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Every Small Business Needs Insurance – Here’s Why
There are several liabilities when starting a business, and a lot of young and enthusiastic entrepreneurs are facing challenge after challenge. With continual failures, from getting the appropriate resources to operate to make a reputation for yourself to branding and marketing, a true breakthrough may take years. This makes having insurance a very important factor. Some estimates suggest the first real profits might come after the second year, while this can vary depending on your initial capital investment.
With all this said, the chances of getting sued or facing damage is more than real and should be taken into account while planning the future of the company. Over 30 million small businesses are currently operating in the States alone, with the number increasing each year.
Now imagine the scope of accidents that might occur, and the range of different professions, from employer injuries to equipment damage, and potential lawsuits by customers – the final number to which it can all amount can be staggering. With all this said, the need for reliable insurance is more than obvious to the cunning eye, and if you are not convinced yet, we’ll sum up some reasons why you might need it.
Protection for you and the business with insurance
As previously said, the range of various occupations can vary, and the type of insurance you require will depend on the precise work you do. Not all businesses need vehicle insurance (as a freelance writer at home, you do not need insurance on transportation), because you might go under the category of low-risk. However, certain insurance policies cover most typical injuries, losses, and legal expenses if they occur, regardless of what you do, and provide protection in the event of several incidents. We are referring to general liability insurance plans, as they are the most common and often required depending on the specific profession.
Firstly, it is great for the people working for you, as it often is regarded as one of the many perks and benefits of a job. Secondly, you’ll be on the safe side no matter what happens and how it might occur, as you’ll protect your workers in case of damage, bodily injury, or potential lawsuits. You don’t have to worry about such things once you get it all covered by an insurance plan. To that end, you can find out more about business insurance in Edmonton and you’ll find everything you need in one place. Even if you happen to be in a profession not directly related to any risk factors that might induce body injuries, you can always protect yourself with an advertisement insurance plan, in case someone suits you for alleged false advertising.
You can protect yourself in case of a customer lawsuit, as certain customers are more than eager to find any justification or product liability that often occurs after someone fails a lawsuit after supposed malfunctions or defective design. Now, the range is wide, and generally, if you happen to be a small business reaching for the stars, all these scenarios are more than possible to occur. Other lawsuits can be absurd as it gets, such as the “slip and fall” if you happen to own a restaurant and someone sustains injuries due to the accident. If not insured properly, you’ll have to pay for medical bills, sustained emotional trauma, and other damages done.
Lawsuits and bad insurance plans without proper coverage of a wide number of accidents are often the reasons why small businesses shut down and never properly recover from the accident. To prevent this from happening, contact an agency right away. It also attracts new workers, as is an assurance of the company’s professionalism.
Insurance can be a requirement
Now, this can depend on whether you are renting a facility or not. In the case of renting a building, you can always go for an insurance plan covering any damage that might be done to the facility, due to natural disasters or human negligence. Everything can be taken into account, from plumbing issues to fires or electrical malfunctions of the installation. Now, whatever the case, it is better to have some coverage if it comes to such scenarios rather than not.
Also, sometimes if you happen to be borrowing the money for the business, the other party might require some insurance plan as part of the deal, just to be sure you have some form of protection. Or one (we hope unlikely scenario) is property protection in case of theft or any form of vandalism. This can occur no matter the political stability of a country, it might happen during the night or time of the day when the store is closed. Under vandalism, we refer to any property damage done to the facility, from graffiti to breaks, and theft is also a quite common occurrence and might cost you a lot.
Another reason to have an insurance plan for a small business is to safeguard your tools or equipment, thereby staying protected in case something happens. Equipment malfunctions can setback the business for days if the whole business is dependent on it.
Giving workers repayments
Now, imagine something were to happen to some of the workers in case of an accident which by all accounts is your fault; the whole weight of the accident falls on the business. Any form of worker compensation, without any insurance plan, will be paid by you if you want to prevent any potential lawsuits filed by the worker.
This means you’ll be paying for medical bills, treatments, and even compensating for wages lost due to the accident. This, with all other hidden expenses, can amount to a staggering number and can cost your company.
A proper insurance plan covers all this, assuring the worker gets his legal rights and everything he is owned while protecting you from going bankrupt.
With all the above stated, it is more than obvious why insurance plans are a must in most cases, and how things can easily turn against you if you happen to miss on getting a plan. Of course, there is a chance of everything going perfectly fine without any incidents, but in the case of some of the above-mentioned scenarios, the costs are extremely high and the money would be better off invested in the business.