General Liability Insurance is needed to protect business owners and operators from a large variety of different liability risks and exposures. Such exposures could be, but are not limited to, bodily injury or property damage to a third party caused by the insured’s actions or negligence, accidents on the insured’s premises, or because of business operations.

Example: Mitch owns a restaurant and does not properly salt the walk ways leading to and from his establishment. One of his customers slips and falls on the unsalted path, breaking his leg and requiring hospitalization and treatment. Thankfully, Mitch is protected for such an event by his General Liability insurance.

Product Liability is coverage that protects manufacturers and distributors from financial loss that may arise from bodily injury or property damages as a result of a product they manufactured, supplied, or designed.

Example:A company produces a new and very successful line of children’s’ toys. The toys are eventually found to contain a chemical that has been linked to certain terrible diseases. Subsequently, the organization is barraged by lawsuits as consumers begin to come forward with accounts of being impacted by the chemical in the products. The company’s Product Liability Insurance policy will greatly assist them with their forthcoming legal battles.

Professional Liability protects the insured party from potential negligence claims that may not be covered by other liability policies. Professional Liability coverage essentially focuses on loss of revenue, performance failure, and/or different errors and omissions with the insured’s products or services that is not necessarily pertaining to bodily injury or property damage. This type of policy has different names depending on the profession. For example, doctors and physicians would have Medical Malpractice insurance while the same type of policy would be referred to as Errors and Omissions for real estate agents, software developers, lawyers, etc.

Example: A software developer is given a specific amount of time to produce a type of software that must reach certain requirements provided by the company commissioning the program. The developer is able to complete the project before the final deadline, but the program contains an error in the code. This error ultimately scrambles the client’s interface and results in a monetary loss for the client. Fortunately, the developer carried a Professional Errors and Omissions Liability policy that protected his company from a debilitating lawsuit.

Umbrella Insurance is insurance that extends above and beyond the coverage that a business may already currently have in place. It is referred to as “umbrella” insurance because it broadens and expands the spectrums of the policies underneath it. Umbrella Insurance can be used to fill the gaps that may be present in a particular businesses liability policy, or to extend the coverage of commercial automobile insurance. In either case, Umbrella Insurance serves to further protect businesses by broadening the coverage of their existing insurance policies.

Example: Carolyn has a Business Owners Policy that protects her for $2 million. Her corporation is sued after a recent accident for $6 million dollars in punitive damages. Without additional Umbrella coverage on her policy, Carolyn’s insurance would possibly cover the first $2 million of the settlement from the lawsuit, but she would be forced to come up with the remaining $4 million on her own.

Commercial Property Insurance is essential insurance for any business because it can protect the physical property and structure of the business and/or any of the contents within it.

Example: A local coffee shop has been devastated by a fire that caused heavy structural damage to the building. Along with the destruction to the building itself, all of the equipment and products that were inside of the shop were also lost during the blaze. Fortunately, the shopkeeper had a Business Package Policy, which had coverage for the structure and the contents of his shop. Before long he was able to get back to normal business operations.

Business Interruption Coverage is a policy that covers a business’s wages, expenses, and income in the event of a fire, natural disaster, or any other occurrence that would cause the interruption of standard business activities for a particular period of time.

Example: Torrential rains led to massive flooding to a small downtown shopping area and caused several businesses to close. The resulting period of idleness had a potentially devastating impact on the business’ because even though they could not conduct their daily operations to generate revenue, they were still responsible for all of the fixed costs that continued on a monthly basis (rent, payroll, etc.) Luckily, many of the shop owners had purchased Business Interruption Coverage in the event that something like this would occur and were adequately compensated for their losses.

Builders Risk is a policy that covers any loss or damages that may occur to a building while it is under construction. Fire, wind, theft, and vandalism are common bases for claims that are covered under Builder’s Risk Insurance.

Example: Dorothy and John have always dreamed of building and operating their own luxury spa and resort. The couple suffered a major setback when the nearly completed frame of their future business was struck by lightning and reduced to cinders. Thankfully, the wise couple had purchased Builders Risk Insurance to protect them during the construction phase, and was able recover much of the money they had lost due to the natural disaster that damaged their business during its construction.

Crime Insurance covers loss to the insured that results from criminal activity. Also referred to as Fidelity Insurance, Crime Insurance protects the insured from many different criminal acts, including, but not limited to burglary, identity theft, computer fraud, and forgery. Most importantly, crime insurance allows business owners to file claims that involve dishonest employees and theft of intellectual property as well as physical.

Example: Employees of a retail computer company stole several color printers and desktop computers from the store and sold them to a third party for their own personal profit. The company was completely unaware of the theft; and accountants later detected the fraud through fictitious invoices created by the unlawful employees. Fortunately, the company was protected by their first party Fidelity Bond coverage and was able to report the loss to their insurance company.

Workers Compensation and Employer Liability is coverage that protects employees who are injured while performing their work related duties.

Example: Henry works at a factory and operates heavy machinery on a daily basis. One day, he gets his finger caught in one of the machines and suffers a painful gash that requires stitches. Fortunately for his company, Henry received medical attention that was covered in the company’s workers compensation policy.

Commercial Auto Insurance Protection a company typically takes for vehicles purchased under the company’s banner to protect against the liability and physical damage caused by the specified vehicles.

Example: An employee of Sal’s Flower Shop crashed the company van into a tree when making a delivery to a local funeral parlor. Thankfully the van was covered under the business auto policy of Sal’s Flower Shop and the ensuing physical damage was covered.

EPLI Insurance is insurance that covers businesses from allegations of past misconduct from both current and prospective employees. Such allegations could include, but are not limited to sexual harassment, wrongful termination, discrimination, etc.

Example: A corporation is facing a lawsuit due to allegations from a former employee. This employee alleges that the company uses discriminatory practices in the hiring of new employees and the termination of its current employees. The corporation’s EPL Insurance will be able to help them with the litigation and settlement costs of the trial that may come as a result of the claims from the former employee.

Directors and Officers is insurance coverage that protects the principals of a corporation from law suits that can arise as a result of mistakes or negligence by that business’ directors and/or officers.

Example: The chief financial officer of a company makes a misleading statement regarding the financial strength of his corporation. The statement was made as a result of bad information that he received. As a result, the value of the company suffers a substantial blow and a shareholder of the company decides to take legal action. Due to the D&O insurance carried by the company, the lawsuit would not be able to touch the personal assets of the company’s board.

Marine and Inland Marine Insurance can be thought of as a type of insurance that indemnifies a loss to either a moving or movable property. Although it originated for goods shipped by water, it has expanded to also include goods transported over dry land as well.

Example:A trucking company is responsible for regularly transporting furniture from Washington to New Mexico. While a shipment was in transit, one of the trucks crashed and the contents of the vehicle were destroyed. Fortunately, the company had inland marine insurance and the value of the cargo was covered.

Group Health Insurance is a form of health insurance that protects people who belong to the same particular group.

Example:Todd’s corporation provides a health insurance option to all of the employees that work for the company. Todd and his dependants receive their health coverage due to this group health policy.