Choosing Insurance for Your Small Business

Small businesses often find themselves in a situation wherein spending for something immaterial becomes a difficult decision. Indeed, it may not be as fancy as picking up a fancy new sports car to represent the company's CEO or upgrading the office interiors to make it feel less of a harsh working environment, but buying different insurance products for the protection of your business and employees should be on the top of every manager and owner's list of purchases. You may not know it yet, but a possibility exists that you or your company may be liable for some circumstances surrounding your employees, and when the time comes that something does happen, you have to be armed to the teeth with layers of protection that will cover any monetary liability.

Begin assessing your business' insurance needs by looking at its physical representation: your office. Ensure that your building's fire insurance is adequate in handling even the building's contents. If you're leasing space, you usually have to file a policy of your own (apart from the landlord's insurance for the building) for the contents of your office. Keep an up to date, accurate inventory of all of your furniture and fittings as well as all important equipment pertaining to your business close at hand. It is considered good practice to notify your insurance company of any additional equipment that you recently purchased so that they can endorse your policy and increase its coverage.

The next thing to consider would be Comprehensive General Liability, which might be a requirement in your municipality, as the pricing and application of CGL is a case to case basis. CGL is the coverage that responds to situations such as food poisoning (if you're in the restaurant business), reimbursements for medical bills associated with a customer slipping inside your store and banging his head on the floor because of a wet spot, etc. For the safety of your employees, you may want to consider Personal Accident coverage as well, which gives them adequate coverage against any unforeseen circumstances that would lead to them getting into an accident or losing any body parts.

Finally, if the company deems it necessary to provide additional protection for its senior management (if applicable), Director's and Officer's Liability is a viable option for protection against incidents that would place them in a legally and monetarily compromising position, such as lawsuits, harassment charges and the like. It's been said a million times before, but an ounce of prevention really is worth an ounce of cure especially if your business is on the line.