Services

ALMOST ALL BUSINESSES NEED GENERAL LIABILITY INSURANCE

POLICIES TYPICALLY COVER YOU AND YOUR COMPANY FOR CLAIMS INVOLVING

• Lawsuits, Investigations and Settlements

• Medical Damages, Attorney Fees and Injury Damages resulting from Your Products, Services or Operations

• Abuse Coverage for Liability

• It may also cover you if you are held liable for Damages to your Landlord’s Property

Just keep in mind that the following typically are not protected:

• Employee Injuries

• Auto-Related Claims

• Intentional Acts

PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY INSURANCE 

POLICIES TYPICALLY COVER

Professional liability insurance protects businesses when employees make mistakes in the professional services they’ve provided to customers or clients. This coverage is also known as Errors and Omissions Insurance (E&O). Even if you’re an expert in your business, mistakes happen. And if your client or customer thinks a mistake in your professional services caused a financial loss, they can sue you.

WHY IS PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY INSURANCE IMPORTANT?

If your business offers professional services and you don't have professional liability coverage, you can be held liable if a customer believes you made a mistake. Even if it didn’t cause them financial loss, you can still get sued. Small business owners should consider having professional liability coverage because it protects businesses when they need it most. 

You should especially consider having this coverage if you:

• Provide professional services

• Offer advice to clients

• Are required to have complete coverage

PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY INSURANCE CAN HELP PROTECT AGAINST CLAIMS OF:

• Negligence

• Misrepresentation

• Inaccurate Advice

• Personal Injury

• Copyright Infringement

• Defense Costs

WHO NEEDS PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY INSURANCE COVERAGE? 

Professional liability insurance is an important coverage that business owners who provide a service to a client or customer should have. 

You’ll want to get professional liability insurance coverage if you:

• Have to sign a contract that requires you to carry coverage

• Offer professional services directly to customers

• Regularly give advice to clients

What is employment practices liability insurance (EPLI)?

Employment practices liability insurance, known in the trade as EPL insurance or EPLI, provides coverage to employers against claims made by employees alleging:

• Discrimination (based on sex, race, age or disability, for example)

• Wrongful termination

• Harassment

• Other employment-related issues, such as failure to promote

Large corporations typically have substantial employment practices insurance coverage in place and are prepared to deal with just about any employment lawsuit. However, small or new businesses are often the most vulnerable to employment claims.  That’s because they usually lack a legal department or employee handbook detailing the policies and procedures that guide hiring, disciplining or terminating employees.

New hires pose an employment practices liability risk

You're at risk of an employment claim from the moment you interview a prospective employee. For example, if you choose not to hire the interviewee, that individual could allege some sort of discrimination.  Or, if you hire that person and later fire them due to poor attendance, that discharged employee could claim wrongful termination.

To significantly lower your employment practices liability risk (PDF), consider the following:

• Review potential loss exposures with your insurance agent and purchase adequate employment practices liability insurance.

• Develop an employee handbook detailing your company's workplace policies and procedures, including attendance, discipline and complaints. The employee handbook should also contain an employment at-will statement and an equal employment opportunity statement.

• Create a job description for each position that clearly defines expectations of skills and performance.

• Conduct periodic performance reviews of employees and carefully note the results in the employee's file.

• Develop a screening and hiring program to weed out unsuitable candidates on paper before calling them to interview in person.

• Use an employment application that contains an equal employment opportunity statement along with a statement that if hired, employment will be "at-will." This means their employment can be terminated at any time, for any reason or for no reason at all, with or without notice. Also ensure that your employment application does not contain any age indicators, such as date graduated high school, as this could increase your risk for age discrimination claims.

• Conduct background checks on all possible candidates.

• Institute a zero-tolerance policy regarding discrimination, substance abuse and any form of harassment. Make sure you have an "open door" policy in which employees can report infractions without fear of retribution.

• Create an effective record-keeping system to document employee issues as they arise, and what the company did to resolve those issues.

More about employment practices liability insurance

The cost of insuring your business for EPLI coverage depends on a variety of factors, such as:

• The number of people you employ

• Whether you've had prior suits lodged against your company

• The percentage of employee turnover

• Whether you have established rules and practices in place

Depending on the size of your company, EPLI can be offered as an endorsement to a Businessowners policy (BOP) or a general liability policy. Also, a specific stand-alone policy can be written in conjunction with a BOP.

EPLI coverage is usually written on a claims-made basis. This means the incident resulting in the claim had to occur during the coverage period. Because employment claims often come months or even years after the alleged incident, your company might be vulnerable if your insurance coverage was dropped or if tail coverage (liability insurance that extends beyond the end of the policy period) wasn't purchased.

Almost every day, there is news of another data breach or cyber crime impacting a major corporation or government entity.  But it's not just large organizations that are susceptible to being hacked or getting a virus. Did you know that 55% of small businesses have experienced a data breach and that 53% have had multiple breaches?

A data breach can damage more than just your small-business computer system – it also can damage your reputation and put your customers and/or employees at risk. That's why cyber insurance can be a smart precaution for any size business.

WHAT DOES CYBER INSURNACE COVER?

Cyber insurance generally covers your business' liability for a data breach involving sensitive customer information, such as Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, account numbers, driver's license numbers and health records.

Besides legal fees and expenses, cyber insurance typically helps with:

• Notifying customers about a data breach

• Restoring personal identities of affected customers

• Recovering compromised data

• Repairing damaged computer systems

PROTECT YOUR BUSINESS PROPERTY WITH COMMERCIAL PROPERTY INSURANCE

• A fire could destroy your building and the contents inside

• A burst water pipe could damage valuable documents

• A storm could damage your outdoor sign

Whether you own your freestanding building, lease an office or work at home business property insurance protects your business' physical assets.

What's covered by commercial property insurance

• Your Building 

• Your Outdoor Sign

• Your Furniture and Equipment

YOU NEED COMMERCIAL AUTO LIABILITY INSURANCE IF:

• Your business owns, leases or rents any vehicles

• Employees drive company-owned, leased or rented vehicles

• Employees drive their own vehicles while conducting business

• You or your employees drive company cars for both business and personal use

It’s required in most states

Business auto liability insurance helps cover the financial responsibility if you or an employee is at fault in an accident and people are injured or their property is damaged. A minimum amount of commercial auto liability insurance (or proof of financial responsibility) is required in most states.

Some states also require underinsured motorist and uninsured motorist coverage to protect you when the at-fault driver is unable to pay the total cost. Collision or comprehensive insurance is often optional.

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION INSURANCE POLICIES PROVIDE COVERAGE FOR

• Medical Expenses

• Lost Wages

• Rehabilitation Costs 

To Employees who are injured or become ill “in the course and scope” of their job

• It also pays death benefits to families of employees who are killed on the job