As a business owner, you need the same kinds of insurance coverages for the car you use in your business as you do for a car used for personal travel -- liability, collision and comprehensive, medical payments (known as personal injury protection in some states) and coverage for uninsured motorists.
In fact, many business people use the same vehicle for both business
and pleasure. If the vehicle is owned by the business, make sure the
name of the business appears on the policy as the "principal insured"
rather than your name. This will avoid possible confusion
in the event that you need to file a claim or if a claim is filed against you.
Whether you need to buy a business auto insurance policy
will depend on the kind of driving you do. A good insurance
agent will ask you many details about how you use vehicles
in your business, who will be driving them and whether employees, if
you have them, are likely to be driving their own cars for your business.
While the major coverages are the same, a business auto policy
differs from a personal auto policy in many technical respects.
Ask your insurance agent to explain all the differences and options.
If you have a personal umbrella liability policy, there's
generally an exclusion for business related liability.
Make sure you have sufficient auto liability coverage.
Unfortunately for every business owner, the chances of getting
sued have dramatically increased in the last decade. General Liability
insurance can prevent a legal suit from turning into a financial
disaster by providing financial protection in case your business is
ever sued or held legally responsible for some injury or damage.
General Liability pays losses arising from real or alleged bodily
injury, property damage, or personal injury on your
business premises or arising from your operations.
Broad Range of General Liability Protection
Workers compensation laws were created to ensure that employees
who are injured on the job are provided with fixed monetary awards.
This eliminates the need for litigation and creates an easier process for the employee. It also helps control the financial risks for employers since many states limit the amount an injured employee can recover from an employer.
Workers Compensation Insurance is designed to help companies pay
these benefits. As a protection for employees, most states require that employers carry some form of Workers Compensation Insurance.
Workers Compensation Insurance is not health insurance. Workers Compensation is designed specifically for injuries sustained on the job.
In most states, if you have employees, you are required to carry
Workers Compensation coverage. Even in non-mandatory states,
it can be a very good idea, particularly if you have many
employees, or if they are engaged in hazardous activities.
Do I need workers compensation insurance?
Employers have a legal responsibility to their employees to
make the workplace safe. However, accidents happen
even when every reasonable safety measure has been taken.
To protect employers from lawsuits resulting from workplace
accidents and to provide medical care and compensation
for lost income to employees hurt in workplace accidents, in almost every state businesses are required to buy workers compensation insurance.
Workers compensation insurance covers workers injured on the
job, whether they're hurt on the workplace premises or elsewhere, or
in auto accidents while on business. It also covers work-related illnesses.
Workers compensation provides payments to injured workers, without
regard to who was at fault in the accident, for time lost from work
and for medical and rehabilitation services. It also provides death
benefits to surviving spouses and dependents.
Each state has different laws governing the amount and duration of lost income benefits, the provision of medical and rehabilitation services and how the system is administered. For example, in most states there are regulations that cover whether the worker or employer can choose the doctor who treats the injuries and how disputes about benefits are resolved.
Workers compensation insurance must be bought as a separate policy. Although in-home business and business owners policies (BOPs) are sold as package policies, they don't include coverage for workers' injuries.
Commercial property insurance is a policy for businesses
and other organizations that insures against damage to their
buildings and contents due to a covered cause of loss, such as a fire.
The policy may also cover loss of income or increase in expenses
that results from the property damage (PD). Commercial property
policies may be written on standard or nonstandard forms.
Do you or your business provide professional services or advice
to other businesses or individuals? Could your counsel or service
lead to losses by your client for which you could be held responsible?
If so, you’ll likely want to purchase professional liability insurance,
also known as errors and omissions insurance (E&O). Claims not
covered by general liability insurance that are covered by professional
liability insurance include negligence, misrepresentation, violation
of good faith and fair dealing, and inaccurate advice.
In some states, professional liability insurance is required,
especially for attorneys and doctors. Legal and medical malpractice
insurance policies are special types of professional liability insurance.
There are two types of professional liability polices: claims-made and occurrence. Most professional liability insurance policies are “claims-made,” meaning that the policy must be in effect both when the event took place and when a lawsuit is filed for a claim to be paid. If, however, you change careers or retire, you may want to purchase an “occurrence” policy that will cover any claim for an event that took place during the period of coverage—even if the suit is filed after the policy lapses. Professional liability insurance will pay the cost of legal defense against claims and payment of judgments against you, up to the limit of the policy. In general, coverage does not extend to non-financial losses or losses caused by intentional or dishonest acts. Other fees, such as licensing board penalties, may also be included. Policies will generally have a deductible ranging from $1,000 to $25,000. The amount of professional liability insurance you will need and how much it will cost depends upon the size of your business and the level of risk it poses.
Source : Insurance Information Institute
An umbrella can help protect against catastrophic lawsuits or judgements. It can also help cover legal fees, libel and slander allegations and may even provide some coverage if you are on a not for profit board of directors. An umbrella or excess liability policy is one that adds that extra layer or blanket over your standard policies. An umbrella usually extends coverage worldwide as well.
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