What Exactly is Commercial Insurance?

So what is Commercial Insurance?

Put very simply, Commercial Insurance is protection for your business. From new start businesses to those well established; an unexpected event could destroy your business if adequate cover isn’t in place.

With so many insurance products and providers, it would be easy to think Commercial Insurance was a complicated matter. It doesn’t however need to be this way. Commercial Insurance can easily be broken down into 3 keys areas:

1. Keep it legal
2. Protection
3. How to buy

Keep it legal

Certain types of cover are required by law. Employers Liability insurance, which covers claims from employees for accidents and sickness they may suffer as a result of working for your business, is one type of cover that must be purchased. You will also need to purchase at least third-party motor insurance for all motor vehicles used by the company.

Protection

Ensuring you have the right cover and protection is vital so time should be taken to ensure you find a policy (or policies) that give you exactly the level of cover you require. This again need not be a complicated task if you break down your requirements:

Insure your people – many firms are often dependent on the people they employ. Insurance is available which will protect the business in the event of employees being unable to work. Types of cover available include Keyman insurance, income protection, directors & officers insurance and private health & critical illness cover.

Insure the common risks – certain risks are common to all businesses. These include fire, theft and equipment failure. It is worth investigating (or getting someone to investigate for you) whether common risks such as buildings and contents insurance, cover for money and goods in transit and business interruption insurance can be covered under an all-risks type policy. This may save your business time as well as money.

Specialist cover – depending on your industry and requirements, policies can often be packaged together with some even being industry specific with packages tailored to cover specialist sectors like engineering or manufacturing. Other specialist cover available includes public and product liability and professional indemnity cover.

How to buy

Commercial Insurance is more often than not purchased using an Insurance Broker. The benefit of using a Broker is that they are insurance professionals who can recommend policies to you whilst searching the market to find you the best possible deal.

A good Broker will offer a personalized service and will understand your needs and that of your business. When looking for an insurance provider it is often worth checking to see if they are well established, have schemes with the leading insurance companies and whether they offer a local and personalized service.

If you follow these simple tips then the chances are you and your business wil get the right cover, protection and peace of mind.

This article was written by Mark Burdett, Marketing Manager of Northern Counties Insurance Brokers. Mark has over 17 years Marketing experience in the Financial Services industry and has worked on campaigns for companies including Norwich Union, Kia and Zurich.

Now based in Newcastle upon Tyne Mark is Marketing Manager for one of the UK's Leading Insurance Brokers - Northern Counties Insurance Brokers.

Northern Counties have been providing Business Insurance to businesses since 1928 and can be contacted on 0191 482 1219 for all your Commercial Insurance and Business Insurance needs.

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Internet Liability Insurance

Any type of business needs the protection of insurance to secure it against various hazards. Business by its very nature is a financially risky proposition, thus needs to be safeguarded for growth and profitability. An Internet or online business is very different from traditional brick and mortar business as it has no solid spatial structure and does not have customer footfalls.

Internet Businesses:

Most Internet businesses are home based or run from specially rented or owned space. The equipment required is minimal. The whole thing is based around the computers. With the ever-changing technology, even the big, bulky computers have been converted into sleek, portable, technically advanced laptops. Homeowners’ insurance may cover basic business equipment such as personal computer, laptop and related computer equipment.

Once the primary or major business component is taken care of against loss or physical damages, there arises the need to protect the Internet business with some type of specific insurance policy. Some of the most common types of insurance policies for businesses include property insurance, liability insurance, malpractice insurance, worker’s compensation insurance and prepaid legal insurance. The other type of insurances includes health, dental, vision or life insurance covers for business owners and employees. On analyzing your business type, situation and knowledge of various types of insurance cover, you can determine the type of business insurance best suited to your Internet business.

Property Insurance:

Property insurance cover is necessary if you lease or finance business property for running the Internet business. If the business is run from home with minimal equipment, then homeowner’s policy will take care of that. If your home office business equipment is expensive, it may be insured against damage or theft. If the equipment is minimal then to purchase a policy to specifically cover it may prove to be a poor financial policy, as you will end up paying higher insurance premiums.

Liability Insurance:

Liability can arise in any business. Liability insurance takes care of the risk arising from any product or service offering provided to customers. You may decide to purchase this insurance depending on the element of risk inherent in your offering.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance:

This is required for most businesses that have employees on their rolls. The requirements vary in different states depending on the number of employees. The insurance pays for workers’ medical expenses and lost wages if the injury is sustained on the job.

Malpractice Insurance:

Also known as professional liability insurance, it is required by firms providing professional services that require licensing. These include services like counseling, medical services, architectural services, etc.

Prepaid Legal Insurance:

This type of insurance covers legal expenses such as attorney and retainer fees and can be quite useful for certain types of businesses.

Internet businesses are a comparatively recent phenomenon. Owners should take advantage of the insurance coverage provided by various plans. Do also purchase insurance for aspects that are mandated by law.

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