Insurance 101 for Small Businesses

As a small business owner, chances are that you will eventually need to address some type of threat against your business. Whereas the threat comes from nature, a burglar, or your products themselves, it is very important for you to have protective measures in place to minimize the effects of such threats. It is very important to have different types of insurance to prepare you business against such threats.
Below are some insurance plans that your business should consider having:
Property Protection: Property insurance should include a broad form of coverage to protect your business from various possible losses. If you own a building, you will be required to have property insurance. However, if you lease your business' space, the landlord should provide this coverage. Generally, this type of insurance should include coverage to protect your business in case of fire, flood, earthquakes, and, if possible, theft
Liability Coverage: Product liability insurance protects your business if one of its products or services injures someone. On the other hand, a General Liability insurance will cover your business in case there is an accident inside of your business (i.e. the typical 'I tripped because you floor was wet ').
Business Interruption: Protects you against losses that your business incurs when it has to close down temporarily due to a fire or other natural disasters. Usually, it provides reimbursement for lost revenue and to cover certain operating expenses.
Umbrella Insurance: This type of insurance offers extra coverage that becomes effective once the limits of your primary policy are reached. They usually provide excess coverage for liability insurance and worker's compensation insurance.
Health Insurance: This type of small business health insurance covers medical expenses if you get sick. It is common for many small businesses not to have this type of insurance, thinking that they cannot afford it. Shop around and you will see that there are many different business health insurance options available at different rates. Remember that health insurance plans might help you to attract new employees and retain talented employees.
Worker's Compensation: If your business has employees, worker's compensation insurance will be mandatory. This insurance covers employees in the case of accidents related to their jobs. Startup businesses usually find that the State Compensation Fund can accommodate their needs; however, as the business grows, remember to 'shop around' to look for better alternatives.
Tip: Always remember to shop around in order to find competitive rates for your insurance needs. Always choose a policy that covers your needs and that insures your assets effectively. Most importantly, once you have found the adequate insurance, be sure to read the policy carefully and understand it fully before signing it.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrea_Stiles_Pullas

What's The Best Business Insurance Coverage?

Running a small business is a gamble where, as a small business owner or manager, you try to undertake the least amount of risk you can with an eye toward reaping the greatest gain. Small business insurance is your best tool for keeping your risk level low. Since this isn't a game for you or your employees, small business insurance isn't a luxury but an absolute necessity. So finding the best small business insurance coverage for your company becomes your goal.
When considering what the best coverage to have is, you need to start with the basics: general liability insurance, property insurance, and workers' compensation. The purpose and function of the latter two are relatively straightforward.
Workers' compensation insurance grants monetary awards to employees who are injured or disabled due to job related circumstances. This coverage is often required and may be regulated by state laws.
Property coverage for small business insurance guards against the loss of physical assets due to fire, accident, or theft. It allows you to replace or repair furniture, office equipment and supplies, inventory, and sometimes even the building itself. This type of small business insurance may either cover your loss at the replacement value of lost items or for their depreciated cash value. The best option for you depends on the capital you have on hand. Taking depreciated cash value coverage, also known as actual cast value (ACV), will save you money in the short term from lower premiums but will cost you valuable time in the event of an actual loss. Additionally, the items you need to replace may not be available at the depreciated cost no matter how much time you expend searching for a comparable replacement, and you may end up with substantial out-of-pocket expense. When possible, replacement cost small business insurance coverage is the superior alternative as it transfers a greater degree of risk to the insurance company, which is the purpose of having insurance in the first place.
General Liability small business insurance is a little more complicated. It protects you against legitimate or fraudulent lawsuits brought against your company for:
• Bodily Injury - Harm to a non-employee due to an action or inaction on the part of your company, including a fatal injury. Note that harm to an employee is covered under your small business insurance workers' compensation plan. • Personal Injury - Which includes, but is not limited to, libel, slander, wrongful entry, false imprisonment, and malicious prosecution carried out by your company or an agent of your company. • Property Damage - Destruction of privately owned items or real estate by an action of your company or by the action of an employee while carrying out his or her duties for your company.• Advertising Injury - Harm to an individual or a corporate body due to your company's advertising activities, including character defamation, plagiarism, and unfair competition.
General liability small business insurance not only covers damages assessed against you, but also your legal fees. Even if you win a lawsuit, a court case can be quite expensive. With a general liability policy, you are compensated for attorney's fees, court costs, witness fees, and loss of earnings while in court.
How much general liability small business insurance should you get? The simple answer is: As much as you can afford. You certainly want enough to cover the dollar amount value of your business. One suggested baseline is a minimum of one million dollars per incident and three million aggregate, but this answer is too simplistic to cover the breadth of eventualities that comprise every small business owner's risk. Individual cases will have different exposure and insurance needs. Does your firm interact extensively with the public? Do you manufacture goods that could be dangerous if handled incorrectly? You should also consider recent court awards for your type of business and in your locale as well as the general liability requirements of companies you may do business with. To determine the best option for you, consult with your small business insurance agent.
In most cases, a business owners policy, or BOP, will be the most affordable option. A BOP combines property and general liability coverage, as well as other useful coverage such as vehicle coverage, into one small business insurance policy. Generally available to companies not engaged in high risk activities, a BOP is simpler for you and more efficient for the insurance company, resulting in lower premiums.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_Cochran

Small Business Health Insurance - The Pro's & Con's Of Providing Small Business Health Insurance

Small business health insurance is a product that you do not want to be without if you are the owner of your own company. In fact, providing this type of medical coverage for your employees may be one of the best things that you can do. Because there are millions of people that are without coverage today, taxes rise to pay for this. Because so many do not have this type of protection, costs in the medical community continue to rise. Yet, there are many more benefits to providing medical coverage to employees that are on a much more company level.
For those companies that do provide medical coverage, turnover is lower. Small business health insurance is a benefit that people seek the most when looking for new employment. This can help in reducing the costs for training and for payroll fees. Perhaps more importantly, it keeps employees happier, which means that they are going to appreciate coming to work each day. Yet another benefit to providing this type of medical coverage to employees is that they are less likely to call off from work for being ill.
Many company owners believe that they can not afford to provide this type of protection for their employees. There are many old and new companies out there that can provide affordable solutions to company owners considering coverage. For those that are not sure if they should go down that road, consider if you can afford not to do so. When you consider all of the Pro's vs the Con's, Small business health insurance may be something well within your budget in order to provide benefits for your employees.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rick_Stevens