Understanding & Assessing Potential Risks Your Business May Face
Owning a business is exciting. Being your own boss brings financial freedom and a sense of control when it comes to the future. In addition to the seemingly endless opportunities, smart business owners must also be ready for unexpected risks along the way.
All businesses face potential pitfalls that could impact operations and growth. The best business plans not only address ways to attain goals and achieve success, they also identify potential risks, and have plans-of-action in place if and when risks occur.
No business owner wants to be caught off guard with a lawsuit or liability claim. That’s why it’s important to have a robust business insurance policy to protect your valuable assets. Wondering what to do? Simply follow these three steps to help safeguard your future.
1. Meet Annually With Your Insurance Agent
Your insurance agent is on your side. They want your business to grow and flourish. Meeting with them at least once a year is a great way to determine if you’re still making the best insurance decisions for your company.
Sitting down and discussing new, potential risks that could arise as your business encounters change helps you assess what types of policies should be added to current coverage. Businesses sometimes grow rapidly, which opens the door to all sorts of unexpected risks. Having the right business liability insurance in place offers protection against potential losses.
2. Develop a Plan With Practical Ways to Protect Against Identified Risks
Once you and your agent identify all the possible risks that could affect the day-to-day livelihood of your business, the next step is seeing if your insurance policies offer proper coverage for them. Most likely, not every single identified risk will occur, but you need to have a plan in place if they do.
A knowledgeable agent will help you explore ways to better manage, and hopefully minimize, potential risk factors. For example, having a disaster plan, or business continuity plan, provides peace of mind in case a life-altering event happens which could seriously impact your business. If your company uses heavy equipment and machinery, or has a fleet of vehicles, make sure they are properly maintained to ensure up-to-date safety protocols.
When your business has smart insurance strategies, and you understand how to mitigate risk, it’s better for everyone – you, your employees, customers, vendors and all your business partners.
3. Choose the Right Coverage For Your Business
Since every business faces unique challenges and risks, no two businesses will have the exact same insurance packages. Even though many businesses seek industry-specific insurance coverage, there are tried-and-true basic insurance policies that keep most businesses well covered against common liabilities and risks. Plus, these policies can be tailored to the needs of a specific industry, whether it’s retail, manufacturing, tech, finance, etc.
Business Owner’s Policy (BOP)
Many small businesses start out with a Business Owner’s Policy (BOP), which conveniently combines three must-have insurance protections – general liability, commercial property, and business income.
If you’re wondering what each policy covers, we’re going to briefly discuss each one, then explain how other policies can provide additional business protection.
General Liability
General liability insurance protects your business from claims caused by bodily injury, property damage, and some types of personal injury, such as libel or slander.
Commercial Property
Commercial property insurance protects your owned or rented office or warehouse space, plus the equipment used to run your business.
Business Income
Business income insurance helps replace any lost income if you’re unable to operate your business due to a covered property claim. This coverage helps pay rent, payroll, and utility bills.
Professional Liability
Professional liability insurance covers lawsuit claims stating that mistakes or errors occurred with provided business services.
Workers’ Compensation
Workers’ compensation insurance gives employees benefits if they get hurt or sick on the job. These benefits pay for medical bills, ongoing care, lost wages, and funeral expenses.
Data Breach
Data breach insurance helps your business respond to a cyber leak situation where personally identifiable information gets stolen or lost. These policies cover costs to notify impacted individuals, and the fees attributed to identity theft monitoring.
Commercial Auto
Commercial auto insurance protects you and employees on the road when driving company-owned business vehicles. It can also cover property damage and bodily injury claims caused by an auto accident.
Commercial Umbrella
Commercial umbrella insurance extends coverage limits on certain liability policies. For example, if a particular claim exceeds policy limits, umbrella coverage should help pay the difference.
Implement Your Business Plan with Williams and Case Insurance Agency
If you own a business, or are thinking of opening one, it’s vital to have proper business protection insurance. It can seem overwhelming at times deciding what policy types and coverage limits are best. That’s why you should contact the helpful team at Williams and Case Insurance. They’ll work with you to customize an insurance package that puts you and your business needs first.
Want to learn more? Check out the commercial business insurance policies currently available through Williams and Case.