Commercial Insurance Guide

Every business owner at some stage has to take out Commercial insurance, without insurance a business is at a significant risk of encountering financial losses and their business is at risk as long as they are uninsured.  There are different types of policies and different types of covers available and the type of policy changes depending on the nature of the business.  

With commercial insurance there cannot be a one size fits all as every business has different requirements and faces different risks.  Of course this does not mean that there are no standard policies, typically any business operating today will need both liability insurance and property insurance as standard but there are many subsequent, smaller policies that may need to be added to the policy.  Commercial or business cover is tailored to the business and business owners can choose the type of policy that is most suitable for their company.

Commercial insurance is one of the most important investments any business can make and there are many reasons why this is.  Unlike personal insurance a business is much more at risk from issues such as crime and vandalism and also due to the operations of many businesses they are at a considerably higher risk of accidents and property damage due to machinery or equipment that they may use.  

Expensive equipment contained on the business premises needs to be insured because unlike in the home, a break down or damage to equipment will not only cause inconvenience but can lead to a loss of profit or in extreme cases business disruption, when a business is unable to operate for a period of time as a result of the damages.

Another extremely important factor is liability, a business that operates and provides goods or services to others must be insured against third party claims made against them.  This could include such instances as a third party claim for injuries sustained whilst on the business premises or injuries which occur as a result of goods or services provided by that business.

There are two main types of insurance for businesses, the first, commercial property insurance deals with the premises and the property contained within the building as well as other movable property owned or operated by the company.

Property insurance guards against losses from damages that can occur for a number of reasons most commonly fire, floods, theft and vandalism.  There are many sub categories of insurance that fall under general property insurance to cover more specific types of business needs. These can include any of the following:

• Boiler and machinery insurance
• Debris removal
• Builders risk insurance
• Inland marine insurance
• Ordinance and law
• Tenants insurance
• Fidelity Bonds

There are also many different types of commercial liability insurance policies.  Liability insurance is in place to protect business owners when their business either directly or indirectly causes injuries or damages to a third party as well as providing cover for legal fees for claims made against the business and for the resolution of claims.

There are specialized types of liability insurance available also, such as malpractice insurance, automobile insurance, errors and omissions and directors and officers insurance.  For many businesses a general liability insurance policy will cover most of their business needs but a more specific type of cover may also be needed as an addition to the policy if it is not already covered.