Business Insurance: Understanding the Basics

Mountain Lakes Insurance provides insurance for business as well as for personal needs. Buying insurance for your business to cover business property, liability, autos, workers compensation, and other business needs is much more complicated than buying insurance for your personal home and auto. Let's start with "What is a Business Owner's Policy (BOP)?"

A Business Owner's Policy (BOP) combines two critical business insurance coverages: business property and business liability. With one convenient policy, you're protected against fire, theft, lawsuits and more. In addition, you can purchase optional coverages allowing you to tailor a policy that meets the unique needs of your business, today and as it evolves.

Property insurance can help protect the property your business owns, leases or rents, including things like buildings, equipment, inventory, furniture and fixtures. It provides coverage for damaged computers and media and loss of accounts receivable records.

Business liability insurance covers your business in the event your business is responsible for causing harm to a person and/or damage to property. It also helps cover the cost of your defense in case a claim is made against you charging you or your employees with causing bodily injury or property damage to another party.

Loss of income coverage helps you meet your continuing financial obligations such as rent or payroll if unexpected events cause your operations to be suspended due to a covered cause of loss. This could include damage caused by fire, storm, etc. that prevents your business from operating until repairs are made.

Data breach coverage provides you with access to professionals who can help you comply with regulatory requirements, provide guidance on how to help prevent a data breach and handle a breach crisis if one occurs. Response expense coverage can help to quickly restore confidence in your business or practice through notification to impacted individuals and can help pay for good faith advertising expenses, for example. In most states, coverage is also available for defense and liability expenses in the event you're sued because of a breach.

Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) helps protect you from employment related claims resulting from alleged or actual acts of:

Discrimination
Harassment
Retaliation
Violation of the Family Medical Leave Act
Wrongful discipline
Wrongful failure to promote
Wrongful termination

Many companies automatically include minimal EPLI coverage which helps protect you from the types of claims above, however, this may not be enough for your business.

Mountain Lakes Insurance can provide insurance information and answers specific to your business. Whether you're just starting to explore the thought of starting your own business, already moving forward to start your own business or already in business, our experienced agents can help.