Commercial

Commercial Property Insurance will cover your business buildings, business personal property, inventory and even business interruption.  Coverage is issued either on an actual cash value basis (depreciated) or replacement value basis (no depreciation).  The type, size and age of your building will help in determining which is appropriate for your needs. Here’s more information from the Insurance Information Institute.

Commercial General Liability Insurance will cover you if someone is injured at your business or from using your product or service.  Limits start at $100,000 and go up to $1,000,000.  Optional coverages are available that cover liquor liability, employment practices, pollution and cyber liability.

Commercial Umbrella Liability Policies provide an extra layer of protection after your underlying business liability limits are used up.  Umbrella policies start at $1,000,000 and can be increased in $1,000,000 increments.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance is required by state law if you have employees.  There is no minimum number of employees, so insurance is required even if you have one part-time employee.

There are certain exceptions to mandatory coverage.  These exceptions can be found here.

Failure to provide mandated coverage includes civil penalties and liability for medical expenses & other benefits to employees who are injured on the job.  Fines and other penalty information can be found here.

Independent Contractors in the building construction trades have special rules.  A guide to these laws can be found here.

Workers’ Compensation benefits include lost wages, medical expenses, compensation for loss of a body part and rehabilitation services.

Garage Liability is coverage for those in the business of selling or servicing motor vehicles.  Auto dealerships, auto repair garages and body shops are some of the businesses needing this coverage.  It covers your liability in the event someone is injured or you damage someone’s property in the course of your business.

Business Auto Insurance is similar to personal auto policies but covers your liability and physical damage to autos used in the course of your business.  Vehicles used primarily in the course of your business or owned by a business are required to have a Business Auto Insurance Policy.  You may want to include Hired or Non-owned Vehicles coverage to cover rented autos or employees’ autos while used in the course of your business. Here’s more information from the Insurance Information Institute.

Bonds are issued by insurance companies to guarantee payment to someone in the event someone defaults in their fiduciary responsibility.  A default occurs if someone misappropriates funds or does not fulfill the terms of a contract.

Inland Marine Insurance is used to insure certain types of commercial property such as contractor tools & equipment, property while in transit, property awaiting installation, certain types of specialty property and property of others while in your care or possession.  Here’s more information from the Insurance Information Institute.