A Guide to Business Liability Insurance

One major consideration for any business owner is to purchase an insurance policy, in order to protect the company and its employees. However, there is a variety of business insurance available, ranging from property insurance, workers compensation, and health insurance. Choosing the right type of insurance while handling everyday business operations can be a daunting task.

Nevertheless, insurance is an important decision for any business owner. One of the most important types of insurance is business liability insurance, which protects the company against any negligence claims. When the company is sued by an angry client, business liability insurance can play a major role in reducing the damages caused by the resulting lawsuit. In short, business liability insurance protects the business against the chance that a lawsuit is filed, as a result of the company’s mistakes.

Types of Business Liability Insurance

Business liability insurance is a broad category that covers three different types, which include the following:

General Liability Insurance:
General liability insurance is a broad type of insurance that is designed to protect the business from a variety of claims. These claims can range from property damages, negligence, and injury that result from interaction from the company’s service.

Professional Liability Insurance:
For businesses and companies that offer a service, they may prefer obtaining professional liability insurance. This particular insurance, also known as errors and omission insurance, covers the business against malpractice and negligence. There are a wide variety of professions that would benefit from this insurance, such as doctors, lawyers, consultants, and real estate agents.

Product Liability Insurance:
In the case that the company offers a product or particular item for sale, they may want to consider investing in product liability insurance. This type of insurance protects against the instance that a customer is damaged or injured while using the product. The costs of product liability insurance will depend greatly on the industry and type of product, and the projected costs of damaged caused while using the product.

What to Know About Business Liability Insurance

Business owners have the option of choosing between two types of liability insurance policies. The first, known as “claims made”, allows the insurer to cover the costs of the claim, while the business is covered under their policy. Generally, these policies are defined by a time period, under which the provider and the business have an agreement. The second type, known as “occurrence”, requires that the insurance provider handles the claim at the time of the occurrence. This type of policy is best for businesses that anticipate an upcoming claim against their company.

In addition, companies would do well to understand what is and is not covered by their business liability insurance. In general, liability insurance policies will not cover the business in the chance of injury to a worker, or cases of pollution. During the negotiations process with an insurance provider, it is critical that the company understand what is within the limits of their policy.