business insurance

6 ways to lower your workers’ compensation premiums in Atlanta

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Improving safety can help you save money on your workers' comp insurance.

Improving safety can help you save money on your workers' comp insurance.

As an employer, you might absolutely dread one of your employees getting hurt. You care about your employees, of course, and you don’t want to see them in pain because of a workplace accident (and, well, there’s an awful lot of paperwork involved with workplace accidents.) Ensuring that the employee gets the medical attention and care they need is the most important thing, so as a business owner it’s important for you to have enough workers’ compensation insurance to provide for your employees if they get hurt – workers’ comp is probably one of the most important types of business insurance. But there are things you can do to control and manage the cost of the workers’ compensation insurance you need. Below are six tips that explain how you can lower your workers’ comp premium.

1. Place an emphasis on safety.

The best way to avoid workers’ comp claims (and the potential rise in your insurance rates that follows) is to prevent the accident in the first place. And that means taking the time to properly train your employees in safety protocol – for example, how to stay safe while working with ladders. Every member of your team should get the training they need to stay safe on the job. It’s kind of hard to avoid accidents and danger if you don’t know where to look for it, which is where training comes in. Anyways, it’s important to talk about safety, too, to keep it fresh in everyone’s mind. Safety is a team effort.

Here are some basic safety tips you can consider for your business.

  • Identify hazards around your workplace and take steps to minimize them.
  • Choose a flooring material that won’t make everyone slip and fall – you need a floor surface that has good traction.
  • Reduce distractions on the job.
  • Implement ergonomics at your workplace. Ergonomics means tailoring a workspace to the jobs that are performed there to reduce the chances of strain and injury. There are even benefits of implementing ergonomics at an office.
  • Teach and emphasize proper lifting to help employees avoid back problems – lift with your legs, not with your back, everyone.

2. Create a return to work program.

A return to work or modified duty program allows employees who have been hurt to come back to work. They will be assigned tasks that have been customized for their physical capabilities while they’re recovering from their injury. Keep in mind that it’s essential to make sure that the employee is getting the medical attention and support they need.

Now, having a return to work program might make it seem like you’re just trying to exploit an injured person. That’s not the case. The goal of a return to work program is to support the employee as they come back into the workplace and resume their job duties. So, when you’re creating the new tasks that are tweaked for your employee, make sure that the work is meaningful and genuinely contributes to your business so that the employee doesn’t feel punished or unnecessary. It’s important that they know how much you value them.

Understanding your mod can help you figure out how your workers' comp premium is calculated.

3. Understand your workers’ comp mod.

Your company’s mod, or modification factor, is a method of figuring out how “risky” your company is by comparing it to other businesses in your industry. It gives insurance carriers a way of seeing whether your workers’ comp losses are better, on par, or worse than what they’d expect. (The size of your company, unexpected big losses, the frequency of losses, and the severity of your losses are all ways in which your business is compared to others.) The data used by most states for calculating mods is collected by the National Council on Compensation Insurance.

Okay. The significance of your mod is that it can either make your workers’ comp premium higher or lower. If your mod is above 1.0, you have a debit, which means that your losses are worse than what they should be. If your mod is below 1.0, you have a credit, which means your losses are better than what is expected. A debit means that you could have higher workers’ comp premiums while a credit means that you could get lower workers’ comp premiums.

4. Investigate accidents and near-misses.

It’s really important that you put on your detective hat and conduct an investigation of any accident or near-miss that happens at your workplace. Talk to witnesses and get their accounts of what happened. Check out the area where the accident occurred and observe what could have caused it. Try to get to the bottom of what happened and keep a detailed and organized record of your discoveries. The idea is to find out why the accident happened so that you can prevent another accident from happening in the future. Knowing why it happened will help you take steps to avoid another injury or accident.

Pro tip: Try to conduct your investigation within 48 hours of the incident. The witnesses will have a clearer memory of what happened, and besides, it’s best to take action immediately to prevent future accidents.

5. Report injuries that need to be reported promptly.

If the accident is a reportable one, you need to file that report as quickly as you can. It’s best to do this ASAP to help the investigation and claim move forward as smoothly as possible. The Department of Labor requires you to file several reports – for instance, the First Report of Injury or Occupational Disease must be completed according to your state’s workers’ comp laws. Find out what paperwork and reports you have to fill out and go to town.

