Commercial insurance is a type of insurance that covers business needs. In some respects, business insurance and private insurance are the same; they both cover you for theft or a building for instance. However businesses need additional types of insurance, a private person cannot insure themselves for loss of income under their house insurance policy; however a business can ensure themselves for loss of earnings with commercial insurance cover.
There is no one singular type of commercial insurance because the requirements of each individual business are by no means the same. However it is important for commercial business owners not to underestimate their needs because the purpose of commercial insurance is to ensure against the unexpected. Retail businesses and office businesses deal with people and the more people that you have through the doors of your business on a daily basis the greater the possibilities of an unexpected accident.
As any business owner with commercial premises open to the public knows what can happen usually does, – eventually! Public liability insurance will ensure you against a customer hurting themselves or hurting another customer. You do not require a deranged customer shooting another of your customers to have an accident – one customer can fall out and hurt someone else in an innocuous accident. Public liability insurance does not cover you for what happens to your employees, although they are members of the public in the eyes of the law they require separate insurance cover.
It is possible for one of your customers or employees to sue you for damage sustained whilst on your premises; this may be for their health costs, or for compensation, or both. This type of litigation could ruin a business that does not have adequate insurance.
Many insurance companies offer a discount if you already have existing policies with them such as home insurance or vehicle insurance. Whilst over insurance in the commercial insurance sector is expensive to be underinsured can be ruinous and it can quite literally bankrupt your business so under insure at your peril.
If you are a medium or large company it may be necessary to investigate the insurance company before you buy, if they want to check their integrity and reputation. In the event of non payment for an insurance claim it is your business and your livelihood that is on the line. The Better Business Bureau if good place to start, they offer American and Canadian consumers the opportunity to check out what other customers are saying about the businesses they are dealing with.
There is no one fit for all insurance policy it is your responsibility to work out accurately the needs of your company. However a checklist would be helpful to most people because there are types of insurance that you can have that you are not even aware of such as inland marine insurance. Although this sounds like an oxymoron it expenses if you have to relocate your company building.
Even if you are already in possession of commercial insurance checklist is important because the value of your property and/or business may have changed in the last year and this could potentially have a big impact on your insurance needs
Commercial Insurance Checklist.
- Property insurance
Property insurance covers the value of your building. This is the bulk of your commercial property requirements, but if you are renewing your commercial insurance policy it is very easy not to re-evaluate this. In most areas of the world building costs have risen above inflation and you could be underinsured. Under insurance means that you have to find the difference personally if anything happens.
Make a clear inventory of your business property this should include stock and equipment. This is part of your property insurance.
- Declare all security systems
Some commercial insurance companies offer a discount for additional security systems and these can include surveillance cameras and alarm systems
- Review all the costs of your business
Without knowing the costs of the day-to-day running of your business it impossible for you to estimate how much you need to be insured for the loss of earnings section of your commercial insurance.
- A business within your home
Some people have a home-based business and they may consider that they do not need a commercial insurance policy. However they may want to take into account that there business has potentially more liabilities than their home, and these will not be covered by home insurance policy. They may only require a small change to their existing policy, but they will require something.
- Damage and theft.
This should be a part of any commercial property. Be aware that theft may be standard but there are different types of damage to property. Some areas are prone to floods, cyclones or other natural disasters if you think this type of insurance is necessary, do not it is standard.
- Malpractice insurance
Malpractice insurance covers you against any action that you carry out in your professional capacity it is usually applied to doctors, dentists, psychologists, and other professional bodies such as accountants. It is insurance against litigation about your professional advice did not reach the standard benchmark.
In conclusion if you are conducting any type of business and you need some form of businesses insurance? The number and amount of litigation filed daily is increasing and it only takes one claim to break your business. Commercial business insurance may be more expensive than domestic insurance but the cost of not having commercial insurance will certainly be higher.