Business Insurance

Business interruption insurance is critical if your business suffers a property loss that could cause the business to slow or close down while repairs are made. This may mean a complete or partial revenue loss depending on the time frame and the damage.

From the time the loss occurs until your business is running again, insurance can replace your lost profits, and provide a source of money to pay your necessary continuing expenses, like rent, payroll, taxes, etc.

Business Owners Package policy, commonly called a “BOP” contains many of the insurance coverages needed by most small businesses. While these policies are not standard, there is great variation from insurance company to insurance company; there are certain common elements. The basic BOP offers business property for both building and contents, and liability insurance protection for the operation of your business. This liability protection will generally include both the operation of your business, at its established location, and the liability from your products or completed operations.

Some, but not all of the policies, will also offer business income and extra expense protection after an insured loss. BOP policies do not contain all of the coverages needed by a small business. Notably, they do not cover any workers’ compensation, professional liability, or business vehicle coverage.

A commercial auto insurance policy is required under most circumstances when the vehicle is used for business purposes and meets certain other requirements. It is not just the registration that determines the requirement for a business automobile insurance policy. Other requirements are ownership by a corporation, use in hauling goods for hire, and gross vehicle weight of the vehicle. Some small trucks can be owned and insured under a personal automobile insurance policy under specific circumstances.

Commercial automobile insurance policies are not regulated in pricing, as are private passenger policies. There is price competition between insurance companies for good commercial automobile insurance.

Commercial earthquake insurance can be very important in some parts of the United States, where earthquakes can cause severe damage. Most commercial property policies exclude coverage for earthquake damage (including earthquake sprinkler damage, etc.).

If you own office, industrial or apartment property in an earthquake-prone area of the country, consider purchasing commercial earthquake insurance coverage.

Commercial property insurance is a special type of insurance that covers the company building as well as the contents owned by the company. “Property” can include a variety of types: lost income or business interruption, buildings, computers, money, and valuable papers.

Under the liability policy coverage, the building should be protected from damaging events such as fire, burglary, and vandalism. It may not be enough to cover just the building; the aftermath of such damage should be covered as well.

As a private carrier, you are responsible for hauling goods in your own truck for your company or employer. Whether you’re working in construction, excavation, manufacturing, or any other private carrier capacity, we have truck insurance solutions for you.

Primary Liability – Every trucker/trucking company who operates under their own authority is required to carry primary liability coverage on all owned units and either provide this insurance for their leased vehicles or insure that the leased operator carries it on their own.  Generally, the motor carrier provides this coverage for the leased operators but there are rare instances when this is not the case.

Cargo Insurance – Provides coverage for loss or damage to the property a truck is transporting (the load). Generally, though not always, provided by the motor carrier for leased operators.

Physical Damage (Collision, Specified Perils) – Provides coverage for repair or replacement for damage resulting from a covered loss (collision, fire, theft, hail, windstorm, earthquake, flood, mischief, or vandalism) to owned vehicles.

Occupational Accident – Product designed specifically for owner-operators in the trucking industry. In most states, by being self-employed owner operators can opt-out of state-mandated workers’ compensation coverage. While not the same as workers’ compensation, occ/acc is similar in scope and intent. Most motor carriers require their leased operators to be covered either by workers’ compensation or occ/acc at the leased operator’s expense. For those who qualify, occ/acc is generally a lower-cost alternative.

If you own a business, you probably own some form of general liability insurance to protect you in the event of a lawsuit due to negligence on your part. However, there may be situations where the limits of your general policy may not provide adequate protection. A commercial umbrella can provide you and your business with additional liability protection.

Contractor’s General Liability insurance is for residential and commercial builders, general contractors, construction managers, design and build firms, specialty contractors or subcontractors, owners, or public and private construction projects.