Pro tip: Make sure your employees know that they need to inform their supervisor (or you) about any workplace accident or injury as soon as they can.

6. Check your payroll.

Make sure that all of your job classifications and your payroll are correct. All of this needs to be accurate so that you’ve got the right amount of workers’ comp insurance.

Your employee is the priority when it comes to your workers’ comp insurance. Taking steps to improve safety at your workplace is vital so that you can prevent accidents and injuries. A bonus of emphasizing safety is that you can lower your workers’ comp premiums. So, the simple truth is that preventing workers’ comp claims is really in everyone’s best interest.

Another way to save money on business insurance is to shop around and compare rates. Our team of insurance professionals can help you with that. We can get multiple quotes for workers’ comp insurance so that you can compare coverages and prices. All you have to do to get workers’ comp quotes is fill out our form or give us a call today.

What is inland marine insurance and does my Atlanta business need it?

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Inland marine insurance can be helpful for businesses to cover gaps in their insurance.

Words can be a lot of fun, especially when they say something that seems to be contradictory but really isn’t (a.k.a. an oxymoron.) Business insurance has its fair share of funny words, and one of those phrases is “inland marine insurance.” How can marine insurance be inland? You may think that the name doesn’t make a terrible lot of sense, and you would be correct. However, we can explain what inland marine insurance is and even why it has such a funny name.

What is inland marine insurance?

Contrary to what the name suggests, inland marine insurance does not have anything to do with boats. Basically, inland marine is a way for businesses to fill gaps in their insurance coverage. Certain parts of your business might not be covered anywhere within your other insurance policies, which is why you may want to think about inland marine when you’re buying business insurance. We’ll explain what inland marine insurance covers in a moment.

Where does the funny name come from?

Okay, here’s the deal with the name. Once upon a time, shipping used to use boats – hence why it’s caused shipping. Marine insurance was a way to protect ocean shipping businesses from loss. But then “shipping” became less dependent on the ocean because the cargo was loaded onto barges to be transported inland. And, since the cargo still needed coverage, a new form of insurance evolved – complete with an oxymoronic name.

But that’s not where the word fun ends. Within inland marine insurance, there’s something called a floater that protects cargo while it’s being moved from place to place. Guess where the name came from? In the days where shipping meant ships, the cargo that “floater” policies protected was actually, literally floating. Nowadays, the property that’s protected by a floater policy doesn’t have to be floating or levitating. Though that would be pretty neat.

What kind of business uses inland marine insurance?

Many types of business have inland marine insurance so that they can cover the gaps in their business insurance. There are different forms of inland marine insurance, such as bailee insurance (which is not just for people named Bailey) and contractor’s equipment.

We’ll give a few examples. If your business ever has your clients’ property in your care, you may need bailee insurance – for example, a computer repair shop where clients drop off their devices. If you ever transport property or equipment, you might need a floater policy. If you install products in your clients’ homes, you might consider installation coverage.

What we’re trying to say is that a variety of businesses, like construction business, technology or communications businesses, and transportation businesses, can benefit from inland marine insurance. Here’s a breakdown of different forms of inland marine by industry:

  • Construction
    • Builder’s risk: Protects buildings that are being constructed or repaired.
    • Contractor’s equipment: Protects tools and equipment used in construction that aren’t covered under builder’s risk.
    • Installation: Covers machinery and equipment while it’s being moved and during installation.
    • Rigger’s liability: Coverage for when you’re acting as a rigger for someone else’s property.
  • Technology and communication
    • Cable television: Covers property that is needed for cable television service.
    • Electronic equipment: Insures certain pieces of electronic equipment.
    • Medical imaging equipment: Covers medical equipment that is mobile and used by hospitals, clinics, etc.
    • Physicians and surgeons: Covers medical, surgical, and dental equipment used by those professions.
    • Telecommunications equipment: Protects phones, fax machines, audio and visual equipment for video conferencing, and computers.
  • Transportation
    • Commercial transport: Coverage for truckers and warehouses that protects goods while they’re being transported.
    • Legal liability: Covers the expenses you’re legally obligated to pay for a covered loss if you damage someone else’s property.
    • Motor truck cargo: Protects trucking businesses against losses to their cargo and their property while it’s in transit.
    • Railroad rolling stock: Protects rolling stock that’s owned/leased by railroad or other companies.
    • Tank storage: Protects tanks and pipes while they are in the policyholder’s care, custody, and control.
  • Miscellaneous
    • Bailee insurance: Covers your clients’ belongings while they’re in your care, custody, and control.
    • Armored cars: Protects against losses related to armored trucks.
    • Furrier’s block: Protects items that include fur while they’re in the care of department stores, furriers, retailers, etc.
    • Jewelers block: Covers jewels and gems used in the policyholder’s business.
    • Floaters: Covers movable property.

