Located practically dead center in the country, the great state of Kansas is headquarters to a number of major companies, including Sprint Nextel Corporation, Garmen and Payless. The economy in Kansas is also heavily weighted in the aerospace industry, thanks to the Kansas city and wichita manufacturing facilities of several large airplane corporations, such as Boeing and Spirit, who conduct business in Kansas. However, Kansas is also chock-full of small businesses too. Since the Great Plains state is also home to many small businesses, we’ve rounded up the most important information about business insurance in Kansas. Take a look.
Standard business insurance coverages in Kansas
Business owners insurance in Kansas
An insurance policy held by an organization, also known as a BOP, is a practically all-inclusive small business insurance package that includes multiple liability coverages in a solitary bundle. A BOP integrates two chief coverages in a single policy: property insurance and general liability. Business owners insurance in Kansas transfers risk away from the business owner to the insurance company by providing protection for a variety of different areas of liability, including equipment, buildings, and legal liabilities. A representative sample of insurance claims that business owners insurance coverage protects you from include: personal injury, income loss, professional liability claims, valuable papers, equipment breakdown, fire, legal liability claims, employee dishonesty, money and securities, and property claims. The Kansas-based business or organization might have additional components added to the original BOP coverage depending on the potential risks of each individual business.
General liability insurance in Kansas
General liability insurance is strategically organized to protect small business owners from financial loss that can emerge from negligent acts, omissions, or both, caused by the entity or their employees that may result in physical injury or property damage. Examples of the varieties of exposures typically covered under general liability insurance in Kansas include contractual liabilities, liabilities from products sold, and accidents on the insured premises. The damage or injury may be a result of negligence or unintentional. General liability insurance for Kansans may be a stand-alone policy or can be combined into a package policy, which is described below.
A package policy is a type of insurance policy for a small business owner that combines two or more types of insurance into a single policy, or bundle. A common package policy in the “Sunflower State” incorporates general liability insurance (described above) and commercial property (described below); although a package policy in Kansas may be written to comprise nearly any type of coverage, depending on the needs of the entity. A package policy is helpful for an owner of a small organization because it allows for plenty of flexibility to adapt to a policy particularly for the distinguishing needs and risk exposures of the entity.
Commercial property insurance in Kansas
Commercial Property Insurance in Kansas is available to provide coverage for any type of Kansan commercial property, and includes, valuable papers, building, supplies, equipment, furniture, inventory, and personal property. Commercial property insurance gives protection against a number of perils, such as windstorm, hail, explosion, fire, theft, vandalism, natural disasters, and lightning strikes. A variety of industries can benefit from this type of insurance, including many types of retailers, not-for-profit entities, manufacturers, and service-oriented businesses, like consulting firms.
Workers’ compensation insurance in Kansas
Workers’ compensation insurance offers coverage against employee work-related injuries or occupational illnesses for any organization that has employees working for them. Workers’ compensation insurance in Kansas is a no-fault, state-mandated insurance system designed to compensate employees who sustained injuries or an illness while working. Because the state of Kansas has a specific requirement for businesses with employees to carry workers’ compensation, failure to carry it can expose small business owners to harsh fines and civil penalties, or occasionally, cause the organization to be liable for the cost of injuries sustained by their workers. By having workers’ compensation insurance in Kansas, employees receive medical care and lost wages coverage in exchange for the promise that the employee will not sue their employer.
Commercial auto insurance in Kansas
If your company owns one vehicle or a slew of vehicles, it’s necessary to be protected by commercial auto insurance in Kansas. Commercial auto insurance provides financial protection to Kansan business owners and their drivers by offering coverage for a company’s use of vehicles for their mode of transportation: trucks, vans, cars, or other vehicles for work-related duties. Commercial auto insurance covers damages and medical costs that result from vehicle accidents, as well as vandalism and damage from hail storms. Coverage for organizations in Kansas may include vehicles owned, rented, leased, or hired by your enterprise, along with employee-owned vehicles used for your business operations. For this reason alone, it’s recommended that companies obtain a commercial auto insurance policy if workers use their own vehicle to perform transportation-related functions for the business; this is referred to as non-owned commercial auto insurance.
