Risk. It’s not always the first thing that comes to mind when you think about your business. Yet, all businesses face risks. Some businesses face greater risks than others and have particularly unique risk profiles. Read on for six risks common to small businesses and the kind of insurance that protects against them.
Regardless of your industry, product line, or service offering, your small business faces liability risk. The most common liability risks include physical damage, bodily injury, and failure to meet contractual obligations. Commercial General Liability (GL) insurance covers accident-related damages that your small business may be found legally liable for. A GL insurance policy also protects the company and its employees, wherever they are doing business.
Claims related to commercial auto use and their resulting losses are a top reason that small businesses go out of business. Commercial Auto insurance protects companies when personal or company vehicles are used for business purposes like taking the team out to lunch, making a delivery to a customer, or traveling for an appointment or meeting.
Brick-and-mortar, home-based, and technology businesses alike face property risks. Accidents, hazards, and natural disasters can all negatively impact inventory, physical property, machinery, and other essential equipment. Having adequate coverage limits on your Commercial Property insurance mitigates the stress of replacing inventory, equipment, and essentials to keep your business running smoothly.
Sudden and unexpected events can impact the ability of your business to continue operations. A natural disaster that wipes out infrastructure and utilities means your storefront can’t open its doors to customers. An accident or unexpected visitor could cause a temporary pause in operations for repairs. Without a Business Interruption (BII) policy, a temporary closure could seriously or permanently impact your business. BII policies cover lost income and operating expenses while your business is closed or can’t operate.
Cyber threats and data breaches are increasingly common. More and more business operations are conducted online. For technology and internet based businesses, cyber and data risks are extensive. Every business that accepts credit payments, stores records, or uses email marketing is exposed to cyber liability. Layr’s Cyber Liability insurance policy covers first and third-party cyber-related threats and expenses including data breaches, legal defense costs, notification costs, and system disruption. You can purchase a cyber liability policy entirely online and it binds instantly.
Often discounted, a business’s reputation is one of its most important assets. Social media and reviews empower every customer to share their experience with your business in a few clicks. While not official insurance, it is best practice to protect your brand with a Reputation Management Plan. Your business’s Reputation Management Plan should include links to official company digital assets like your website, blog, social media profiles, etc., an outline on how to engage with satisfied and dissatisfied customers online, guidelines for the appropriate posting and sharing of company updates with suggested language, links to a library of images that may be used at any time, and any other resources relevant to your brand for internal stakeholders.
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