under homeowners endorsements, in-home business policies or businessowners policies (BOPs). When liability is limited to acts of negligence, professional liability insurance may be called "errors and omissions" liability.

Employee Practices Liability Insurance (ELPI)

The number of lawsuits filed by employees against their employers has been rising. EPLI protects businesses against claims by workers that their legal rights, as employees of the company, have been violated. EPLI provides protection against many kinds of employee lawsuits, including claims of:

• Sexual harassment
• Discrimination
• Wrongful termination
• Breach of employment contract
• Negligent evaluation
• Failure to employ or promote
• Wrongful discipline
• Deprivation of career opportunity
• Wrongful infliction of emotional distress
• Mismanagement of employee benefit plans

Worker’s Compensation

Employers have a legal responsibility to their employees to make the workplace safe. However, accidents happen even when every reasonable safety measure has been taken to protect employers from lawsuits resulting from workplace accidents, and to provide medical care and compensation for lost income to employees hurt in workplace. In every state, businesses are required to buy workers compensation insurance. Workers compensation insurance covers workers injured on the job, whether they're hurt on the workplace premises or elsewhere, or in auto accidents while on business. It also covers work-related illnesses. Workers compensation insurance must be bought as a separate policy.

Umbrella Insurance

Business umbrella liability insurance is designed to protect you against a catastrophic lawsuit or judgment. It provides expanded coverage and increases the amount of your liability protection beyond the basic coverage provided under your business and auto insurance policies.

Unlike other types of liability coverage, busimess umbrella liability insurance can be purchased as a separate policy. However, you must have underlying basic liability coverage before you can purchase an umbrella liability policy. If you are found to be legally responsible for injuring someone or damaging someone's property, the umbrella policy will either pay the part of the claim in excess of the limits of your basic liability coverage, or pay for certain losses not covered by your basic liability insurance.

Employee Benefits

A benefits program with special options for employees can be one of your most valuable recruiting tools. There are numerous benefits plan that attracts and retains the best employees. Choose from a complete menu of reliable, quality benefits options.

• Group medical, group dental and group life – managed care and indemnity plans
• Disability insurance – long and short-term plans
• Voluntary, or Cafeteria insurance plans that may include:
  • Dental – traditional plans that allow employees to go to their choice of dentists
  • Health – three levels of coverage including basic, expanded care, and full coverage o Term life – group or individual plans including voluntary executive life, level term to age 95, five-year level term, and executive term life
  • Universal life – offers permanent and portable life insurance that can be standalone or act as a supplement to the employer provided term coverage
  • Short term disability – flexible plans with optional waiting periods of 14, 30, 90, or 180 days, with benefit periods of six or 12 months
  • Long term disability – supplement to short term disability or employer provided sick leave designed to provide income protection for five years or to age 65
  • Accident insurance – covers employees against lost income due to off the job injury
  • Major illness – pays a benefit, in addition to any other coverage, for treatment of cancer, heart attack, stroke, 30 specified diseases, intensive care, and vital organ transplants
  • Vision – choices include either a fully insured or a discount services plan o Legal plans – may either be a fully insured or discount services plan
  • Long term care – protects against the high cost of providing custodial care for the elderly and infirmed
  • Discount health services – provides participants with discount to fees charged for dental, vision, cosmetic surgery, chiropractic alternative medicine, hearing, and physician services