Your business needs protection

You pay to insure your home. You pay to insure your car. If you can, you pay to insure your health. However, many small business owners fail to attain insurance to protect themselves and their business from worse case scenarios. Business insurance, like home insurance, can be purchased to protect your business from fire, theft and other losses. Although neither of us have the time to review every type of business insurance, we will review five of the most common types: Liability, Property, Key Man, Automobile and Home Office.

• Liability insurance for businesses is a protection against liabilities that you may incur during your day to day business activities. This type of insurance is especially helpful if you are manufacturing a product because of the risk that can be associated with someone becoming harmed while using your product. Many small business owners do not have the capital in their business to protect against such a catastrophic injury.
  
• Property insurance is used to protect the physical assets of your building whether you rent or own your space. This is helpful in the event of a fire, flood or other disaster because it can offset some of your replacement and repair costs.
  
• 'Key Man' insurance is a policy taken out on a key employee of the business to hedge against the financial losses that the business would incur in the event of that employee's death or illness. Many banks or loan programs may require this type of policy if the revenue stream of the business is dependent upon a key person.
  
• Automobile insurance is necessary for your personal liability but if you use your vehicle for business purposes, you may need a special insurance – non-owned automobile coverage. Additionally, many small business owners have begun using car magnets to advertise their business; however, you should make sure your car is insured as a business vehicle if you are doing so because you may not be covered under your personal policy when traveling.
  
• If you are operating your business from your home, you may not need a special type of policy; however, you should take an inventory of all of your home office equipment and insure that it is covered under your home owner's/ renter's policy as office equipment.
  

When purchasing insurance for your business, consult a reputable insurance agent that specializes in insurance for businesses. Don't be afraid to visit with two or three agents and get quotes. Warning: don't try to price match because an agent may try to meet or beat another agent's quote by adjusting your liabilities and deductibles. You want to compare apples to apples so decide on the level of insurance that you need - go home, compare the information and ask more questions if you need to. This is a key component of minding your business.