Many of us are a little reluctant to take out optional insurance schemes for our businesses. What if we never need them? Isn’t that just a waste of money on insurance fees? The question we should be asking instead is ‘what if we do need them?’. There are instances where you may end up having to pay out thousands at once – insurance can provide this funding for you if you need it so you don’t end up resorting to loans. In many cases, the insurance fees are worth the peace of mind. But just what types of risk should you be insuring your company against?
Nowadays, you can take out insurance to cover pretty much any potential business disaster. However, there are certain eventualities that are more common or simply more disastrous if they occur – they are the type of risks that are worth insuring against. Below are a few examples.
Property damage and theft
If you rent or own a business property such as an office or shop, it could be important to have commercial property insurance in place. This can insure you against disasters such as fire, vandalism or burglary.
Such disasters can be extremely expensive to recover from – you may not be able to afford recovery without insurance. Even if you’re strict when it comes to fire safety and security, it’s still worth having this insurance in place.
Cyberattacks
The amount of cyberattacks being targeted at businesses is growing. This includes businesses of all sizes including large corporations and small startups. Cyberattacks can be costly to recover from – you may end up having to pay a ransom and pay compensation to customers/employees whose data may have been accessed.
Cyberinsurance can provide compensation if you are ever hacked. While investing in cybersecurity is still important for reducing the risk of a cyberattack, having cyberinsurance can be useful just in case this still isn’t enough.
Breach of contract lawsuits
Many lawsuits that businesses face are due to the company breaching written agreements made to a customer. This involves things like not meeting deadlines or breaking promises when it comes to targets.
Such breaches of contract can’t always be prevented – a problem in the supply chain or employee blunder for example could result in you missing a deadline. Professional indemnity insurance can cover you just in case you face a lawsuit as a result of a breach of contract. There are also other forms of protection such as surety bonds that you can look into. Take the time to explore different types of surety bonds to find the right one for your company.
Injury lawsuits
If a customer, employee or third-party is made sick or injured as a result of poor company practices, there is a high chance they may sue. While health and safety measures such as using a neon indicator light to make people aware of hazards can stop the majority of these incidents from occurring, accidents may still happen.
This is why it’s important to have insurance in place. As an employer, it’s a legal requirement to have employer liability insurance (or worker’s compensation insurance as it’s sometimes called) – this will provide compensation to your employees if they make a claim. Public liability insurance is optional but still worth having in many trades – this can provide compensation to any member of the public (including customers) who may be injured as a result of your work. You can look into such insurance online.
