Essential Small Business Insurance

This insurance helps protect your business if an employee is injured, contracts an illness, or dies as a result of an incident on the job. It can cover medical costs, legal fees, and lost wages due to the injury.

Also known as commercial liability insurance, a general liability policy is important. The policy covers damages and legal costs associated with injury claims by customers and other people you don’t employ, damage to other people’s property that was caused by your business, and medical costs associated with these incidents. It also covers libel, slander, and copyright infringement. Plus, there are endorsements you can add to customize your policy, including cyber, hired and non-owned auto liability, employment-related practices liability, and employee benefits liability.

Also called property & liability insurance, a business owners policy (BOP) combines general liability insurance with coverage for your company’s property. You'll get protection for the building you own, space you lease, and any property needed to run your business, while also receiving coverage for things like business interruption. This can replace lost income, as well as cover other costs associated with getting your business back up and running after suffering property damage, such as the use of a temporary location. You can also tailor your BOP with add-ons including cyber, hired and non-owned auto liability, employment-related practices liability, and employee benefits liability.

Also known as errors and omissions (E&O) insurance, this policy could protect you from the cost of damages and legal fees when someone claims your professional service caused financial harm to them or their business. Coverage includes both mistakes on the part of your business (errors) and the failure to perform a service (omissions). Professional liability insurance should be considered if your business provides professional advice, offers a professional service, or has contractual requirements for the coverage.

If your company owns or leases vehicles, this policy protects your business. This type of insurance can provide coverage for your legal fees and the medical costs of others if your employee is at fault in an accident. It can cover the cost of damages even if the vehicle is used for personal activities outside of its primary business use.

This coverage can be purchased as an add-on to a general liability, errors and omissions, or BOP policy. It helps cover costs related to system hacks or data security breaches in which sensitive information has been stolen and fraud has occurred or there is a reasonable expectation that it might occur.

Every insurance policy you purchase has a maximum value that it will cover in the event of an incident. Umbrella insurance adds another layer of protection: it can cover costs that exceed the limit of another liability policy, subject to its own limit. Without it, you may be responsible for anything over your policy limit. Business liability suits can easily exceed the actual value of many small businesses, so we highly recommend an umbrella policy to protect your company.