Insurance Insights

If you are a small business owner who provides products to the consuming public, then your company needs to be protected through product liability coverage. Product liability insurance coverage protects your business from claims related to the sale or manufacture of products, including food and medicines, to the public.

What it Covers

A typical small business general liability insurance policy won’t cover property damage, bodily injury, advertising injury or personal injury claims. But small business professionals can be protected against these risks of doing business by purchasing a professional liability insurance policy. Coverage is typically applied as long as the professional engages in rendering services, taking into account any statute of limitations.

Small businesses lose thousands if not millions of dollars each year to theft and vandalism. These losses are not limited to theft of inventory, merchandise, and equipment. Losses can also include theft of personal information that employees and customers have entrusted to you. Thefts, break-ins, and work flow interruptions can be avoided by installing a small business burglar alarm.

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If your small business is growing and you find that you need to hire more employees, you’ll most likely be conducting a number of job interviews to select the best candidate for your open position. It’s important to know that federal and state law forbid employers from asking certain questions of a job candidate during an interview that are not associated with the position they are being interviewed for. Illegal job interview questions can lead to discrimination claims or even a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) lawsuit – both of which the small business owner would surely want to avoid.

Most business owners focus on the day-to-day challenges of operating a business, such as sales and marketing. But a number of savvy business managers overlook a very important safety precaution: loss prevention. Whether your small business is a start-up or has been in existence for years, loss prevention is critical risk management strategy. Don’t let an already tight profit margin shrink further due to shoplifting, embezzlement, or fraud.

Follow these small business loss prevention tips so that you are armed with a adequate protection.

1. Data Protection. Recent data security breaches highlight the importance of protecting your customers and employee data from theft and misuse. A single data security breach can damage a company’s reputation and create long term repercussions. From server security to network level protection suites to laptop encryption technology, it’s critical that small businesses protect their intellectual property from both theft and unauthorized use.

2. Insurance. In a cash-strapped business, one thing that some small business owners may contemplate skimping on is insurance. However, that could be a huge mistake. Just one incident of a fire, natural disaster, or theft could lead to a business coming to a sudden halt. Insurance coverage should be tailored to the risks of the business, but should necessarily include such coverage as loss of equipment, business interruption, liability insurance for claims or lawsuit brought against your business, and more.

3. Employees. In the ideal world everyone would be honest, including employees. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case and many companies, large and small alike, have had their share of losses from employee theft. Even smaller items such as office supplies stolen can add up over the year. Keep office supplies under lock and key so employees don’t have free access to post-it notes, tape, and staplers.

4. Checks and Balances Policies. Another one of the most important small business loss prevention tips is to implement a system of checks and balances, especially when it comes to cash. For instance, assign two “different” people to counting and dispersing cash, rather than assigning one person to both duties. Add a third person to conduct an independent audit of cash and financial transactions.

All-in-all, just implementing a few small business loss prevention tips can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars later.

The success of most every small business depends on the productivity of its labor force. The ability of employees to function consistently at a high level is greatly enhanced by an employee wellness program. These types of programs focus on the physical (and mental) well being of employees. Weight loss, stress management, exercise, fitness, diet, and smoking cessation programs are all examples of employee wellness programs. Wellness programs can consist of incentives, education, or health care screening, all intended to promote healthier living.

Every small business is subject to risks, which can lead to a “loss exposure”. A loss exposure is any possibility of financial loss due to loss of use, damage or financial claim against you or your small business. Businesses that analyze the four most common risk management areas as they relate to their business — and customize their insurance policies accordingly — have the most protection against loss exposures. The four types of loss exposures that small businesses face are: 1) liability loss exposures 2) income loss exposures 3) people loss exposures 4) property loss exposures.

Directors and Officers Coverage (D&O coverage) is a type of insurance that protects management of a business or corporation and the corporation itself from claims arising from wrongful or negligent acts committed by the Directors or Officers during the course of their duties.

Traditional D&O coverage has been used for sometime by larger companies and corporations to insure their officers and directors against financial liability claims. Individuals often covered include CEOs, CFOs, elected board directors, and other elected officials of the company. More recently, small business owners have been adding D&O insurance to protect their business against these negligent or wrongful acts committed by their Directors and Officers that could negatively affect their business and its financial well-being.

Most small business owners are well acquainted with a number of kinds of insurance and understand their necessity. Suppose a customer doesn’t see that patch of ice at the front door and breaks an ankle. That is why no reasonable business owners would dare be without general liability coverage. If an employee is hit by a falling crate and injured, workers compensation is an expected safety net for both the employee and employer. But what happens when something occurs in a business that isn’t quite so tangible but potentially equally financially devastating? What happens when an employer is accused of sexual harassment and taken to court, or a key employ is alleged to have defrauded the company or company’s shareholders? Both are real world examples of why more and more small businesses are adding Employment Practices Liability Coverage to their insurance coverage package.

Employment Practices Liability Coverage includes protection against financial liabilities such as: