Insurance Basics 101 For Small Business

By Author: Marcus Stalder
Total Articles: 491
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With both the economy and the job market taking a hit in America over recent years, more and more Americans are looking to run their own business or become self-employed. If this is a step that you have considered taking, or are a small business owner already, then you may have already learned how important insurance will be for your business. If you are new to the small business game, and know that insurance is a part of the self-employed life, then you will want to inform yourselves on the basics before you begin looking for insurance quotes. Here we will cover the basics on insurance for small business and you will see that you can still take steps to protect your business investment, without spending a fortune.

Unless you have a large business, a significant amount of employees, and assets such as vehicles and machinery, your insurance needs for small business will be fairly straightforward. Today in America, most small business owners are using a standard model for this kind of insurance known as the Business Owner's Policy, or BOP for short. The BOP is a kind of insurance that provides coverage and liability insurance ...
... for all of the basics needs in your small business. Building and contents are often covered, and you can add on or extend your business owner's policy at any time as your business grows. While most BOP's are fairly standard and straightforward, there are still ways you can save on insurance when you are looking for quotes.

When it comes to protecting your business investment, you have to consider everything in your business that is worth value to you when you are getting insurance quotes. This could start with something as basic as a list of the building and its contents, but you may have parts of your business that need additional protection. For example, any securities or finances that you have invested through your business may need protecting, or you may have files or records on your property, or elsewhere, that are integral to the success of your business. Some businesses, like engineering firms, that rely on using intellectual property as their source of trade will even go so far as to insure their creative products from being stolen as ideas by competitors. When you are looking for small business insurance, you have to take into consideration every single part of your business that could experience a significant loss either through damage or theft.

If you use a vehicle for your small business, you may find that you are able to save on insurance by either combining your business and car insurance, or getting car insurance through your business policies. You can also minimize insurance costs by asking your insurance company for higher deductibles, and this will not only reduce your premiums now, but assist in establishing a solid relationship with your insurance company that will get you lower premiums in the future as well. When you are looking for business insurance, you need to remember to take every factor into account that is directly related to your business. You can cut costs on small business insurance by combining policies, and eliminating unnecessary elements from your business owner's policy.