So, to conclude, inland marine insurance doesn’t relate to boats at all. Yes, the name is confusing. Anyways, inland marine insurance is meant to help businesses close the gaps in their insurance by providing coverage for areas that don’t have any. There are many kinds of inland marine insurance out there, so you might want to think about inland marine when considering what type of insurance your business needs.

If you want to save money on your business insurance, we can help. We can shop for the best rates for your commercial insurance so that you can be assured that you’re getting the coverage you need at the best possible price. All you have to do to get business insurance quotes is fill out our online form or give us a call today.

What is commercial umbrella insurance and do I need it for my Atlanta business?

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Umbrella insurance adds liability coverage for your business.

Umbrella insurance adds liability coverage for your business.Thinking about worst-case scenarios can be frightening and unnerving. When your business is cruising along and doing well, everything is great. But sometimes things happen and disaster can strike. Of course, you have business insurance to protect your company, but what if a claim comes along and blows your insurance limits right out of the water? Being stuck in a situation in which you don’t have enough insurance would not be good. However, there is a type of coverage that can supplement your current levels of insurance and even provide coverage in areas you don’t have it. It’s called umbrella insurance, and no, it’s not insurance for umbrellas (the name is a bit misleading.) We’ll explain what umbrella insurance is, how it can protect your business, and why you shouldn’t overlook it when you’re buying business insurance.

What is commercial umbrella insurance?

Commercial umbrella insurance can protect your business from gaps in your coverage and from expensive lawsuits. Basically, businesses use umbrella insurance to expand and back up the coverage they have with their existing policies. It’s a way to add extra coverage to your insurance.

What does commercial umbrella insurance do?

There are a few ways in which umbrella insurance can help your business. Umbrella insurance…

1. Provides extra coverage if you have a claim that goes above the limits of your existing policy.

Umbrella insurance is, to put it simply, extra coverage that sits on top of your underlying insurance policy. It can help protect your business from huge lawsuits that could be financially devastating to a business by adding coverage to your policy.

It’s easiest to illustrate with an example.

Let’s say that you have a whopper of a general liability claim – like a $4 million claim. It’s not good. Your business, of course, has general liability insurance, but your policy is only for $1 million. So, to do some quick math, that means there’s still $3 million to be accounted for. Now, let’s say that your business has a $5 million umbrella policy. What would happen is that your general liability insurance would pay its $1 million and your umbrella could then pay the remaining $3 million. So, there you go – an example of how umbrella insurance can help you out of a tight spot.

2. Can give you coverage in areas where you don’t have coverage.

If you have a claim in an area that’s not covered by your underlying policy, umbrella insurance can provide you with the coverage you need. But if you’re using your umbrella insurance in this way, you may have to pay a self-insured retention (or SIR) which is similar to a deductible. Basically, it means that you’re responsible for paying a portion of the claim.

Umbrella insurance and lawsuits.

Our society has become more and more likely to launch lawsuits, can come with some hefty damages. Lawsuits can be super expensive and potentially devastating to a business.

Umbrella insurance is a way for business owners to get an additional measure of protection for their companies. It gives extra liability coverage that sits on top of your existing insurance policy. Yes, the odds of a huge, catastrophic claim happening to your business might be low, but it’s still important to anticipate and prepare for the worst. You never know what’s going to happen (unless you can see the future, which would be great), and umbrella insurance can protect your business.

If you’d like to save money on your business insurance, we can help. Our team of agents can help you shop for the best possible rate for your insurance – and we’ll do our best to make insurance easy. All you have to do to get business insurance quotes is fill out our online form or give us a call today.

What factors affect the cost of business insurance in Atlanta?

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The cost of business insurance depends on a variety of factors.

The cost of business insurance depends on a variety of factors.

When you’re buying Atlanta business insurance, there are a lot of different factors to consider. Insurance will help you protect your business, and it’s a big part of your risk management plan – your keep-the-doors-open-and-don’t-go-bankrupt plan. But the question in your mind might be how much does business insurance cost. The answer to that is a bit complicated. One business is not the same as the other, so each business will pay a different rate for their insurance. We’ll explain the factors that affect the cost of business insurance.

