One of the most important investments your business can make is in its insurance policies. You have a right to buy with confidence, but to do that, you need to know exactly which coverage you need. You can get the best policy solutions with the help of a trusted insurance agency, and the more customized your plan portfolio is, the better the protection it will provide.
When perfecting your business insurance options, your agent will be there to answer all of your questions about the different features of your policies. Keep these three important questions top of mind to ask them at the appropriate time.
#1: What Are You Buying? 
There are numerous types of business insurance available, and you’ll likely need several different types of coverage. Ask your agent whether your portfolio includes essentials like:
- Property insurance
- Coverage for inventory, equipment, and furnishings
- General liability insurance (property damage, bodily injury, products, completed operations)
- Business interruption insurance
- Commercial auto insurance (if you operate a vehicle)
- Workers' compensation insurance
You generally will be required to buy minimum amounts of certain coverage by law. Therefore, you should have the easiest possible path to request, compare and enroll in these benefits.
#2: Do Limits and Exclusions Apply?
No business insurance plan is without its limits. Policies will exclude certain types of losses altogether, and all will only pay up to a certain maximum amount for all claims. Therefore, it’s imperative that you adjust your policy limits to offer enough compensation for even the most expensive of losses. Additionally, you will periodically need to include special endorsements on a policy, which will extend coverage to specific assets and liabilities that are particularly in need of coverage. Your agent will be there to help you determine these solutions appropriately.
#3: What Insurance May You Need Soon?
Just because you need only standard business insurance today, that doesn’t mean you won’t need more specific coverage tomorrow. Companies are constantly changing, and every day they will face new potential liabilities, all of which they deserve insurance coverage.
Some of the coverage extensions that you might need include:
- Hired/non-owned auto liability coverage
- Equipment breakdown insurance
- Key persons life insurance
- Cyber liability insurance
- Employee dishonesty insurance
- Professional liability insurance
- Umbrella liability coverage
- Errors & omissions (E&O) insurance/professional liability insurance
- Directors & officers (D&O) insurance
Discuss any expansion plans with your agent well in advance. Ask them how you can appropriately scale your insurance options alongside your growth, so that you never leave potential liabilities uninsured. Whenever you make significant changes to your company, your priority should be to alert your agent.
There is no time like the new year to review your business insurance options. You’re right at the beginning of the year, and you want your commercial insurance to continue to protect you for years to come. When you’re ready to make changes to your coverage, you can rely on your agent to make sure you get the assistance you need.