5 Liability Issues Commercial Insurance Can Protect You From
What if your business was in serious danger and you couldn’t even see it?
This is the case for most businesses that don’t have commercial insurance. This insurance offers important liability protection for you and your business. Unfortunately, many business owners don’t realize how useful liability coverage can be until it’s too late.
Are you curious about what kinds of liability issues commercial insurance actually protects you from? Keep reading to discover the answers!
Understanding the Limits of Commercial Insurance
Before we dive into the benefits of liability protection, it’s important to understand potential limitations. Simply put, there are some things a standard commercial insurance plan can’t really protect you from.
For example, this insurance doesn’t cover employees getting sick or injured on the job. For that, you’ll need to have a robust workers’ compensation plan in place. That is always a “must-have” if you have employees.
Standard commercial insurance also doesn’t cover accidents with the company car. In these cases, you’ll need commercial automobile insurance.
By itself, general liability insurance cannot protect your property from theft or damage. To cover that, you’ll need a commercial property insurance plan.
Finally, general liability insurance alone does not cover professional mistakes you or your employees make. For that, you’d need more specialized professional liability insurance.
Who Needs Liability Coverage?
Many businesses benefit from liability coverage, but it’s not a must-have for every business. With that in mind, which businesses can’t afford to skip liability coverage?
Any business that is open to the public or otherwise receives outside visitors should have liability coverage. This can protect you in the case of unexpected injuries on-site.
It’s also important to have liability coverage if you use social media in a personal or professional capacity. All it takes is one angry tweet to open your company up to a potential lawsuit (more on this later).
Finally, if you create your own in-house marketing materials, you really need liability coverage. That is because the claims made in your advertisements may open you up to liability issues that you are unaware of until it is too late.
Still on the fence about getting liability coverage? Let’s take a closer look at some specific issues this insurance can protect you from.
1. Bodily Injury Claims at Commercial Establishments
Remember when we said that any business open to the public needs commercial insurance? That’s because of the potential for bodily injury in the event of an accident. When someone visits your workplace and gets into an accident, they may hold you responsible. Unless you can settle things between yourselves, the injured party may take you to court.
Here’s the thing about getting sued: It’s very, very expensive. Even if the court eventually decides in your favor, the costs of defending yourself in court can very easily bankrupt you. If you end up settling, you could pay a lot out of pocket (the average settlement is $90,000).
But with commercial insurance, you get liability coverage that will cover your legal costs. It also covers the injured party’s medical costs, and this helps reduce the odds of them taking you to court.
2. Copyright Infringement Claims
Marketing is the cornerstone of creating a more successful business. Sometimes, though, rival businesses or other individuals may claim that your marketing stole their ideas. When this happens, you may get sued for copyright infringement.
Once again, even successfully defending yourself in court can completely drain your finances. A prolonged legal battle can harm your business reputation, even if you eventually come out on top.
With the right commercial insurance carrier, you get the legal protection you need. The fact that you can afford to defend yourself in court reduces the odds of anyone filing a frivolous copyright infringement claim against you.
3. Property Damage Claims
Property damage claims are a close cousin to personal injury claims. They work essentially the same way: If someone’s property is damaged while they are at your business, they may hold you legally responsible and take you to court.
Things are even riskier if you visit clients at their homes or places of business. If their property is damaged while you are visiting, they may blame you for it.
Most businesses can’t grow and thrive if you have to constantly worry about every customer visit or every consultation. With commercial insurance, you can get the peace of mind you deserve.
4. Advertising Injury Claims
On paper, advertising injuries should be pretty rare. These are the injuries that occur when your business defames someone else (including other companies). Most business owners don’t go out of their way to defame anyone.
Of course, defamation is in the eye of the beholder. These days, it is increasingly common for people to take businesses to court due to things like social media posts and online videos. If someone feels you have committed libel and slander against them, then you may find yourself in court (even if they don’t have much of a case).
Hopefully, this will never happen to you. When it comes to commercial insurance and liability coverage, it’s better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
5. Reputational Harm Claims
Reputational harm is exactly what it sounds like. This is when someone makes a claim that harms the overall reputation of a business. Historically, these kinds of lawsuits have been aimed at newspapers and other media outlets that report something that makes the business look bad.
However, reputational harm claims can be levied against anyone, and you might be surprised how they affect business owners. For example, you may give an honest answer about a local business during a television or radio interview. If the local business owner decided you caused him reputational harm, he could take you to court. Commercial insurance provides the liability protection you need exactly when you need it.
Get the Best Commercial Insurance Today!
Now you know the different liability issues that commercial insurance can protect you from. But do you know where to find the best commercial insurance for your business?
At InsureOne, we’re here to take care of all your commercial insurance needs. We are always ready for you to get a quote online. Alternatively, you can pick up the phone and give us a quick call at 800-836-2240. Finally, feel free to come into one of our convenient nearby offices!