Liability insurance is something that is often overlooked when you run a small business. Many put off this important coverage thinking it doesn’t matter that much. Hopefully you’ll never need it, but it can just as easily turn into a very costly mistake. Liability insurance is vital to protect the financial health of your business. Just one mistake leading to a lawsuit can ruin all that you have built.
Before you decide that you don’t need liability insurance, take a look at these different types and then decide.
Accountants, or architects often use Professional Liability insurance for protection against lawsuits having to do with error or negligent acts while performing services. Even if your profession is not specifically covered, there are general liability policies that can cover most fields.
Employment Practices Liability Insurance. This coverage protects from employees or former employees suing over things like wrongful termination, harassment or discrimination and other things having to do with human resources. Also, you are ultimately responsible for the actions of employees while acting on behalf of the business, so even if you have the best internal policies and procedures, things can go wrong. That’s why this coverage is a must have.
There is also Umbrella Liability Insurance that can offer protection for a variety of situations. When you decide to get Liability insurance the next thing to figure out is how much coverage to get. It may take a little research but it’s well worth the effort. Find out how much the average lawsuits in your filed settled for. You can use that as a good baseline when figuring out how much coverage you need.
Shop around for a good broker and get more than one quote. The main thing is to get covered as soon as you can, you’ll be glad you did if you ever need it.