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Atlanta workplace hazards: How to become a sensational ladder safety pro

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We've got some ladder safety tips to help you and your coworkers stay safe on the job.

We've got some ladder safety tips to help you and your coworkers stay safe on the job.

You and your coworkers might be super confident around ladders. You might use them all the time and scamper up and down without fear. But it’s important to remember that ladders, though they seem harmless enough, present risks to your safety. Falling from heights is always among the top ten causes of workplace injuries. To help you brush up on your ladder safety skills, become a pro, and avoid worker’s comp claims, we’ve come up with a dozen safety tips for you and your coworkers.

1. Wear the proper footwear.

It’s important that you wear nonslip shoes if you’re going to be climbing up and down ladders. If the soles of your shoes don’t have enough grip, you could find yourself in free fall before you even realize what happened.

Also, take the time to check the bottom of your shoes before going up. Mud, debris, or leaves stuck to your soles might cause your foot to slip. Clean your shoes off before climbing.

2. Always face the ladder when climbing up or down.

Always face the rungs when you’re going up or going down. This will help you keep your balance and have more security on the steps.

3. Take turns.

Only one person on the ride at a time, please. Ladders are only meant to hold one person. Adding a second person to the mix can throw off the balance and support, which might result in the ladder crashing down.

4. Watch the doors.

Don’t put a ladder near a door that could hit it if it opened suddenly. Make sure that all problem doors are locked or guarded if someone has to get on a ladder near a doorway. Also, don’t support or prop the ladder against a door – bad plan. If the door suddenly opened … well, no one wants to do a face plant, right?

5. Clear the area around the base of the ladder of items that could endanger the worker using it.

Make sure to keep the work area nice and tidy. Move anything that could cause a teammate harm out of the way.

6. Work in pairs.

There should be someone to hold the ladder to keep it steady whenever someone climbs. Don’t fly solo – employ the buddy system.

7. Never move the ladder while someone’s on it.

The ladder should only be moved when everyone has their feet safely on the ground. Seriously. Avoid the insurance claim and save money on your business insurance premiums.

8. Keep your center of gravity steady.

Balance is important when it comes to ladders. Your belt buckle should always be in the middle of the rungs to make sure that you’re centered and balanced. Don’t stretch or overreach over the side – you could lose your balance and make an unplanned descent to the ground.

9. Choose the right ladder for the job and set it up right.

Make sure that your ladder is the right size for the task at hand. The length of the ladder should be three feet over the roofline of the roofing surface if you’re doing roof work.

When you place the ladder against the wall or surface, it should make a 75˚ angle with the ground. You can use the 1:4 ratio trick to help you figure out if you’ve got the angle right. Place the base one foot back from the wall for every four feet of height from the ground to the place of contact.

10. Don’t step on the top rung or shelf.

The big “NOT A STEP” and “DO NOT STEP” signs are there for a reason. Don’t disobey the warnings. It might seem like you can balance on that top step, but it is definitely not worth the risk of falling.

11. Make sure the ladder is in good condition.

Never use a ladder that’s broken or in disrepair. Ladders that aren’t in tip-top shape can slip, break, or collapse while someone’s using them. And that would not be good. If you’re using an extension ladder, check all of the locks carefully and make sure they’re secure before using it.

12. Set up the ladder on a firm, solid surface.

Be sure to place the base on a steady, even surface so that it won’t wobble or slip.

13. Don’t leave a ladder set up and unattended.

When you’re done with the ladder, take it down and move it to a safe place. Don’t leave it propped up against a home or wall and walk away – that’s a general liability claim waiting to happen if someone gets hurt.

Ladders might not seem like the most dangerous of tools, but falls are a serious cause of injury among workers. It’s important not to skip the basic safety rules of using ladders on the job. Make sure everyone stays safe by training everyone in proper ladder use and enforcing safety skills in the workplace.

Need business insurance? We can help with that! We’ve got lots of experience helping business owners save money on their insurance rates – we can help you shop for your insurance. All you have to do to get started with your quotes is fill out our online form or give us a call today.

8 simple tips for how to buy the best Atlanta business insurance

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We've got a few tips for buying business insurance.

We've got a few tips for buying business insurance.

