Business Insurance Coverage Needs for ‘Mom and Pop’ Stores

When you are a small family business operating out of your home, a small office, or a small rented retail shop, it can be easy to overlook some of the insurance coverage needs you may have. Accidents can happen anywhere and smaller businesses tend to have fewer financial means to pay for an unexpected liability than a larger company, making insurance even more essential to the long-term survival of the family business.

Every business that has location where customers can enter needs liability insurance, no matter how big or small. Even if no one walks into your store but walk on the sidewalk that cuts through your property, it is your responsibility to keep that sidewalk safe and anyone who gets hurt on that sidewalk could look to your shop for compensation.

General Liability Insurance offers coverage for these instances, as well as several over gaps that other kinds of business insurance might not cover.

When it comes to protecting your business assets (that is to say, the building you operate in and its physical contents), a Business Owner’s Policy is the best way to stay covered. Should your location become inoperable due to a disaster, the BOP will kick in to pay for a temporary relocation. This allows you to keep making money while your main place of business is being repaired. On the other end, the BOP may also offer coverage for simple problems such as an HVAC malfunction.

If you have any employees that are not members of the family, you must provide Worker’s Compensation Insurance in case they get hurt or injured while on the job. Worker’s Comp pays medical bills caused by work-related incidents, as well as paying for lost wages, disability, or retraining.

Any business that uses a motor vehicle, even if it is the family car, should have insurance that will cover theft, vandalism, impact damages, accidents, and other incidents.

Commercial Auto Insurance allows you to turn the auto insurance on this vehicle into a business expense. This can save you some in taxes, because the expense comes out of the business operating costs, rather than your net profit.

If you run a small family business, ensure you have the right insurance coverage to stay protected. Speak to your insurance agent today for a review of your present policies and/or to identify any holes you have in your coverage.