All businesses need insurance. If you are trading or offering a product or service, you need to cover your activity with a dedicated policy. Many aspects of a business can go wrong. Human errors such as negligence or technology hitches such as cyber-attacks put your business at risk.
I run a small construction business with 3 employees. But it was our online presence which was at risk more than our physical actions on construction sites. Since our website takes bookings from wealthy clients, it is at risk of an attack.
I was looking for a combined insurance plan which would cover everything our employees do with the added benefit of online safety coverage. I found the cybersecurity plan and the general liability insurance at Hiscox to be just what I needed.
There are a few other plans which our business can be subject to shortly from this company. Work Compensation insurance is particularly appealing as it protects a business from work-related injuries or illnesses.
Hiscox Small Business Insurance Features
General Liability Insurance
Various small businesses and individuals can benefit from the insurance plans the company has to offer. Arguably the most popular insurance plan, the general liability policy is made for architects, construction workers, consultants, landscapers, real estate agents, fitness trainers, etc.
This plan is specifically tailored to those who meet with clients face-to-face. If you have a business similar to mine or even if you meet clients in a third-party location such as the gym in the case of fitness trainers, this plan is made for you.
My company has access to my client’s homes. There are hundreds of things that could go wrong from my employees braking something in the house to leaving the doors unlocked. Most professions and small businesses that could benefit from this insurance plan include the following.
In these sectors, most small businesses pay a low monthly liability insurance cost. Most surveyed small businesses pay an average of $30 per month. Businesses with extras risks such as those as mine working as contractors in airports or train stations might pay up to $50 per month.
Errors and Omissions
If you provide any type of service, you could be facing issues of negligence. This of insurance covers the legal costs and settlement costs associated with work-place negligence.
The insurance plan can be adhered to by both a company and its employees. For example, if my company has certain insurance, my employees can subscribe to another type of insurance to protect them from all types of claims.
If I’d be working as a contractor or as a developer in the IT field, I know I’d adhere to this plan myself. Even if my employer has certain insurance to cover errors, I might still be working on a certain project outside my job’s norm.
For example, a client can contact an IT company to develop an app. The company then assigns employees to create the app to the customer’s requirements. But during this project, developers can make changes to the requirements and how the app is run or how it looks.
Some of these changes are inevitable. However, clients can file a lawsuit claiming errors and omissions have been made on the project. The employer might present the case in front of a judge as negligence from the employee.
I have many friends working in software development and I know these things happen all the time. But if you have this type of insurance, you know that all legal costs can be covered for you. The same applies to nearly any other field which deals with customers.
Workers Compensation
A similar type of insurance plan on offer is workers' compensation. If you’re ready to hire an employee, you need to know about these issues yourself. For example, if one of my employees gets injured at work, there’s going to be hospitalization costs as well as losses to my company.
These 2 costs may not be covered entirely by the insurer. But they can be covered to a large extent. In such cases, hospitalization costs are covered and wages are almost covered entirely by the insurer.
It’s advisable to take a risk assessment before embarking on this insurance plan. For example, as a contractor, I need to be able to underline which the most common injury risks are for my employees. I can then ask for a quote with regards to these risks.
Risk assessment is normally done by professionals. But you don’t want to be left exposes as you have direct responsibility for certain injuries your employees may have. Even as an independent contractor, you might still need this insurance to cover possible injury-related costs and further doctor’s visits.
Cybersecurity
If you’re dealing with online databases, cybersecurity insurance is the type of plan you need to consider. Particularly vulnerable companies are those dealing with online payments. In the case of a data breach, your customers would lose money.
But your company doesn’t need to accept online payments to be at cyber attacks risk. For example, you can only store the name and addresses of your customers in a database to be at risk. This then means this database can be hacked and the information used maliciously.
Such types of attacks are frequent. But local laws state you have direct responsibility for this data. You’re about to collect information that you don’t use otherwise than professionally. But this means you are not in direct interest to protect the information from hacking.
Cybersecurity can also leak email addresses. They can be then sold to advertising companies who sell out various offers to your customers. This is another potential issue which could bring your company in front of a judge.
All types of data breach scenarios are covered by the insurance plan. In today’s world, almost every company has an online presence. But if that company is collecting any type of data on the customers, the potential risk for cyber attacks is even higher.
Pros
Cons
Final Verdict
It was already a year into my business journey that I realized how exposed my company truly was. But there’s no need to panic before anything bad happens. Both employees and the company need to be protected.
The cost of medical care lost wages and lawsuits are never small. If you’re working with clients and if you meet with them face to face, insurance becomes mandatory. To get your free quote, you can fill out a form with the type of work your company does online.
Someone from the customer service team calls you and gives you the quote according to the main risks your business is exposed to. It’s wise to add all potential risks upfront to avoid delaying possible payments or even not receiving any reimbursement at all.
