Every business needs to have insurance. There are many types of insurance products that a business will need. These include commercial property insurance, commercial vehicle insurance, workers compensation insurance, errors and omissions insurance and publicliabilityinsurance.com.au among others. Insurance is meant to protect the business from liabilities that may arise during the day to day running of the business. There are many insurance companies that offer all kinds of insurance policies for businesses, so when you need a policy, you need to carry out some background research on the company name, reputation, quality of products offered and many other things before you make your final decision.
What to Know About Liability Insurance
This is a type of insurance that offers protection to businesses against lawsuits that may be filed by suppliers, employees, or customers. The lawsuit can be due to injuries associated with a defective product, medical malpractice, slip and fall incident or errors & omissions committed by the business. It is important to note that lawsuits can destroy a business in a number of ways. First, the legal fees charged by the defense lawyer can put the business on its knees. Secondly, the court may award damages to the tune of hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. Most small businesses would have to file for bankruptcy and wind up due to the lawsuit.
If you would like to protect your business from the adverse effects of a lawsuit, it is imperative you purchase a suitable general liability policy. You will need to look for the right insurance company because you do not want to be inconvenienced later on. After all, there are some insurers that are known to reject claims or pay less than stated on the policy document.
Liability insurance usually pays for physical injuries, legal fees for the defense team and any damages the court may award. As you can see, these insurance benefits can ensure your business stays afloat even when facing a strong lawsuit.
What to Consider at the Time of Buying Liability Insurance
It is important to note that there are many insurance companies in every city, and they are not all the same. Since you want to be insured by the best insurance company, you’ll need to consider a variety of factors prior to making a decision. In this regard, the following are the most important factors to be taken into consideration:
i) Premiums
This is usually the most crucial factor to be taken into consideration when looking for an insurance product. Your business has limited capital, and you have to allocate the working capital efficiently. You can start by shopping around to identify the most affordable insurers. You can request quotes from different companies for the insurance policies they offer. Once you have the quotes, you can compare the quotes to identify the most affordable insurer. That said, affordability should not be the only factor of consideration as it does not make sense to get a cheap policy if it does not offer sufficient protection.
ii) Liabilities Covered
An insurance policy is meant to protect against liabilities or risks. Before you purchase a policy, you need to check all the liabilities that are covered by a policy. Liability insurance should cover legal fees, physical injuries and damages awarded by the court among other things. If a policy does not provide coverage for all these liabilities, and several others, it should be eliminated from your list. The ideal policy policy should provide coverage against all the liabilities that may arise from your interaction with the public; employees and clients included.
iii) Extent of Liability Coverage
An insurance policy may provide coverage for every possible liability that may arise, but the extent of liability coverage may be mediocre. Imagine purchasing a policy that only covers $50,000 in damages awarded by the court. Most personal injury lawsuits usually come with financial damages that are over $100,000, and there are still punitive damages. The legal fees can also be in the tens of thousands of dollars, so the ideal policy should provide reasonable coverage for all the liabilities that may arise. Be sure to do some research to learn about previous damages awarded by courts in public liability suits as well as the legal fees charged by different law firms and medical bills associated with slip and fall cases among other types of personal injury incidents.
iv) Reputation of the Insurer
There are many insurance companies in every city and they all claim to be the best. However, the truth is that some insurers can be considered the best with auto insurance, property insurance, health insurance, liability insurance and the likes. Therefore, you should make a list of at least a dozen top-ranked insurance companies that are known to offer the best public and general liability insurance. Once you have your list, you can start comparing the insurance companies to find the right firm for your needs. Be sure to read reviews, check ratings and go through testimonials prior to making a decision. Only highly rated insurance companies with many positive reviews and a lot of testimonials should get any consideration.
v) Litigation History
Insurers with a track record of refusing to pay claims are often sued by clients. For this reason, you have to pay attention to the number of lawsuits filed against the shortlisted insurance companies by their clients. Firms with numerous lawsuits should be avoided as they have a history of rejecting claims. After all, you don’t want to take your insurer to court just to get what is due to you.
While liability insurance is an incredibly important insurance policy. There are many others. For instance, you should purchase commercial property insurance to protect your business assets against burglaries, fire damage, vandalism, storm damage and other risks.
Commercial vehicle insurance, on the other hand, will protect your commercial fleet as well as the goods they transport. In addition to that, be sure to also sign up for workers compensation insurance to protect not just your employees, but also your business.
