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What is business insurance

It is very important for your business to be protected by business insurance so that you do not lose everythign due to some unfortunate circumstances such as the death of a partner or key employee, embezzlement, a lawsuit, or a natural disaster. In addition to the business insurance you may want to get a health and life insurance for yourself and your employees. If you or your employees are using personal vehicles for business then additional insurance may be required for those vehicles. Below is a brief discussion of types of insurance available to businesses:

General Liability Insurance

Your business should buy general liability or umbrella liability insurance to cover legal hassles due to claims of negligence. If a claim is made,your insruance policy will make payments as the result of bodily injury or property damage, medical expenses, the cost of defending lawsuits, and settlement bonds or judgments required during an appeal procedure.

Product Liability Insurance

Every product manufacturer throughly tests their products to make sure that no personal injury or property damages happen due to their products. But accidents happen and sometimes they are faked out of greed. Companies that manufacture, wholesale, distribute, and retail a product may be liable for its safety. Additionally, every service rendered may be capable of personal injury or property damage. Businesses are considered liable for negligence, breach of an express or implied warranty, defective products, and defective warnings or instructions.

Home-Based Business Insurance

If you have a home-based business then your homeowners' insurance policies will not generally cover home-based business losses. Commonly needed insurance areas for home-based businesses include business property, professional liability, personal and advertising injury, loss of business data, crime and theft, and disability.

Internet Business Insurance

If you have a web-based business then you may wish to look into specialized insurance that covers liability for damage done by hackers and viruses. In addition, e-insurance often covers specialized online activities, including lawsuits resulting from meta tag abuse, banner advertising, or electronic copyright infringement.

Worker's Compensation Insurance

Do you have employees? Then required in every state except Texas, worker’s compensation insurance pays for employees' medical expenses and missed wages if injured while working. The amount of insurance employers must carry, rate of payment, and what types of employees must be carried varies depending on the state . In most cases, business owners, independent contractors, domestic employees in private homes, farm workers, and unpaid volunteers are exempt.

Criminal Insurance

While you can protect your workplace with security guards and state of the alram systems, theft and malicious damage are still possibilities. This includes employee embezzlement. Criminal insurance and employee bonds can provide protection against losses in most criminal areas.

Business Interruption Insurance

What happens if your business is hit by a natural disaster such as an earthquake, fire, tornado or hurricane? Business interruption insurance can pay you for lost revenue for the time period your business was closed.

Key Person Insurance

What happens if the CEO or other key executives of your company die or become disabled? Your company may suffer losses because of their inability to perfrom their duties. You may want to explore a coverage, usually life insurance that names the corporation as a beneficiary if an essential person dies or is disabled.

Malpractice Insurance

This kind of insurance is usually needed by licensed professionals such as doctors, architects, financial advisors. They need protection against payments as the result of bodily injury or property damage, medical expenses, the cost of defending lawsuits, investigations and settlements, and bonds or judgments required during an appeal procedure.

Group Health Insurance

You may need this insurance for your employees. Having a health insurance plan can make you an attractive employer to your potential employees. It will also increase teh employee retention rate.

How to get business insurance

You can get a business insurance by either calling a local insurance agent or by shopping online. Some insurance companies may directly sell insurance by phone or online. Your state may also have insurance plans for workers compensation or unemployment.