Commercial umbrella insurance begins at the point that your general liability, commercial auto insurance, or other liability coverage ends. Your business benefits from umbrella insurance in Kansas since your existing liability policies may have coverage limits, and may not cover all expenses if a disastrous or unexpected event occurs. Commercial umbrella insurance in Kansas is an imperative source of coverage that fills in the gaps and covers specific exclusions in your primary business liability coverage. Umbrella insurance is a tremendous way to have extra protection for property damage, bodily injury, or other types of liabilities.
Some additional business insurance coverages in Kansas to consider
Errors and omissions insurance in Kansas
Errors and Omissions insurance policies provide Kansas businesses and individuals with protection against lawsuits and claims made by clients or customers for poor work, neglectful acts, errors, and oversights made while conducting business that resulted in a loss of revenue or output on the part of the customer or client. Errors and Omissions insurance covers legal defense and court costs, along with settlements as stated on the insurance contract. In the medical field, doctors require malpractice insurance, so small business owners who provide services or consulting advice, either directly or through subcontractors, need errors and omissions insurance in Kansas.
Professional liability insurance in Kansas
Professional liability insurance provides additional protection for professionals, such as financial analysts, accountants, attorneys, and general contractors, from having to pay the entire legal cost of defending against a claim of carelessness, error, failure to perform, or omission made by a client as well as damages allocated in that claim. The coverage’s primary focus is on the monetary loss on the part of the client from this type of alleged claim with respect to a product or service provided by the professional. Professional liability insurance may offer claim coverage, even if the legal actions turn out to be unsupported. Professional liability insurance in Kansas is required by law in some kinds of professional practices, including the legal and medical fields, but is also required by contract in other industries.
Employment practices liability insurance in Kansas
Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) in Kansas provides small business owners with protection against accusations of discrimination, wrongful termination, sexual harassment, wage law violations, false imprisonment, emotional distress, libel, slander, mental anguish, negligent hiring and promotion decisions, and defamation claims. Employment practices liability insurance is based on the laws, acts, and protection from Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and Family and Medical Leave Act — all of which are enforced in Kansas by the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC).
Bonds
Fidelity bonds in Kansas
Fidelity bonds in Kansas are a form of insurance acquired by owners of small enterprises in order to protect against losses incurred from criminal acts, like fraud, embezzlement, or theft by one employee or a group of employees. Since reimbursement from employee deceitful practices is generally not available due to the money already being spent, fidelity bonds represent an important safeguard for a small business owner who would otherwise have to suffer these financial losses. Even if your company has protection against these types of acts including employee screening, internal controls, and careful supervision, it isn’t always enough. Losses suffered from employee thefts of money, property, or securities are all covered under fidelity bonds insurance in Kansas. There are three main types of fidelity bonds which are seen in Kansas; these include business service bonds, standard employee dishonesty bonds, and ERISA bonds.
Surety bonds in Kansas
A surety bond is a obligatory agreement or contract shared between three parties: the principal, obligee, and surety (insurance company). It represents the assurance they will pay a specified amount should a party fail to meet a commitment, such as satisfying the terms of the contract. A surety bond in Kansas protects the recipient from loss if the contract is not fulfilled, while the surety company takes on the liability for nonperformance. A surety bond is usually required for monetary compensation. Owners of Kansas businesses may need a surety bond to promise payment of utility bills or state sales taxes, while a contractor may need to post a bond to secure work or be eligible for licenses. While surety bonds in Kansas are more commonly used in the construction industry, surety bonds are also used by mortgage brokers, medical suppliers, automobile dealers, fitness establishment owners, notaries public, and others. Because of the large range of small businesses that use and need bonds, there several different types and features of surety bonds in Kansas that offer a wide array of guarantees.
While the roads and fields in Kansas may seem to go on forever, so does the number of small business opportunities in this Midwestern state. With an excellent interstate infrastructure, coupled with a productive workforce, Kansas is a great state to grow a business. But whether you have a accounting business in Wichita or a bakery shop in Topeka, you need to keep your business assets protected with business insurance in Kansas.
