Comprehensive Business Insurance: 6 Essential Plans for Your Company

There are several different business insurance plans available that can cover specific needs. If you run a company from home, for example, your insurance needs will be different than a company that operates from a separate building. Your business may need more than one plan to fully protect your company from loss. Here are six business insurance plans and an explanation of each.

1. Home-Based Business Insurance. This coverage is for those who run business from home. Homeowners' insurance does not cover liabilities related to your products and services or protect you from loss of income or damage to company equipment. If you run your business from home, you will need coverage in addition to homeowners' insurance.
2. Commercial Property Insurance. This business insurance plan is appropriate for those who run operations in a building separate from home. You can protect yourself from loss due to property damage related to fire, floods, vandalism and other unforeseen events, such as natural disasters. Commercial property insurance can be purchased as an all-risk policy or specific to an event, such as fire insurance.
3. General Liability Insurance. This type of insurance can protect you from lawsuits related to injuries, accidents and negligence claims against your company. Claims related to bodily injury, medical expenses, property damage, and reputation (libel, slander) are covered with this plan.
4. Product liability Insurance. If your company sells distributes or manufactures products, you may be liable for its safety. This insurance plan protects your company from financial loss related to product defects that result in bodily harm.
5. Errors and Omissions Insurance. This protects against financial loss related to errors on the part of the company or negligence. Also called malpractice, certain businesses, such as medicine related practices, are required to have this type of insurance in certain states. This business insurance plan exists because general liability insurance does not cover damages that are a result of your mistakes or negligence.
6. Business Interruption Insurance. This insurance protects against the loss of income as related to property damage. With business interruption insurance, your financial loss that is a direct result of having to shut down your business while you are relocating or your equipment or building is being restored. This insurance may also cover additional expenses related to resuming normal business operations.
   

Purchasing one or more of these business insurance plans can save you a great deal of money in the long run.