Property back to top
Property coverage is one of the easier kinds of Business Insurance to understand because you are insuring something tangible - something you can see and touch. With this coverage, you can insure:
- Building or Structure
- Contents of the building (also known as Business Personal Property)
- Can be anything that does not leave the premises such as furniture, equipment, tools, etc.
- Personal Property of Others in the building
- If you have clients that visit your building or dropping their
- Improvements or Betterments to the building made on your behalf
General Liability back to top
General Liability covers your business for the legal liability associated with your daily business operations as well as your finished products and/or services. It is specifically limited to bodily injury and property damage. Standard exclusions exist for auto and workers' compensation since they should be insured separately.
Business Auto / Truck back to top
Business Auto Insurance covers the unique risks associated with autos used in a business. Business autos are used entirely differently than personal autos, which is why most personal auto policies do NOT cover business use. If your business owns vehicles, or if your personal vehicles are used in a business capacity, you need business auto coverage. Autos can be personal passenger type autos, pickups, trucks, semi-trucks, and all trailers. Coverage is available for your vehicles plus damages to other vehicles, property, and people you cause.
Workers' Compensation back to top
This insurance protects your employees from work related injuries and it protects your business from employee lawsuits. It provides certain levels of coverage not just for healthcare expenses, but also disability and lost time/wages. Workers' compensation is mandatory for any business with 3 or more employees in Virginia, or 1 or more employees in Maryland. A good summary in layman's terms can be found on Hartford's web site by clicking here.
Umbrella Liability back to top
Provides additional liability coverage over your general liability, auto liability, and even employer’s liability.
Employment Practices Liability back to top
Employment Practices Liability insurance covers events such as sexual harassment (from employer or other employee), discrimination, wrongful termination, etc.
Business Income and Extra Expense back to top
Did you know many businesses that loose a building can never open back up even if their building was insured? Why? The answer is they simply can not afford the down time between when they loose the building and when it is rebuilt and restocked. Many times they have lost 6, 12, or even 24 months of income and have incurred large new expenses such as rental of temporary space or storage. They find that without the income, they can't pay the debt payments on the building or equipment that was lost. They also loose key employees in the process since they can't afford to keep them working in the meantime. Additionally, what if you have a critical piece of equipment that has an extra long lead time to replace?
Business Income and Extra Expense coverage is meant to cover this exposure. This coverage is arranged in several different ways, but the basis is simple: it covers 1) your lost net income, 2) your continuing operating expenses (mortgage, key employees, etc), and 3) any additional expenses you would not have normally incurred. Simply put, Property insurance puts your building back up -Business Income insurance puts your business back up.
Flood back to top
Loss by flood is not covered under your Property policy. It is that simple! Many storms and hurricanes have proven that you do not need to be near water to have a flood loss. A flood does not have to be caused by storm surge. Simply too much rain causes flooding in many areas not normally associated with water.
Employee Dishonesty back to top
Covers loss due to employee theft or other acts of dishonesty. This insurance can, if specified, provide the necessary coverage for ERISA compliance (Employee Retirement Income Security Act).
Data Processing (Computers and Software) back to top
Covers hardware, software, and the expense of putting the two together. Computer hardware can be covered under Business Personal Property, however software and data are not. Depending upon your needs, software can be expensive, plus the data is what is truly valuable to your business. Restoring data and reloading software are covered under the Extra Expense portion of this coverage.
Errors and Omissions for Professionals back to top
Covers errors of commission and omission for professional services. Professionals who typically need this coverage are architects, engineers, accountants, lawyers, insurance agents, real estate agents, bankers, etc.
Transportation and Cargo back to top
Your Business Personal Property (Contents) is NOT covered while away from your premises. Likewise, neither is the property of your customers that you are transporting. If you have multiple locations and transport between them, or if you pick up or deliver customer's property, or if you move your property to and from a job site, this insurance fills the this gap for you. Many times this can be added to your Property coverage with a sublimit.
Bonds back to top
Bonds are a kind of insurance. There are performance bonds and contract bonds which are sometimes needed to ensure you will in fact finish the job you started. Many times these are needed for government contracts. Bid bonds are needed to be provided with a bid proposal, which indicates that if you do win the contract, you can be bonded. There are many other kinds of bonds as well.
Key Person Insurance (Life Insurance) back to top
Not to be confused with group life insurance, key person insurance is used to protect your business from the effects of the death of a key employee, partner, or owner. When a key person is lost, many times business suffers. Key customers may go elsewhere. There are transition costs to hire a replacement and get them trained. There can be costs associated with buying out the interests of an owner that are dictated in a buy-sell agreement. If the company must buy back the interests of an owner, it must either have the capital to do so or be able to borrow the money. Key Person Insurance provides the funding for these needs.
Benefits
Group Insurance Basics back to top
Group insurance is the most applicable to a business. By establishing a group, a company can add employees to their policy without going through a lengthy application process. The policy is already in place, you simply add the employee. There is of course an application process to get the policy started.
Group Health Insurance back to top
Group health insurance really needs no introduction, but needs a LOT of explanation. This coverage can come in the form of old fashioned hospitalization only policies, high deductible plans, health savings plans, health reimbursement accounts, and many others. All this is far beyond the high-level scope of this overview, which is why you have us! Be sure to contact us and ask for our health insurance specialist.
Group Life Insurance back to top
Group Life Insurance is a simple employee benefit. Usually this coverage is for one year of the employee's salary. It can be paid by the employee or the employer or shared, however you want to set it up. It is a nice gesture to the family of an employee should the unfortunate happen. Coverage usually decreases with age, starting around 70, and goes away at a specified point.
Group Disability Insurance back to top
If an employee becomes disabled, this insurance pays for a portion of the employees salary (usually 2/3). The key thing to remember here is you are insuring the salary. Depending upon the policy it can take into account other sources of disability income such as social security and reduce payments accordingly. There is short term disability which kicks in after about 15 days, and long term disability which kicks in after about 90 days.
Group Long Term Care Insurance back to top
If an employee becomes disabled, they not only lose salary (disability insurance), but they also incur expenses that are at times not covered by healthcare. That is where long term care insurance comes in. Long term care insurance covers things such as nursing home, nursing care, daily needs such as eating, bathing, dressing, and care for those with mental issues such as Alzheimers. Long Term Care also covers needs for the normal process of aging. For example, nursing homes are covered under long term care.
Long term care is a highly UNDERsold coverage. Most everyone will need long term care at some time, yet many people do not carry it. Medicare covers some expenses, but falls well short of covering all. Medicaid is reserved for after your assets have been depleted. Long term care protects those assets. It is a benefit that allows a business to attract and retain key employees.
