Individual and family insurance are broad categories that includes all of the following types of insurance.

Property

This provides coverage to business owners from a covered physical loss (i.e. fire, theft, etc.) for buildings and structures that they own. Building values are typically calculated based on the cost to rebuild, not market value. A deductible applies to the property coverage.

Business Personal Property

The property inside your building is just as important to your business operations as the building itself. That is why business personal property insurance exists. This insures your contents such as equipment, fixtures, furniture, merchandise, etc. owned and used by your business. A deductible applies to business personal property coverage.

• Electronic Data Processing or EDP – This coverage is important if your computers, computer programs, and data are critical to your business operations. EDP provides property coverage for this important electronic equipment including coverage for perils that this type of property is susceptible to such as mechanical breakdown and electrical injury.

General Liability

This coverage offers protection for your business’ liability of bodily injury and/or property damage to others arising out of your business operations, whether the injury occurs on your premises or at the job site.

• Care, Custody, or Control Liability – Protection for liability claims for damage to other’s property while in your care.
• Employment Practices Liability Insurance – Protection for liability claims for employment claims such as age discrimination.
• Employee Benefit Liability – Protection for errors and omissions while administering your company’s benefit plan.
• Liquor Liability – Protection for liability claims arising from operations involving the selling and serving of alcohol.
• Product Recall Liability – Protection for expenses associated with your product being recalled.
• Sexual Misconduct Liability – Protection for legal liability for damages arising from injury from sexual molestation or misconduct.
• Worldwide Business Liability – Protection for your business when you operate in most parts of the world.

Inland Marine

A close cousin of business personal property coverage, the inland marine provides property coverage for items that are often moved from place to place.  A great example of this would be insuring tools that travel from jobsite to jobsite or a laptop that travels with an outside sales rep.   A deductible applies to inland marine coverage.

Flood

Standard commercial property policies exclude true flooding events from coverage.  Therefore, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) was created by Congress in 1968 to help individuals and businesses protect themselves in the event a flood.  Rates are standardized and based on coverage selected as well as location of the covered property.

Business Auto

You are required by the state of SC, NC, and GA to carry auto liability insurance on any tagged and operating vehicle that your business owns.  Similar to personal auto coverage, this protects others in the event you cause an accident.  You can also purchase collision, comprehensive/other than collision, rental, and towing coverages.  A deductible typically applies to the collision and comprehensive coverages.

Business Interruption Insurance

This is an important coverage that is sometimes “hidden” in a policy, but a good agent will make sure you have it.  If you happen to lose income due to a covered loss, this helps supplement that.

Commercial Umbrella/Excess

Umbrella and Excess Insurance policies provide an additional layer of liability coverage over specified underlying policies such as your general liability, business auto liability, and employer’s liability.  An umbrella or excess policy is extremely important due to the rise in the number of lawsuits filed, the size of settlements, and the costs to defend any such liability claim.  An umbrella or excess policy is an affordable way to protect your business assets from a nasty lawsuit.

Crime

Crime coverage protects your business from criminal acts including employee theft, forgery or alteration, theft of money & securities inside/outside of the business premises, computer fraud, fraudulent funds transfer, and counterfeit money/money orders.  While this coverage is an afterthought for many businesses, it can be a very important one to include.

Workers Compensation and Employer’s Liability

There are two coverage parts on a Workers Compensation policy.  Part 1, Workers Compensation, provides coverage for medical costs, rehabilitation costs, and lost wages for an employee who suffers an injury, illness, or death resulting from their job-related duties.  Part 2, Employer’s Liability, provides coverage to you, the employer, from liabilities arising from injury, illness, or death to employees resulting from the workplace.  In the state of SC, the law states that if you employ 4 or more workers (regardless of whether they are full-time or part-time) you must carry workers compensation insurance.  There are a few exceptions, which can be found on the SC Workers’ Compensation Commission’s website.

Directors and Officers’ Liability

If you have a board of directors (or equivalent) for your for-profit or non-profit, you should purchase this coverage to protect the personal assets of your board members while they make decisions on the board (most personal liability policies will not cover their liability while serving on a board).  This way they are free to serve on the board risk free. This insurance provides protection for management decisions that cause some liability to an interested stakeholder.

Cyber Liability

If you own and operate a website where people can enter in personal information (most companies do), then you are at risk for a cyber attack. If Sony, Target, Yahoo, and Home Depot can be attacked so can your site.  This is a new type of insurance where coverage varies dramatically, but most policies are designed to help cover the costs to recover data and to have a proper Public Relations Firm help you.

NOTE: This list is not exhaustive, but these coverages are a good starting point for any business to consider.  You should always meet with a qualified insurance professional to truly identify which coverages are important to protect your beloved business.