Owning a business, you may be eminently cost-conscious and looking for any way to keep your cost down, but a successful and seasoned business person have learned, cutting costs by nixing business insurance is a bad idea. Business insurance is a vital and critical component in building a successful and sustainable business.
Having the right coverage at that crucial moment can protect your business from sudden and imminent demise. Below we will discuss five real-life cases where proper coverage can make the difference between the continuation of your company and the end of the road of your company.
Your data or files are compromised.
It happens. Computer drives burn out and bad code get through your virus and malware protections. What would you do when the important data and files get compromised? Yes, the “cloud” has mitigated some of the anxiety out of having only one copy of a file stored in a single location but remember that proprietary information may not be completely secure when accessed over remote servers.
Many business owners’ insurance policies may cover the property side, meaning equipment (servers, computers, screens) and media (physical disks where data is stored), but you should keep in mind that Cyber Liability insurance can help with the cost of recovering lost data.
Your business location is burglarized or damaged.
It can happen to your startup business or your business that has been around for years. Companies are four times as likely to get burglarized than homes. What happens to your business when equipment or inventory is stolen or damaged? The best-case scenario, if you have the appropriate coverage, insurance provides payment to allow the replacement of property. The worst case, this type of trouble can be the end of the road for a business without insurance coverage.
Theft, fire, flood and other perils can bring your business to a standstill, but when you the appropriate property insurance coverage can lessen the blow when these hazards occur. Business interruption insurance, which helps with payrolls, bills and lost profit, will also help you keep your team together while your business regroups from misfortune.
Employee is injured or becomes ill.
There are two policies that will help you out when your staff members face health challenges. Workers’ compensation insurance, which is mandated in the state of Illinois, whenever you hire an employee. This insurance provides protection that can help employees return to work in better health after a work-related injury or illness.
The second kind of policy is, key person insurance. This insurance provides coverage when your business depends heavily on the specialized skills or knowledge of one or a few members of the team. Key Person insurance will help your company whether the disturbance is caused by the temporary or permanent loss of a crucial member of the team due to a prolonged illness or even death.
A client gets injured on the property where you conduct business.
You can and will take every precaution, but you can not plan for missteps. Unfortunately, the unexpected does happen. You might have clients, company representatives and other visitors come into your workspace or you might have someone come in to fix something and the unthinkable happens; someone gets hurt.
A general liability policy would have to be in place to cover this kind of loss. You can turn this over to the insurance company, send flowers and return to your primary mission without having to worry about trying to pay for the medical bills on top of all your other concerns.
If you run your business out of your home, please note that your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy probably will not cover you in this instance, while a business owner’s policy will help you cover all your bases.
A client decides that your work did not fulfill contracted obligations.
You may have worked with a client for years or it could be your first project, but all your efforts to be attentive can backfire and suddenly your client decides that the work your company did was not up to their standards.
Having an errors and omissions liability insurance policy, can help after you have exhausted all reasonable means of satisfying your lawful agreements. You can let the client choose the course of action and know that if they do choose to name you or your company in a suit, your insurance company has your back.
Don’t think your company is exempt from these situations or that business insurance is not essential for your company. It’s Murphy’s Law, if you don’t have insurance, something is bound to go wrong, but if you have it, everything will be fine. The licensed agents at R.C. Keller & Company are ready to help make sure your business has the correct insurance coverage. Give us a call today at 847-907-4520.