Every business is different, which means that each business’s needs should be different. Business insurance is a crucial component of protecting yourself as a business owner and your business and its employees. The type of insurance you get and the amount of insurance premium you pay should match your business. But how do you go about determining the types of insurance you need and how much to pay for them? This guide is here to help!
Home-based Business
Many successful businesses have started at home, but it is unfortunate to think that most home-based business owners do not believe insurance is essential. Your homeowners or house insurance will not cover business liability, and so you will need special business liability for things like your business equipment. You might also need to talk to your insurance provider to have them cover the home as business premises rather than a residential one.
Small Business
If you know most of your employees by name and have an annual business revenue of less than a few million dollars, you are likely operating a small business. Some insurers also consider businesses that have less than 50 employees to be small.
If you operate such a business, you will need a Business Owner’s Policy. Although you can customize your business insurance policy to include other types of insurance, many insurance companies offer a standardized insurance policy for small businesses. These policies protect against the risks most small businesses are likely to encounter.
Medium-Sized Business
If you have more than 50 and less than 500 employees, you are operating a medium-sized business. Your revenues are likely between $10 million and $1 billion, and your liabilities and risks are very different from those of a small business.
Because the needs of this business segment are very specific, insurance companies prefer that you talk to them so they can help you find the best policies and coverage. When looking for insurance for business in this segment, you are likely looking to protect equipment, protect the business from legal liability and protect your business from lost revenue in case of property damage that causes you to close your doors.
At this size, you should be talking to insurers who provide custom insurance for business. Reach out to their agents on their website and talk to them about your needs and they will come up with a quote that includes all the coverage you need.
Large Businesses
Large businesses typically have over 500 employees and a few billion in annual revenue. Because these businesses face complex and very expensive risks and liabilities, commercial insurance is right for them. Insurers will customize the commercial insurance to fit the needs of the specific business.
These businesses will also have people analyzing risks in the business and among employees and customers, and working with insurance companies to come up with coverage that protects against all these risks and liabilities.
Getting the right insurance depends largely on your business. The larger your business, the more liability and risk you have, and so the more the areas you need to be covered. Once your business is large enough, you can even start thinking of custom business and commercial insurance coverage.
