Category Archives: Business Owners Insurance

Business Owners Insurance

Business Insurance, Business Owners Insurance

If you’re a small business owner, you may be concerned about the cost of getting Business Owners Insurance. A Massachusetts Business Owner’s Policy (BOP) will give you the coverage that’s required for a business owner, all in one package. If you’re a small business owner, we recommend you get a BOP to have the necessary coverage for much less cost.

What Does a Business Owner’s Policy Cover?

No matter what your business, there are things you’ll want to be covered for, maybe even things you never thought about. For example, if there’s a crime committed on your property, could you be held liable? What if you own a restaurant and someone chokes on the food or slips on your floor? What if a customer claims that the product you advertised wasn’t what was delivered? Lawsuit and medical costs can get pretty high. That’s why it’s nice to have a BOP that covers:

  • Crime
  • Personal Injury
  • Medical Payments
  • General & Product Liability
  • Professional Liability
  • Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI)
  • and more

Also included are coverages such as Property Insurance and Cyber Liability. In future blogs, we’ll break these down some more.

What Types of Businesses Should Carry Business Owners Insurance?

Anyone who owns a business should be insured. Period. Some businesses may require more coverage in an area than another type of business. For example, if your business is more Internet-based, you’ll want to have Cyber Liability coverage. This coverage protects your business in the event there is a data breach that compromises your customers’ personal information. If you experience a cyber attack, this coverage can pay for any legal fees you might incur from customers, as well as the basic cost of notifying all of your customers that the breach occurred in the first place. In this age of cyber criminals, any business that has an online customer database can’t be too careful.

On the other side of the spectrum, professional contractors need to make sure they’re covered for Bodily Injury, as the physical risks associated with electrical and construction work tend to be greater than other types of businesses. Stepping on a live wire, accidents associated with falling scaffolding—all of these are more prevalent in contractor businesses.

Getting the Right Insurance Coverage for Your Business

So as a business owner, you want to make sure that you have the most appropriate, and necessary, coverage for your type of business. That way, if there is an unforeseen event, you can rest assured you’re covered.

At Zawada Insurance Agency, we’ll work with you to help you find the right type of Business Owners Insurance with the coverages most important to you and your business.

Zawada Insurance Agency is a family-owned and operated independent insurance agency, working to get you the most comprehensive coverage at a competitive price. For more information about auto, life, homeowner, business and other insurance coverages, please contact Zawada Insurance Agency today.

Zawada Insurance Agency, Inc. located in Worcester, Massachusetts, serving central Massachusetts and beyond.

 

 

 

 

New Year, New Insurance

Apartment Building Insurance, Apartment Insurance, ATV Insurance, Auto Insurance, Boat Insurance, Business Insurance, Business Owners Insurance, Car Insurance, Car Insurance Company Worcester MA

How to Get Lower Rates on Your Insurance

As the New Year approaches, one of your resolutions may be to find more ways to save money. You can do this by rethinking your insurance policies. It’s always a good idea to do an annual insurance review, because you might discover that you could be eligible for discounts and other savings that you aren’t currently taking advantage of!

For example, if you have an older car, you may have had the same car insurance for years. But did you know that your rates could be lowered based on any changes that have happened recently? For instance, if you changed jobs and don’t commute as far, that can affect how much you pay. And most likely, it will reduce the cost.

More Ways to Save on Homeowners Insurance

Also, you might be eligible for discounts to your Homeowners Insurance if you recently installed a security system or quit smoking. If you started bundling all of your insurance policies with one company, they’ll most likely give you discounts for that, too.

How to Do an Annual Insurance Review

Take time before the New Year to collect all of your insurance policies, whether it’s home, auto, renter’s, motorcycle, etc. Usually you can find the basic information on the summary page of your policy. Here’s what to look for: the amount of coverage, your premium costs and your deductible. Keep in mind, if you want to lower your premiums, you’ll be raising your deductible. First, you should make sure you can afford the deductible amount if you have to make a claim.

Could You Rebuild Your Home If You Had To?

