The Types of Insurance for Small Businesses: A Quick Guide

Are you running a small business and want to know what types of insurance you should get? We can help.

Obtaining insurance is an important part of opening up a new business. Different policies protect you from different things, so it can be difficult to look broadly at small business insurance and decide what you need.

In this post, we’re going to discuss the different types of insurance for small businesses to help you get the lay of the land and decide what’s best for your new company. Insurance is a tricky subject, so keep reading and let us clear things up for you.

General Liability Insurance

Although it’s not legally required for your business to have it, general liability insurance for businesses is always recommended. It protects your business if a third party sustains an injury as a result of being visiting your business, using your products, or enlisting your services.

It covers bodily harm, property damage, and advertising injuries like libel or slander. If your business is in an industry where an injury is more likely to occur, like construction or warehousing, then you’d be remiss not to take out a general liability insurance policy.

Commercial Property Insurance

In order to properly protect your physical property, like your office and all of its contents, you’ll need commercial property insurance. The only scenario where you might forego this type of insurance is when you run a small startup out of your home with low overhead.

It’s meant to protect you against things like theft, fire, vandalism, and some natural disaster. If you live in a part of the country susceptible to natural disasters, you may have to purchase separate flood or earthquake insurance.

Workers’ Comp Insurance

If you’ve got employees working for your business, then you legally need to have workers’ compensation insurance. This is set up to compensate your employees if they sustain any injury while on the job. It covers things like medical expenses, ongoing medical care, and missed wages as a result of a workplace injury.

Failing to have workers’ comp insurance set up can result in major fines and even criminal penalties. It may seem more geared towards employees rather than employers, but having workers’ comp insurance will help cover your legal expenses if an employee decides to sue as a result of their injuries.

Professional Liability Insurance

Everyone makes mistakes, but when a business does it, they’re at risk of having legal action taken against them. Professional liability insurance will cover your legal expenses should a customer sue because of a mistake that your business made in providing its professional services.

Which Types of Insurance for Small Businesses Do You Need?

Insuring a business is enough to give any entrepreneur a headache, but learning how to buy insurance that helps you operate is a necessary evil. These are a few important types of insurance for small businesses, but what you choose to insure depends on what kind of business you run. Do your own research into each type and figure out which ones are best for you.

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