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Top 5 Things to Know About Small Business Insurance

Small business insurance can be difficult to understand, and even more difficult to know what coverages you need and which you don’t.

Top 5 Things to Know About Small Business Insurance

If you’re a business owner, you’ve probably had the thought, “I know I need insurance, but where do I begin?” If so, you’re not alone. Small business insurance can be difficult to understand, and even more difficult to know what coverages you need and which you don’t. Here are my top 5 things you should know.

  1. You may not have to carry workers compensation insurance.

The state of Indiana mandates that the first line of defense for someone injured at work is workers compensation. If an employee is injured at work, and the employer does not have workers compensation insurance, the company could be handed a hefty fine. So, if you have any employees, then you must carry it by law. However, if it is just you, this does not apply; you certainly have the option to carry workers compensation for just yourself but are not obligated to.

  1. Once a product leaves your store, it is no longer covered by general liability.

General liability provides coverage for bodily injury and property damage from you and your work, at the location of your work. So, if you’re a handyman, it would cover your work at someone’s house, and if you’re a retailer, it would cover you at your store location. Once your work is done, or your product leaves, it needs to be covered under products and completed operations liability. This will pick up the liability coverage once work is done, or a product leaves your store.

  1. If your employee causes an auto accident, your company could be held liable.

For those companies that don’t use vehicles in their business operations, there is still a large risk for a loss. Occasionally, you might ask an employee to run an errand for you or to meet you at a job site. If they cause an accident, a good lawyer will say they were driving for the company and hold the company liable.  Hired and non-owned auto liability will give you protection against these charges.

  1. Your independent contractors may actually be employees.

The workers compensation bureau has several questions they use to see if someone is actually an employee. If you answer yes to the following questions, that contractor may actually be an employee. 1. Do you control their behavior by telling them when, where, and how to work? Do you provide the tools needed for them to do their job? 3. Do they only work for one person or company? Talk to an independent agent to help you walk through this.

  1. You could be at a high risk of data breach even if you only use email.

Hackers and web criminals are becoming savvier with how they are stealing people’s information. Even if you only email you are at risk of exposing people’s sensitive data or having your own compromised. A Cyber Liability policy provides coverage for a data breach, ransomware, and other malicious attacks.

Talk to an independent agent today to make sure you are properly covered!