Top Tips When Buying Business Insurance

As a small business owner, you may overlook the importance of business insurance. However, without insurance, accidents such as employee injuries, a fire, or product defects could bankrupt your business. In the extract below, you will learn the various considerations you should make when buying business insurance.

Work with a reputable insurance company

It's important for you to work with an experienced and reputable insurance company. Conduct some research to determine the reputation and reliability of various insurance companies. Some of your considerations should include:

• What is the company's financial strength? Companies under liquidation may not pay your claims on time.
• What is the company's specialisation? Some companies are renown for health insurance while others may specialise in commercial vehicle insurance.
• Does the company employ experienced and polite staff?
• How many claims does the company pay per year? Avoid companies that have a reputation for failing to pay claims.  

You may also engage an independent insurance broker to help you choose an insurance company. The broker will evaluate your current situation and advise which company will give the best terms at an affordable rate.

Choose the right coverage

You may need public, employee, and product liability insurance. In addition to this, you need to insure your business vehicles and business premises against natural hazards such as fires. Most insurance companies are aware that it may be challenging to take all these coverages. As such, they have customised packages where they combine two or three policies. It is often cheaper to take the comprehensive package as opposed to having many separate policies.

Exemptions

The insurance company will only pay after verifying that the incident was accidental and not a result of human negligence. For instance, most insurance companies will either fine your business or increase premiums if you wreck a vehicle under the influence of alcohol. Likewise, employees are exempt from coverage if they get injured while committing a crime or if they get injured off working hours. Understanding these exemptions will help shape your workplace policy to ensure your insurance covers workplace accidents.

Adjust the cover to suit your situation

As your business grows, you may need to employ more employees, produce new products, or increase your business premises. Adjust your cover to suit your changing situation. For instance, an employee may fail to receive compensation for workplace injuries if the insurance company finds out that you have more employees than you initially registered. 

When buying business insurance, work with a reputable insurance company, choose the right cover, understand the policy exemptions and adjust the cover to suit the changing business environment. 

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