How Much Small Business Insurance Is Needed?

In these difficult economic times, people who run small-scale companies are often forced to cut down expenses to make a profit. If you are one of the business owners who are struggling to make ends meet on a daily basis, keep in mind that there are things that you should never assume that you could live without. Small business insurance is one of them. It enables you to get your professional life back on track in the event of an accident and cope with potential expenses triggered by a lawsuit filed by an unsatisfied customer or someone who got injured on your property.

As a matter of fact, small business insurance can do some much more for you. In short, it allows you to attain peace of mind, knowing that your financial situation couldn’t be impacted by any kind of unpleasant surprises. But the question is this: how could you actually stumble across the right policy and how could you actually determine how much money you should spend on small business insurance? Let’s find out.

1)      Put Your Main Concerns on Paper

You can choose to select the right policy for you based on the main concerns that are currently on your mind. To do this, you’d have to be familiar with the most common types of insurance policies and understand which ones are actually right for you. For instance, if you are worried that a client or a business partner could sue you in the near future, you should start by investing in general liability coverage. A restaurant owner who has invested in this type of policy shouldn’t have to worry about clients who file a lawsuit because they got food poisoning in his establishment or because they slipped and fell on his brand new, shiny floor.

Errors and omissions insurance policy is suitable for small business owners who offer consulting services. If you are afraid that your clients may not be satisfied with the fruits of your labor and they might feel tempted to drag you to court to obtain compensation for their prejudice, note that errors and omissions insurance policy could get you out of trouble in this particular set of circumstances. By paying 1,200 dollars on average you could benefit from a more than tempting coverage estimated at 1 million dollars.

Commercial auto insurance is a useful policy if you own vehicles that are driven by yourself and your employees on a daily basis to do business. Workers’ compensation insurance is a legal requirement; so you have to spend money on this policy whether you like it or not, if you have employees. In this case, you should know that rates are regulated by the state in which you are currently running your business.

You never know what tomorrow could bring. Even if you consider yourself the model employer of the year, one of your staff members could think differently. A former employee holding an old grudge could try to destroy your reputation and make you lose a lot of money, by filing a claim against you. Incidents based on discrimination, sexual harassment, unfair employment practices and various other serious accusations could compromise your image and leave you high and dry. If you want to stop this worth case scenario from becoming real, minimize risks by getting employment practices liability insurance.

Desperate times call for desperate preventive measures. According to Bloomberg News, cited by Huffington Post, cyber theft is one of the most important threats of modern times, since 1 billion dollars gets stolen on an annual basis from business bank accounts. If you are worried about the impact of cyber theft on your monthly budget, you should know that you could keep risks at bay by simply getting cyber theft insurance. This way, if hackers manage to steal money from your bank account, your insurer will cover your prejudice. Some insurance companies cover a loss estimated at 50,000 dollars reported by clients who pay a yearly premium of 175 dollars.

2)      Compare Rates Online

Now that you’ve managed to put all your concerns on paper and you know exactly what you’re afraid of, it may be a good idea to do your homework properly and start looking for the best deals on small business insurance. To attain this goal, you don’t even have to leave your house or your office.

With Insurance Quote Depot, you can get free online small business insurance quotes and compare rates. Afterwards, you can select your favorite carriers and schedule an appointment with a trustworthy insurance agent. The rest is easy! The right insurer will walk you through the entire process, enabling you to spot and purchase the best policies based on your real necessities, financial possibilities, concerns and risk factors.

3)      Rely on Expert Guidance Ensured by a Respectable Insurer

Not all small business policies are right for you. While some of them are a mandatory requirement and represent indispensable assets (like workers’ compensations, for instance), others may be a mere waste of money. For instance, cyber theft coverage may not make much sense to you if you don’t even have a business bank account. Moreover, you probably shouldn’t waste your hard-earned money on an errors and omissions insurance policy (suitable especially for businesses providing consulting services) if you own a small bistro.

You can choose to opt for a policy with a higher deductible (representing your out-of-pocket expenses in the event of an accident), leading to lower premiums. In fact, according to most insurers, this is a great strategy implemented to save money and pay up to 40% less on premiums on an annual basis.

To get your hands on the best small business insurance policy, discuss your options with representatives from your favorite insurance company.  This is the best method to avoid mistakes and impulse purchases. If you are worried that insurers could tend to favor certain carriers offering them bigger commissions, start by comparing small business insurance quotes on your own, to make an informed decision when it comes to buying insurance for your small company.