It’s easy to think of insurance like we think of umbrellas—better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. But for business insurance especially, that’s an incomplete analogy.
In truth, insurance is more similar to a seatbelt—an extra method of protection in the event of the worst. For small and medium-sized businesses in Athens and Huntsville, AL, the worst includes ruinous litigation, expensive customer dissatisfaction, and even bodily injury on your premises.
To give yourself the best protection as a business owner, it’s vital to understand which kinds of coverage you need for your business model. Here are a few tips to get you started.
Optimizing Coverage: Tailoring Insurance Solutions to Organizational Needs - A Pepper, Johnstone Guide
For more than 50 years, Pepper, Johnstone & Company have protected businesses of every size, stripe, and kind throughout Alabama. Here are the kinds of coverage we suggest depending on how you do business and who you do it with.
General Liability Insurance
For Every Business, But Especially Brick-and-Mortar Businesses
General liability insurance is recommended for every business—regardless of what your business does. In fact, without general liability, it’s unwise to even open your doors.
General liability insurance keeps you covered in nearly too many situations to list. Among them:
- Injuries to customers & the general public on your premises
- Product liability
- Property damage to others
- Other damages
Should any of these events occur, general liability insurance for businesses can defend your business by covering you with:
- Legal fees and defense costs
- The cost of medical bills
- Cost of repairs to property
- More
Simply put, general liability coverage is the breastplate in your business’ suit of armor. Without it, you’re exposing your most vital revenue to accidents, bad actors, and others.
Commercial Property Insurance
To Cover Expensive Equipment, Inventory, & Other Property
In the age of “side hustles” and contract labor, self-proprietors of every stripe can turn a profit with limited equipment. But for those in heavy industry, retail, and even the tech industry, commercial property insurance is an absolute must.
Commercial property insurance covers:
- Property damage
- Inventory losses
- Damaged equipment/tools (e.g. computers, forklifts, more)
- Fire damage
- Flooding (when added to policy)
- Break-ins & theft
- More
The loss of your most crucial equipment could seriously compromise your ability to do business or keep your doors open. For that reason, among so many others, commercial property insurance is a smart decision.
Professional Liability Insurance
For Businesses Based on Consulting, Advice, & Intellectual Work
Unlike construction businesses, retail storefronts, and home services providers, some businesses thrive by offering advice and other forms of consultation. While you may have less equipment or physical property to protect, the quality of your intellectual work could be questioned by dissatisfied clients, bad actors, and even those with buyer’s remorse who suddenly don’t want to pay.
This is a job for professional liability insurance—a form of coverage that protects you from the abstracts of business, including:
- Negligence
- Misrepresentation
- Failure to act and deal in good faith
- Inaccurate advice
- Other claims
When clients don’t like the results of your work or threaten to sue, professional liability helps by providing you with:
- Legal defense costs
- Compensatory damages and judgments
Other Forms of Coverage for Maximum Protection
The kinds of insurance listed above are a great place to start. In most situations, businesses will need several kinds of coverage for the best protection. Here are a few more insurance types to consider as you build the best suit of armor around your enterprise.
Directors & Officers Liability Insurance
This kind of coverage protects directors, officers, and advisory boards who could be named in lawsuits, pursued by creditors, or otherwise targeted by bad actors.
Workers Compensation Insurance
When an employee is injured on the job, your first concern is for their wellbeing. Workers compensation insurance may cover medical care, rehabilitation, and lost wages. In many states (as in Alabama), workers compensation is required by law for businesses with a certain number of employees.
Commercial Auto Insurance
In many ways, commercial auto insurance functions like personal auto insurance. If you provide certain employees with company trucks or vehicles, you need commercial auto.
Custom Insurance Coverage
America is and always has been an incubator for new products, services, and business models. Every business will need a personalized package of protections, but some businesses will need comprehensive protection to secure their continued innovation.
To discuss what kind of coverage your business needs, contact us online or give us a call at 866-872-0431 in Athens or 866-872-0431 in Huntsville.
Get the Coverage Your Business Needs Today
For more than half a century, Pepper, Johnstone & Company has protected businesses throughout Alabama. Don’t wait until it’s too late to find out that you’re missing the coverage you need to fight off litigation, help employees recover, or protect the integrity of your work.
Like you need seatbelts when you drive, if you’re going to do business, you need protection. Pepper, Johnstone & Company can help.
Get the Coverage You Need to Protect Your Business Completely
Businesses of every kind are magnets for ruinous litigation, bad actors, and dissatisfied clients who refuse to pay. Without insurance, you could find yourself eating the cost of a lawsuit or even facing bankruptcy and closure. Keep your doors open with the right coverage by contacting us online today.