As a small business owner, insurance is probably one of the last things on your priority list. However, this is a big mistake and can end up costing you your business in the worst case scenario or eating up your profits in the best case scenario. There are many benefits to taking out small business insurance and you will find that the costs offset themselves quite quickly.
- Liability:
Probably the most important benefit in taking out small business insurance is that you are covered for liability. Businesses make easy targets in case of on site accidents. If someone is injured at your place of business and you don’t have any form of liability insurance you will end up paying for the rest of your life to cover medical expenses and any other damages the courts see fit to grant the person who was injured.
You may think that since you run a small office that there are no accidents your business can be found at fault for. However, even if someone just trips over a wire and twists an ankle in your office they can sue you for damages and medical expenses. It really doesn’t matter if it was their fault. The accident took place in your office so you are liable and since you are a business you will probably end up paying more than you could have imagined for a sprained ankle.
Small business insurance will cover you in all these situations, whether the person is a visitor, client or employee. - Theft:
Small business insurance will also cover you for the cost of equipment or goods that have been stolen. So, if you have a warehouse and goods are stolen as a result of a break-in your insurance policy will cover the cost of replacing the stolen property. This holds true for office equipment and any other property that you have insured.
The compensation you receive can save your business because having most of your inventory stolen can cause a serious dent in your turnover and profitability if you don’t have coverage. Small business insurance will cover the costs and you can quickly replace your lost inventory. - Natural disasters:
By taking out small business insurance against natural disasters you will be protecting your assets and inventory in case they are destroyed by natural disasters, such as a flood or earthquake. If your place of business is destroyed by an earthquake, the costs of replacing everything can be staggering. A good insurance policy will cover the replacement costs so you can be up and running again in no time at all.
However, if you didn’t have any small business insurance you will have to cover everything out of your own pocket. As most small business owners don’t have massive financial backing and usually don’t have such a large emergency reserve of funds it usually means that they end up filing for bankruptcy.
Taking out small business insurance can mean the difference between having a successful business and losing it all in a moment.