14 Potential Risks Covered by Business Owners Insurance
A Business Owners Policy (BOP) combines business property and business liability insurance into one convenient policy. We’ll work with you to design coverage that protects your business from a variety of risks, unique to your industry. Here are 14 potential risks covered by business owners insurance:
1. Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI)
Risk Factor
On average, it’s estimated that three out of five businesses will be sued by their employees. While there is nothing you can do to prevent someone from filing a lawsuit, there is something you can do to limit the costs of defending a legal claim.
Solution
Obtain employment practices liability insurance to protect your business and its directors, officers, and employees from alleged employment-related acts such as wrongful termination, failure to promote, discrimination, and sexual harassment.
2. Environmental Insurance
Risk Factor
Could your business cause damage to the environment? If so, are you covered?
Solution
Environmental insurance provides protection if an environmental catastrophe occurs.
3. Cyber Liability
Risk Factor
The Internet has spun a whole new web of liability exposures. E-commerce, social networking, cloud storage, and other technologies bring great benefits to large and small businesses alike. But with these benefits also come challenges, including protection of privacy, data, and financial information of your customers.
Solution
Cyber liability coverage covers unauthorized access to electronic data or software within your network. It also provides coverage for spreading a virus, computer theft, extortion, or any unintentional act, mistake, error, or omission made by an employee. This coverage is quickly becoming more and more important as you embrace technology to help run your businesses.
4. Commercial Property
Risk Factor
Your business property is a significant financial investment. What if something happens to it?
Solution
Commercial property insurance can help protect the property your business owns or leases, including things like equipment, inventory, furniture, and fixtures. Whether you own your building or lease your workspace, commercial property insurance can be purchased separately or can be combined with other necessary coverage to protect your business’ physical assets.
5. Business Auto Insurance
Risk Factor
An auto accident can cause bodily injury or property damage to others for which you are responsible, potentially putting your business in financial jeopardy.
Solution
Business auto insurance provides coverage for vehicles owned or leased by a commercial enterprise and provides coverage for bodily injury, property damage, and other coverages, and includes both comprehensive and collision coverage.
6. Systems Breakdown
Risk Factor
With technology performing many tasks in today’s world, a breakdown can cause a significant financial burden, including the cost to repair the equipment, the interruption of your business, as well as any lost income and extra expenses.
Solution
Comprehensive coverage provides protection against equipment mechanical breakdown. Discuss the details of what’s covered with your insurance agent.
7. Business Income
Risk Factor
What would you do if a fire impacted the operation of your business? Or what if a pipe leak caused a system outage or extended downtime? These and other events can destroy your ability to serve clients and bring in revenue, which can have a major long-term impact on the viability of your business.
Solution
Business income insurance compensates you for lost income if the business cannot operate as normal due to damage that is covered under your commercial property insurance policy, such as fire or water damage. Business interruption insurance covers the revenue you would have earned, based on financial records, had the incident not occurred. The policy also covers operating expenses, like electricity, that continue even though business activities have come to a temporary halt.
8. Directors and Officers Liability Insurance (D&O)
Risk Factor
Directors and officers (such as board members) are exposed to increased risk factors and are held accountable for acts that claim negligence in the performance of their duties. Any resulting lawsuits are typically expensive to defend, resulting in potentially large settlements.
Solution
Obtain comprehensive coverage to protect senior individuals of your company. Directors and officers liability insurance provides coverage for the legal costs to defend a covered lawsuit and provides the money necessary for any settlement beyond the defense costs.
9. Workers’ Compensation
Risk Factor
If one of your employees receives an injury or becomes ill due to a work-related occurrence, you are required by law to have the proper coverage in place.
Solution
Workers’ compensation protects your employees should a job-related injury or sickness occur during the course of employment. This coverage is required by law, so be sure that you understand your obligations.
10. General Liability
Risk Factor
Businesses are susceptible to many risks, such as claims due to bodily injury, property damage, personal injury, and more.
Solution
General liability insurance is an absolute necessity for any business. It provides broad coverage when you are deemed responsible and liable, and will also pay to defend any covered lawsuit or action regardless of its merit.
11. Business Owners Policy (BOP)
Risk Factor
As a business owner, you’ve worked hard to build a solid business. But what happens when the unexpected happens? Are you covered?
Solution
A business owners policy is uniquely designed to protect your most important assets, including your business, its continuation, your employees, and your way of life. Discuss the details of this coverage with your agent and ensure that you’re protected.
12. Errors and Omissions Liability (E&O)
Risk Factor
If you perform services for others, you are at risk of not doing the work correctly (errors) or not doing it at all (omissions). Lawsuits can arise claiming the error or omission harmed your client and caused them a financial loss.
Solution
Errors and omission liability insurance protects any business that gives advice, makes educated recommendations, designs solutions, or represents the needs of others. Ensure you have this important coverage if you perform services for clients.
13. Crime and Fidelity Bond
Risk Factor
What will you do if one of your trusted employees is found guilty of doing something dishonest?
Solution
Crime and fidelity coverage is designed to provide coverage for employee dishonesty, forgery and depository, theft, destruction and disappearance, and more. Discuss the details of this coverage with your agents to learn more.
14. Commercial Umbrella
Risk Factor
What happens when your business faces a large liability loss that exceeds the basic limit of your standard policy?
Solution
A commercial umbrella policy provides high limits of insurance, typically between $2,000,000 and $10,000,000. Coverage is extended over your general liability insurance, workers’ compensation, business auto, as well as directors and officers liability coverage. It provides a great safety net and helps ensure that your business is well protected.
Get Coverage Today!
The Satanoff Agency is an independent insurance agency based in 41 states across the United States, working to supply our customers with quality assistance and insurance. Our independent agents offer their services to help you as the customer get the unique coverage you need.
To request a quote for business owners insurance, click here and we will have one of our agents contact you.
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