We offer contractor policies for every type of project:

• Property
• Builders risk insurance and course of construction
• Liability insurance
• General liability insurance
• Contractor insurance
• Commercial auto
• Umbrella
• Workers’ compensation
• Railroad protective
• Equipment insurance
• Contractor bond

Directors and Officers Liability Insurance provides financial protection for the directors and officers of your company in the event they are sued in conjunction with the performance of their duties as they relate to the company. Think of Directors and Officers Insurance as a management Errors and Omissions policy.

Directors and Officers Insurance is often confused with Errors & Omissions Liability. The two are not synonymous; Errors & Omissions is concerned with performance failures and negligence with respect to your products and services, not the performance and duties of management. Generally, it is a good idea to carry both Directors and Officers Liability Insurance and Errors and Omissions Liability Insurance.

Employment Practices Liability Insurance otherwise known as EPLI is insurance that helps protect you against claims from your employees that result from the general conduct of your business. Common examples of employee related claims include claims relating to:

• Discrimination
• Wrongful Discharge
• Sexual Harassment
• Hostile Working Environment
• Wrongful Termination
• Lack of Advancement

If your business sells, services, stores, or parks automobiles, your General Liability Insurance coverage may not be enough to protect you from lawsuits. Car dealerships, body repair shops, and gas stations are specialty businesses with special insurance needs. By combining parts of a Commercial General Liability policy with parts of a Business Auto Policy, Garage Insurance guards against the unique risks associated with your automotive business including claims for injuries, mistakes, or property damage resulting from work you have done or unknowingly defective parts that you may have installed.

Normally, it is difficult for businesses or general contractors to work without general insurance. General liability insurance is intended to guard operators and owners of companies from claims that may come from a broad spectrum of sources. These exposures could be just about anything, including liability engendered by accidents from the operations of the insured party, contractual liability, products manufactured by the insured party, etc.

The liability you select, whether it is one, two, or three million dollars, determines the cost of general liability insurance. Also factored into the rates are the kind of work undertaken, gross receipts and total payroll expenses. Similar to auto insurance, when it comes to general liability insurance, you will first have to make a down payment and then follow it up with installments. Before buying general liability insurance, it is best to compare the quotes available in the market.

It is the business owner’s or general contractor’s job to make sure that the people working under him/her are covered by an insurance policy. If for example, a person who is not a part of the project gets injured, the injured person’s lawyer can target just about anyone involved in the project. The more individuals that are involved, the greater the chances of a successful lawsuit.

Key person (employee) insurance is a particular type of life insurance policy taken out by a company on one of their employees, in which the company is the beneficiary in the case of that employee’s untimely demise.

Key person insurance is a relatively new insurance coverage, but has attracted much praise and is encouraged by many strategic advisors. Life insurance is basically a system by which a fixed amount of money is paid to a beneficiary in the event that the person being covered dies.

As your company expands globally, so do your exposures. Companies with international operations and executives or staff who travel internationally may be targets for kidnappers and extortionists.

While no one can predict where or when a kidnapper or extortionist might strike, there are steps that you can take to protect your executives and families and prepare for a possible threat. A Kidnap & Ransom insurance should be an integral part of your risk management program.

The Kidnap and Ransom insurance will provide coverage for the following:

• Ransom and extortion payments as a result of a kidnapping or extortion threat.
• Loss of the ransom or extortion payment while being delivered.
• Expense coverage as a result of a ransom or extortion demand which includes fees and expenses of independent negotiators, and travel and accommodation expenses.
• Legal liability coverage protection in the event it is alleged the insured was negligent in a hostage retrieval.
• Political threat coverage for expenses when a person is wrongfully detained by anyone acting for a government or with the government’s approval.

Liquor Liability Insurance is designed to provide liability
insurance protection for those businesses who manufacture, distribute, or sell liquor. You need liquor liability insurance if you sell liquor and your business is a:

• Bar
• Tavern
• Nightclub
• Fraternal Club
• Convenience Store
• Liquor Store
• Restaurant

In today’s challenging healthcare marketplace, medical malpractice insurance is a necessity. we can help guide you to better results and a higher set of expectations with our value-added services. We understand your struggle to deliver quality health care and avoid medical malpractice claims.