This is an important question when you’re reevaluating your home insurance. The reality is, construction costs could be much higher than when you first took out your insurance policy. Also, remember that insurance companies will tell you that if something major needs to be replaced, it will be replaced with something of “like kind and quality.” Your kitchen may still look like the 1980s. If you needed to upgrade your kitchen with more contemporary cabinetry and appliances, you’ll need to be able to cover that cost.

Did You Purchase Valuable Items?

In the past year, you may have purchased jewelry or other very valuable items that you may not have extra coverage for. Do an inventory to make sure you haven’t forgotten that priceless painting! If you discover that you did buy something like that, you’ll need to increase your coverage for “personal possessions.”

Is Your Home More Likely to Flood?

When you purchased your house, it may not have been in a flood zone at the time. But in recent

years, have you had more damaging storms and repeated flooding in your basement? It may be time to consider getting flood insurance, even if it wasn’t required.

What Umbrella Insurance Can Do for You

Last but not least, consider umbrella insurance. It’s a low-cost way to get extra protection for things like your retirement fund, investments and any future income, which may all be lost as the result of a lawsuit. Many people don’t think about liability coverage until it’s too late. So umbrella insurance will help protect you above and beyond your standard home and auto insurance coverage.

For all your home, auto and other insurance needs, please contact Zawada Insurance Agency. We work to give you comprehensive coverage at a competitive price.

Zawada Insurance Agency, Inc. is a family-owned and operated independent insurance agency, located in Worcester, Massachusetts, serving central Massachusetts and beyond.

Business Owners Insurance: Are You Covered?

Business Insurance, Business Owners Insurance

If you’re a plumber, electrician, HVAC installer or any kind of professional contractor, you may be eligible for a Business Owners Policy (BOP). This policy could include general liability, workers’ compensation, commercial auto insurance and other types of coverage.

General Liability Insurance

This is perhaps the most important type of coverage for a professional contractor. If there is an accident in the home where you’re performing work—whether it’s on pipes or electrical wires, for example—this will protect you from lawsuits and other liabilities.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance

If one of your employees is injured while on the job, this coverage will help cover medical costs as well as part of the wages lost while the employee was out sick or hurt. This is useful for industries that require a great deal of physical labor, which increases the risk of accidents.

Commercial Auto Insurance

There are special coverages for the vehicle you use for your business—extending to commercial autos, trucks and trailers. There are many options to choose from with this form of coverage, including liability and physical damage. Rates may also be adjusted according to the season. For example, if your business doesn’t do as much work during the winter, you may not use your company vehicle very much, so your rates might reflect this.

Business Interruption Insurance

Some Business Owners Insurance policies include coverage in cases where you’ve had to lose revenue because for, whatever reason, your business was out of operation. For example, if there’s a lawsuit pending against your business or a weather event forces you to halt operations, you would be covered.

Types of Businesses Eligible for Business Owners Insurance

Plumbers

What types of professionals may need these kinds of insurance? If you’re in the plumbing industry, you should consider getting insurance if you’re a contractor, pipe fitter, and septic tank or sprinkler installer.

Building Contractors

If you’re a home builder or developer, remodeler or any type of handy person charged with fixing or making changes to residential homes, you too would be eligible for Business Owners Insurance. Builder’s Risk Insurance is also an important type of insurance for this industry. It covers equipment used in construction projects, as well as the cost of extra materials. It also covers you for the unexpected.  

HVAC Installers

For an HVAC contractor, General Liability Insurance is the most important policy to get. If there are lawsuits because of damage to the property caused by moisture or installation issues, even injuries that resulted from work you did, General Liability Insurance will cover it.

Electricians

While electricians are necessary to repair power lines or install the electrical infrastructure of new buildings, there is still a high rate of risk in this profession.  Electricians often have to deal with live wires, circuits and high voltage. Bodily injury is a major concern, so getting the right types of insurance will protect you from high liability costs.

For all of the above professions, as well as other types of contractors, Zawada Insurance Agency will work with you to find the best coverage to protect your company. In future blogs, we’ll go into even more detail about the types of coverages unique to various industries.

For more information on insurance for business owners, please contact Zawada Insurance Agency. We work to give you comprehensive coverage at a competitive price.

Zawada Insurance Agency, Inc. is a family-owned and operated independent insurance agency, located in Worcester, Massachusetts, serving central Massachusetts and beyond.