Are you a small business owner? You’re not alone. Did you know that there are 30,748,033 small businesses in the U.S.?
Are you considering small business liability insurance for your company, but aren’t sure which to pick? In this article, explore the top 5 considerations you’ll want to think about before going with small business liability insurance. Read on to explore all about liability insurance, and how to determine what the right is fit for you.
What Is Liability Insurance?
As a business owner, you face many risks that you’ll want coverage for. For example, if it’s a physical location, a customer can slip and fall. Another name for small business liability insurance is known as commercial general liability insurance.
- Do I Need Small Business Liability Insurance?
Before you even open, it’s a good idea to have liability coverage in case of unforeseen circumstances. This will help protect you with contracts with clients, lawsuits, and avoiding bankruptcy. Liability insurance can also protect you in case someone ever gets hurt, or there’s damage to your property.
- Property Insurance Vs Liability Insurance
Liability insurance is there to protect you in case someone gets hurt on your property. Property coverage can insure your equipment, building, and inventory.
It’ll protect your business by going with an option such as art store insurance. You’ll want to make sure that the insurance for your company, equals the value in case products are ever destroyed or lost.
- Liability Risks
You’ll want to measure your liability risks before going with an insurance option. Any value in your business you’ll want to protect with liability insurance. You can choose the limits of millions of dollars.
- Average Cost
For a 1-2 million liability insurance policy, it’s normally from $27-$59 per month. This also depends on your location as well. The different risks your employees can experience will determine the price range as well.
- What Liability Insurance Doesn’t Cover
No matter what insurance you choose, there will be exclusions. This is due to businesses only needing certain types of coverage.
Some examples are:
- War
- Workers Compensation
- Aircraft
- Auto
- Watercraft
- Intended injury
- Expected injury
- Mobile Equipment
- Pollution
Other Insurance Options
Another insurance option for your business is what’s known as commercial auto insurance. It’s a good idea to have if you have company vehicles. This will protect you in the case of an accident or damage to your vehicle.
Commercial Auto Insurance
They can be company vehicles that carry equipment, products, or employees in them. You can also consider non-owned auto liability coverage if you or your employee drive their own car to make deliveries.
Cyber Insurance
A data breach is always a risk since technology is a large part of our lives. If this happens, your information and the customer’s might become vulnerable.
Cyber insurance can help pay for expenses such as hiring a PR firm to handle the customers and deal with the leak. This will help your business hold their reputation.
Errors and Omissions Insurance
Does your business handle real estate, finance, or other services that handle a great amount of money? Errors and omissions insurance might be the right option for you. Another name for this is professional liability insurance.
If a customer claims that you caused them financial distress, this insurance will protect your business. No matter the size of your company, avoiding financial distress is important to protect yourself.
How To Save Money for Business Insurance
To help you save money for business insurance, it’s a good idea to use cloud computing and open source options. You don’t need to buy expensive servers or office software. Choose a cloud vendor to save.
Entry-Level
Instead of paying an arm and a leg for an employee with years of experience, consider someone with a bit less work experience who can do the job. Entry-level work will mean you save on the costs of a seasoned employee.
Ensure that you have good training for your employees, and an entry-level employee can do well in certain roles. Ensure that you check in on them, and see how they’re doing.
Outsource Work
For smaller tasks, you can consider outsourcing the work. Check out freelance sites such as Upwork for different freelancers who will do the work necessary.
Check Operating Expenses
Check your operating expenses, and see if there’s anything you can cut back on. For example, if you’re often running out for supplies, coffee, bagels, etc. is there a way to cut costs on these runs?
Pick Your Budget
Pick a budget and stick to it. Think about how much your insurance will cost you each month, and ensure that you’ll have enough to go toward it. Have an expense budget for your business that you can track.
Go Green
Choose paperless methods for your invoices, bills, etc. This can help you save not only money but time as well. You’ll save money on paper costs by emailing receipts to your customers.
Research Banks
Don’t just go with the first bank you find, research them, and choose the right option for you. Take a look at overdraft fees, ATM fees, etc. Take a look at the requirements of the contract before you choose them.
Considering Small Business Liability Insurance
Now that you’ve explored small business liability insurance, you should have a better idea if it’s the right fit for you and your business. Would you like to read more business content? For everything from business to tech, check out our other articles today.
