Looking for Affordable Small Business Insurance?

Looking for Affordable Small Business Insurance?

by | Jul 23, 2014 | Business Insurance

Some new business owners, in an attempt to minimize expenses, may make the fateful decision to not purchase business insurance. Many see business insurance as a luxury or something that only businesses that have been established for a while can actually afford. And while it is true that there is an expense associated with small business insurance, it is essential for every business regardless of the industry, time in business, or their budget.

The Benefits of Worker’s Compensation Insurance

For any business that has employees, worker’s compensation is a must. Worker’s compensation will cover medical bills and a percentage of lost wages for employees dealing with work related diseases or illnesses. Employers who do not have this type of insurance may have to pay out-of-pocket to cover these expenses. Worker’s compensation provides for different types of benefits:

  • Income Benefits – These benefits will reimburse a portion of an employee’s lost wages.
  • Medical Benefits – These benefits are designed to cover the expense of medical treatment associated with the work related injury or illness.
  • Burial Benefits – These benefits will cover some of the funeral expenses of an employee who died in a work-related incident.
  • Death Benefits – These benefits will pay some of the employee’s lost wages to the family of an employee who was killed while at work.

Commercial Automobile Insurance

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, between the years 2003 and 2007 more than 35 percent of work-related fatalities had to do with motor vehicles. Between the same time period, work-related automobile fatalities cost businesses on average $500,000, and each nonfatal injury cost them approximately $74,000. Thankfully, the vast majority of these business owners had commercial automobile insurance.
Any business that uses vehicles in the operation of business needs to have commercial automobile insurance. There is a huge difference between having a vehicle insured for a personal policy and having that same vehicle insured for business use. A vehicle that is only insured for personal use may not be covered if an accident takes place while the vehicle was being used for business.

Protecting Your Business Property with Insurance

As a business owner, you have worked hard to be able to afford the property you own. It is only logical that you should take steps to protect your investment. Business property insurance in many cases will reimburse not only the cost of the property that was damaged or lost, but it will also reimburse the actual loss of earnings for up to 12 months. Coverage is provided to replace things such as computers and other work-related equipment. Certain policies even offer coverage for the money a business spends researching the products they will purchase to replace what was lost. Even individuals who have a home-based business should look into getting this type of insurance.

Protect Yourself with Liability Insurance

We live in a society that is enamored with lawsuits. Even if a business owner feels that the chances of them being sued is little to none, getting liability insurance is still a good idea. Annual premiums for general liability insurance usually run between $750-$2,000 depending on the type of business. That is a small price to pay when compared to the tens of thousands, if not millions, of dollars a business owner may have to spend battling their case out in court.

General liability insurance helps to protect the company’s assets. It will cover certain obligations that a business owner may have, such as the medical costs of a client who gets injured while on the business’s property. It also helps cover the expense of legal defense and any settlement or award paid out if the business owner is successfully sued.

To get a quote or speak to an affordable small business insurance agent, call (305) 220-0900.

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Why Do Restaurants Need Restaurant Insurance?

Why Do Restaurants Need Restaurant Insurance?

by | Jul 21, 2014 | Business Insurance, Restaurant Insurance

Restaurant insurance is vital to the success of a restaurant. The possibility of accidents occurring in your business and on the premises are great. To see what I mean, check out these statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Food Services and Drinking Fatalities, Injuries, and Illnesses report and the injuries, illnesses, and fatalities report.

  • 120 – fatalities in the food services and drinking places industry
  • 69, 950 – incidents involving work place accidents resulting in loss of work
  • 10 – average median days away from work due to injuries
  • 168 – cases per 10,000 full time employees

These statistics are alarming and demonstrate why restaurant insurance is so important. Accidents such as fires, slip and fall incidents and even people who get sick from eating your food can be covered by your insurance.

What is Business Insurance?

All businesses need insurance coverage in order to protect them from potential losses due to slip and fall incidents, fires and so forth. Having restaurant insurance also prevents business owners from losing property completely. Property unlikely to be recovered after a fire, severe weather incident or other unexpected event are personal items, expensive equipment and business vehicles. With the proper restaurant insurance coverage, a claim can be filed to recover losses including any medical expenses occurred by employees and customers.

Having insurance avoids being sued!

When a business owner fails to obtain and maintain business insurance, that person opens him or herself up to being liable for any judgments being settle against him or her and their business. The judgment can garnish wages, bank accounts, and some small businesses may be held personally liable for debts through person assets. As you can see, obtaining the right restaurant insurance coverage can protect your from liability claims.

Types of Business insurance you can obtain

There is more than one type of business insurance available, however several of these may be packaged together into one lump policy. It is up to the business owner and their insurance agent to decide which plan is right for them. Below is a list of some of the different type of insurance available.

Property and Casualty Insurance

Whether you are renting or leasing the physical location of your business, property insurance will cover it when flooding, fire, theft, tornado and or an earthquake occurs. Casualty only covers the operation of the business, which of course is grouped with property insurance.

Commercial Auto Insurance

This insurance type covers your business due to any loss or damage to company vehicles as well as damaged that may have occurred from the company’s vehicle to others.

Liability Insurance

Liability insurance covers you if someone decides to sue you for negligence. A prime example of this would be in a slip and fall incident due to factors within your control or beyond your control.

Business Interruption Insurance

This insurance comes in handy when a business’s normal operations are interrupted and cash flow and profits becomes abnormal. This could be due to severe weather events, for example, if you harvest orange crops and Souther Florida is hit by an unexpected storm that destroys your crops, you may or may not be able to recover your losses.

Health Insurance

Health insurance is needed to cover yourself as well as your employees when in need of medical care.

Life and Disability insurance

Life and Disability insurance will be needed in the event of death or disability of key owners, partner and employees may occur. Read more about Key Man Insurance.

Worker’s Compensation Insurance

If you have employees, it is required by law to participate in the worker’s comp program. This insurance covers employees who are injured on the job.
These insurance plans can be combined but it would be cheaper to find a plan that offers the types of insurance coverage needed instead of purchasing them separately.