Working in partnership with your practice, we will address affordability issues regarding medical malpractice insurance, while improving safety and quality.

Product liability insurance protects you in case a product you produce or provide causes harm to a user or a user’s property. A “product” is anything that is tangibly used, touched, or consumed. This type of insurance is recommended for every business that manufactures a product but is especially important for companies that produce food, clothing, toys, or anything else that could conceivably cause harm to someone.

Most business owners’ policies include limited product liability coverage. If, for some reason, you do not have this coverage through a business owner’s policy and your product runs the risk of inflicting harm on other people, you may need to buy product liability separately. Similarly, if your product presents a higher risk of injury (for example, it contains a hazardous material), you may need to purchase additional coverage.

Professional liability insurance, also sometimes referred to as Errors and Omissions insurance or E&O, protects businesses or individuals in the event that a customer holds your company or business owner responsible for a service that was provided, or failed to be provided, and did not have the expected or intended results.

Professional liability insurance is separate from a General Liability (GL) insurance policy which would cover you mainly for bodily injury or property damage liability.

Today’s restaurant environment is more complex than ever and you want to know you’re covered for the unexpected occurrence with insurance specific to the unique needs of restaurants and bars.

Whether you run a small cafe or a national chain, you could be held liable for anything from contaminated or spoiled food to spilled coffee. That’s why you deserve an insurance company with commercial restaurant insurance coverage specifically designed for the risks you face.

Restaurant & Bar Insurance is needed for the following:

• Fine Dining
• Casual Dining
• Fast Food
• Ethnic Cuisine
• Delicatessen
• Coffee Shop
• Micro Brewery

Whether you are planning a corporate event, holding a large rock concert, or organizing a local flower festival, you will need special event insurance to ensure that you are covered for unexpected occurrences that may spoil the success you and your company may receive when the big day arrives.

Sample List of Special Events:

Corporate Events, Company Meetings, Auto Shows, Concerts, Sporting Events, Proms, Dances, Dog Shows, Parades, Ethnic Celebrations, and Horse Shows.

A Surety Bond is a three-party agreement whereby the surety guarantees to the obligee (the project owner) that the principal (the contractor) is capable of performing the contract in accordance with the contract documents. Performance of the contract, which is the subject of the bond, determines the rights and obligations of the surety and the obligee.

Here are the eight different families of surety bonds:

1. Fidelity Bonds
2. Public Official Bonds
3. Judicial Bonds
4. Fiduciary Bonds
5. License and Permit Bonds
6. Contract Bonds (Bid and Performance Bonds)
7. Miscellaneous and Federal Bonds
8. Notary Bonds

Many companies are unaware that their current business and insurance policies most likely do not cover them for all of their technology-related risks. Our technology insurance protection offers coverage options tailored to fit your company’s unique needs.

In today’s technology-driven world, companies face a number of dynamic exposures. Whether it is faulty software, inappropriate advice, misconfigured firewalls, or inadequate anti-virus software, hardware failure – companies are increasingly at risk. Claims are growing rapidly, leaving companies liable for expensive lawsuits.

We offer a broad range of coverages that are cost-effective and perfectly tailored for your business requirements if wholesaling or distributing. Get coverage specifically designed for today’s wholesalers and distributors.

Our wholesalers and distributors’ insurance programs include detailed risk assessment and loss control expertise that can help reduce insurance costs for everyone from the small supplier to the large distributor.

Workers’ compensation insurance protects employers from claims resulting from injuries to employees. It protects your business from lawsuits and provides employees with compensation for on-the-job injuries.

By law, most employers are required to provide coverage for lost wages and medical bills incurred as a result of on-the-job accidents or illnesses. For many businesses, workers comp coverage is the largest part of its insurance expense.