Whether you are in the early stages of business development, preparing to expand, or enjoying the success you’ve worked so hard to achieve, having the right small business insurance is essential at every stage. At AFI Insurance, we offer flexibility, affordability, and convenience to ensure the coverage you need to protect your business against accidents, lawsuits, and more.
Types of Small Business Insurance
All business owners have risks, but yours can vary depending on your business size, industry, and other factors like the number of employees you have. Initially, your coverage needs may be smaller than what they will eventually become. Over time, you can work with your agent to modify your protection to include greater coverage against the things that matter most. You may need a wide range of coverages, including:
Property Insurance
Property insurance is the coverage that protects the physical structure of your business against a wide range of perils, including fire, theft, and vandalism. It can pay for the repair or rebuilding f your business, as well as compensation for the loss of other property essential to the normal operations of your business, such as your inventory, furnishings, computers, machinery, and more.
Liability Insurance
When customers are injured while visiting your business or as a result of defects in your services or products, you can be sued for the damages. In fact, you can be sued even if your business is not at-fault, a process that may incur thousands in legal fees and defense costs. With the right liability coverage, your insurance can cover the cost of your attorney fees, as well as any damages for which your business is found liable.
Business Auto Insurance
If your business owns one or more vehicles, you need insurance that protects you against third-party liability and also extends to cover your fleet. Commercial auto insurance provides many of the same types of coverage as a personal auto insurance policy, up to the limits in your policy. this includes coverage against physical damages, as well as third-party bodily injury and property damage.
Workers Compensation Insurance
Worker’s compensation insurance is required by a business of a certain size in nearly every state. This coverage limits the amount of money an injured worker can receive from your business for the compensation of lost wages and medical bills due to injuries sustained on the job. It can also provide compensation to the family of a worker who dies as a result of injuries. The benefits are available regardless of whether your business is at-fault for a worker’s injury or death.
Errors and Omissions (E&O) and Professional Liability Insurance
If you have a job that involves giving professional advice, recommendations, or services, you may need coverage to protect yourself against errors, omissions, or professional liability. This often includes physicians, lawyers, accountants, and even real estate agents. The coverage can help protect your business if a client or patient blames an injury or loss on your failure to correctly provide the services for which you were hired. Your coverage can pay for the judgments for which your business is legally liable, as well as any legal defenses costs regardless of fault.
Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI)
As a business owner, you are responsible for fair hiring, firing, and employment practices. If you infringe upon the rights of an employee or someone applying to become an employee, you can be sued for wrongful employment practices. Even if you are not guilty of any wrongdoing, EPLI can cover your legal defense costs. If a court determines you are legally liable for damages, your coverage can also pay for judgments against your business up to the limits within your policy.
Essential Employee Coverage
If you have an employee on your payroll that is essential to the continuity of your business, you may need key employee coverage. This type of protection compensates your business if that person is no longer capable of working due to disablement or death.
Commercial Umbrella Coverage
Commercial umbrella insurance is supplemental liability protection for your business. It essentially extends your liability protection by millions of dollars and can be used for excess liability protection with the limits in your primary policies have been exhausted. For example, if a lawsuit claims all of the available coverage in your general liability coverage and still leaves a balance in the judgment against your business, umbrella insurance can compensate for the shortage up to the limits in your policy. In addition to general liability, commercial umbrella insurance may also extend the limits of other liability protection, including commercial auto coverage, EPLI, and more.
BOP (Business Owners Policy)
Although the exact coverage needs of a business are always unique, there are certain types of coverage that nearly all small businesses need. For your convenience, many insurers package these coverages into a business owner’s policy or BOP. With a business owner’s policy, you enjoy consolidated coverage under one simple policy instead of several individual ones. These policies typically include your coverage for:
- Property Damage
- Business Interruption
- General Liability
- And more
While BOP insurance is not available to all business owners, it may be right for you if you have a small business in a low-risk industry that carries out most of your operations on site. If so, a business owner’s policy could save you money versus purchasing your coverages individually.
Illinois Business Insurance Quotes
At AFI Insurance, we know you need small business insurance with coverage as diverse as your risks are. As a local independent agency, we also know the risks you face as a small business; we’re a small business ourselves. We provide in-house comparison shopping of multiple commercial insurance companies so you can narrow down your options to those that best protect your business’s financial interests.
For more information or to request your free quote, contact our office today. We look forward to serving you soon.
