Your Insurance Needs Change as Your Business Grows

As a new business, obtaining Business Insurance is one of the first essential steps to take.  Many new businesses start with a Businessowners package, which bundles General Liability and Property, and if they have employees, Workers Compensation, and Auto coverage if they own vehicles.  However, as your business grows, so do your insurance needs.

When a business grows or evolves, but its policies aren’t updated, or new coverage is not added, that can leave room for possible coverage gaps.

As a business grows, there are multiple ways in which its insurance needs change.

Sales or Payroll Increases

Small and medium-sized businesses often have their insurance on  a BOP, or Businessowners policy.  As sales or payroll increases, the business could no longer be eligible for the BOP, and their insurance needs would be better served on a Package policy, a more customized insurance option.

Increased gross sales mean higher exposures.  Are the policy limits high enough for the exposure? If the base policy limits are not high enough, an Umbrella policy can be added to ensure that there is enough coverage.

Workers’ Compensation policies are auditable, so if additional employees were hired during the year, that extra payroll will be audited and paid for at the year-end audit.  When new employees are hired and the year-end payroll will be significantly higher at the end of the year than what is estimated, it is always better to increase the payroll on the policy during the policy term, instead of waiting for an audit.

Employment Practices Liability

When employees are added, in addition to Workers’ Compensation, Employment Practices Liability is a coverage that needs to be considered.  EPLI covers exposures that are excluded from General Liability policies, such as discrimination, harassment, and wrongful termination claims.

Moving or Adding Locations

When a business moves or adds a location, policies need to be endorsed as soon as possible. When a policy is being endorsed for a location change, the property limits should also be evaluated, especially for Business Personal Property and Business Income, to make sure that there is adequate coverage, especially if inventory and stock have increased.

New Products and Services

Insurance policies are specific to a business’s operations.  When a business starts to offer new services or sell new product categories or types, policies need to be updated to reflect these new operations to ensure that they are fully covered.

Adding Vehicles

If a business starts doing deliveries using their own vehicles, they needs to add Commercial Auto Coverage.  If they buy a new vehicle, they need to be added to the policy when purchased. Keeping policies up-to-date is vital; this means frequently updating your driver’s list on the policy as well.

Cyber Insurance

When a business starts to sell online, take online payments, or has a system where client data is stored that includes personally identifiable information, Cyber Insurance should be considered. Cybercrime is on the rise, and even small businesses are targets.

At Fixated Financial, we are here to support our clients and their growing insurance needs. As a new client or a current customer, we are happy to provide comprehensive coverage reviews as part of our services. We are a service-oriented boutique commercial insurance agency, and as your business thrives, we will be there to help protect it. Call us today to speak to an Account Manager about how we can help you today.