Building Your Business Insurance Portfolio

You’re starting a business. You’ve got your business cards, a snazzy location picked out, a beautiful website and fun business name…now what? Besides all the fun stuff that comes with opening a business, you also need to look into the stuff that’s going to protect you if there is a problem…business insurance. And when it comes to business insurance, it’s not one-size-fits-all. 

As you build a business insurance portfolio, it’s going to include all the different types of insurance that can help protect your individual business. 
While you need to cover your bases, businesses could go broke thinking about the things that could wrong and trying to cover every single possibility. It’s important to think about your business, what you do, who your customers are, what liabilities you might face and which ones you won’t, and then decide which insurance is right for you. To make sure you’re covered, it’s important to talk to an expert. 

That said, here are a few places to start when it comes to covering your business:

Worker’s Comp: Worker’s Compensation is required in most states. This insurance covers your employees in the event on an on-the-job injury or any illnesses suffered due to their job. If they have to miss work for any amount of time because of something caused by their work, this will cover their time off and their medical bills.

Property Insurance: Property insurance covers the actual location of your business. If you own the building where you house your business, this is an important coverage. It protects the building in the event of fire, natural disasters, or harm caused by an employee. Depending on your situation, this type of insurance may not apply to you. 

Liability Coverage: This important policy covers you if you’re sued by a customer or employee. It does’t matter what type of business you are, you’re always open to lawsuits and you’re always at risk of being shut down by legal fees. 

While business owners are always concerned with expenses and the price of multiple types of insurance might make you hold your check book a little closer, if you have a buiness, you’re open to risk—risks like:

• Loss due to theft or damage
• Lawsuits 
• Mistakes that cause harm or destruction or customers or employees

The above policies protect your business from those common incidents, but, depending on your business, you could be open to even more risks. 
Before you consider what types of business insurance you need, you should consider what types of risks you could face. Here are some of the most common risks faced by business owners:

• Data breaches: A data breach could cost your business up to $50,000 in recovery costs 
• Business Interruption: If your day-to-day is interrupted by a power outage or inclement weather, you could lose a lot of money
• Reputation Damage: You could face damage to your reputation if a customers is unhappy 
• Vehicle Protection: If you use vehicles to run your business, you need to protect them

These are just a few of the most common risks but your needs, and business insurance costs, will vary based on your business. 
A few factors that could influence the cost of your plan include:

• The type of business
• Number of employees
• Salary 
• The types of goods or services you offer
• Your business risks

So, when you’re choosing business insurance, you’re not just picking one policy that could cover every risk you might face. While it can get complicated, you’ll be faced with a number of policies to choose from. On top of the ones we’ve already mentioned, you need to decide if your business insurance will include:

• Commercial Auto Insurance
• Cybercrime Insurance
• Employer Insurance
• And more

You probably need business insurance even if you think you don’t. So, before you start building your business insurance portfolio, it’s best to talk to an insurance agent familiar with the many facets of business insurance.