The Startup Magazine Why Your Business Needs the Correct Insurance

Businesses are all about profit, but they are also all about risk. Employees can be injured on the job, customers can be injured in a store, a natural disaster could floor your business, road accidents can plague trucks on the road – risks are a natural consequence of running a business. For these reasons, and others, you need to ensure that you are protecting your business and all of its assets.

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Insurance is the way to do it, and there’s not just one type of insurance your business needs to invest in. From public liability insurance providers to leading fleet insurance providers, there are insurance products that you need to pay attention to to avoid legal issues. You have to ensure that your business insurance is listed in your business plan if you want to stay ahead of the game. Are you still on the fence about insurance coverage? Below, you’ll find every reason you need to invest in good business coverage:

1. 1. 1. Legally, you have to! The first and only reason you need insurance? It’s the law. The law says that you need to provide workers’ compensation insurance, unemployment, public liability and more. If you’re running a fleet, you need vehicular insurance, too, to protect your workers on the road, your bank account should there be an accident and the public. Your failure to carry the right insurance could end in criminal penalties if you’re not careful, which could prevent you from running any other business.
      2. Someone could sue you. Are you intending to have to pay out a lot of money after you’re sued? Of course, not! While it may not seem fair that we live in a litigious society, it’s the way it is and one disgruntled member of the public or employee could tank your business with bankruptcy if you’re not smart about your choices. Rather than panic about this, make a point of having those insurance policies lined up and current before your business gets off the ground.
      3. It keeps your business live and running. If you are running a business in a location where there is a hurricane or earthquake, you need to consider business continuity. It’s much easier to ensure this if you have insurance in place to keep you going. Business insurance plays a critical role in the event of a natural disaster, and the way it works is that an insurance company will keep paying you the income your business would have made while out of action.
      4. You look better as a business owner. Impressions are everything, aren’t they? One of the reasons that you need to have insurance is that your business looks more credible as a result. You can show your prospective clients and customers that you are a safe bet, and that’s what you want to be. If anything goes wrong in your business, you can show that you are able to pay up and make reparations should you need to.
      5. You can protect your employees. The most valuable asset your business has is your people. They are the ones that keep things ticking along nicely and so you have to do what you can to protect them. When things happen in your business; accidents, workers having injuries, etc, you need to keep people happy. Being able to pay for an insurance claim is just the beginning. Sending your staff into potentially dangerous situations is commonplace in some industries, but as long as you can cover them should something go wrong, you will be just fine!
      6. You cover natural disasters. The problem with some businesses is they have the mentality ‘it won’t happen to me’. Murphy’s Law says that anyone with that opinion is about to have an act of God happen to their business workplace. Instead of hoping and remaining hopeful that it won’t happen to you, prepare for the worst and cover yourself with the right insurance. You can often group your insurance options with one provider, so check with who you currently use and see whether they offer this service.
      7. You’re going to guard your assets. If you don’t have company owned life and disability insurance, you won’t be able to cover in case of loss of income as a business owner. With the right insurances, you can gain funds to help keep your business pushing forward. This is known as key person insurance, and it covers the disability or even the death of a valuable employee.
      8. You’ll attract top talent. If you can offer people health and life insurance, you can add it as one of the many benefits that your business offers new recruits. Hiring top talent is easier because insurance doesn’t just cover the doom and gloom scenarios. In fact, it can help people to stay healthy. Full health and dental insurance helps to lower those absenteeism rates, too, which is exactly what you want for your business.
      9. You might find contracts require it. When your business is renting or buying a space, you need to ensure that you meet your contractual obligations. Sometimes, insurance is one such obligation. Landlord policies are one thing but if you don’t have contents insurance for your business, you may find that you are at a severe disadvantage when you need to replace some of the items. You may even have contracts for freelancers that dictate specific insurances so that you can keep people safe while they’re at work, too.
      10. You can’t predict the future. Ah, a fantastic reason to ensure your business has the right insurance. You don’t know what’s going to happen. You can hope, you can pray and you can wish, but you don’t know what will really happen to your business. You don’t get to guarantee anything to anyone because you have no idea what will be the end game. So, instead of guessing, prepare for the worst but hope for the best.

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Proper business insurance makes all the difference to a small or a large business. No matter what size your business is, you can operate profitably, productively and efficiently with the right insurance.