Business insurance can be intimidating. It can be hard to know where to start with the process of protecting your business, and since the stakes are high it’s important to make sure that you get the insurance you need. If you’re feeling a bit lost and overwhelmed about how to start your quest to insure your business, fear not, valiant business owner – we have some tips that are going to help you as you venture forth on your mission.

1. Figure out the risks your business faces.

Each business is different, which means that each business has unique risks that need to be covered. You need to consider what risks your business faces every day – and keep in mind that these could be disaster-related risks, such as storms, and liability risks (basically risks relating to your legal responsibility if something goes wrong.) Consider how you can lower these risks and figure out how to disaster plan for your business.

2. Do some research on what coverages might be right for you.

Of course, you’re going to want to enlist some professional help when it comes to covering your business’s risks and getting insurance, but it’s still helpful to know some of the lingo before you move forward. Different coverages cover different risks, and some of them are more industry-specific than others.

Some common coverages are…

  • General liability: Protects your business if someone claims that you caused them bodily harm or damaged their property.
  • Commercial property: Protects your premises from disasters like fire and lightning strikes.
  • Business interruption: Reimburses you for lost income if your business has to close temporarily due to a covered loss.
  • Workers’ compensation: Protects your employees by covering medical expenses and a portion of their lost wages if they get hurt on the job.
  • Professional liability: Protects you if negligence or error causes a customer to have a financial loss.
  • Product liability: Protects your business from claims that one of your products caused someone physical harm.
  • Home-based business coverage: This is one way that you can insure a home-based business. It’s basically an extension of your homeowners insurance policy.

3. Find a trustworthy broker who’s familiar with your industry.

When you’re on a mission to get business insurance, it helps to find an agent who understands your line of work and the risks you face. They need to be knowledgeable about your type of work so they can best advise you on your insurance needs and help you get the best rate for the coverage you need.

You also want to find someone that you can trust, someone who’s not going to put their own interests first. One way to find an agent or broker is to ask your friends and connections within your industry if they have any recommendations for you.

4. Don’t forget about BOPs.

BOPs, or business owner’s policies, are a common package policy for small business owners. A package policy is one that bundles different coverages into one policy. In the case of a BOP, it includes general liability, business interruption, and property insurance.

BOPs are helpful because they’re convenient and could help you save money, so you may want to find out if a BOP is right for you. However, you need to look closely at your risks to see if you need to add coverages to a BOP to make sure you’re fully protected.

5. Consider what deductible and limits of coverage are right for you.

Insurance policies will come with deductibles, which is the amount of money you have to pay before the insurance company will pay the rest of a claim. When choosing a deductible, you need to consider how much money your business can comfortably afford if you face a claim. Choosing a higher deductible can help you save money on your business insurance premium, but you don’t want that deductible to be unrealistic or destructive to your business.

As far as limits are concerned, you need to make sure the limits of coverage on your policies – the maximum amount the insurance company will pay out on a claim – are high enough to protect your business. You don’t want to end up finding out the hard way that your business is underinsured.

6. Go insurance shopping.

It’s important to compare rates from several different companies when you’re shopping for insurance. You’ll want to compare coverages and prices to ensure that you’re getting the best insurance plan for your business for the best price. Companies assess risks differently, meaning that you might find a lower rate by checking around with several different carriers. Keep in mind, though, that you should never sacrifice coverage to save a bit of money.

7. Know what insurance you’re required by law to have.

When you’re on your insurance quest, make sure you look into any insurance requirements that you might need to fulfill. You might be required by state or federal law to carry certain coverages at certain limits. Double check to make sure you’re staying compliant with those laws.

8. Check your business insurance needs every year.

It’s important to reconsider your business’s insurance needs annually because things may have changed. Your business may have grown, meaning you might need to raise your limits of coverage. Maybe there are new risks that you need to cover. Whatever the case may be, it’s advisable to take a good hard look at your business insurance once a year to scout for any changes that might mean you need to adjust your coverage.

Get a business insurance quote.

Getting business insurance may seem like a daunting prospect, and hopefully the above tips are helpful to you as you undertake your quest. If you have any questions at all about your insurance, please feel free to reach out to us. If you want to do some shopping to see if you can save on your rates, we can help with that, too. All you have to do to get started on some business insurance quotes is fill out our quote form or give us a call today. Our team of agents is ready to help you.

Sources: 

https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/launch/get-business-insurance-assets-liability

10 things you need to know about Atlanta business insurance

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Did you know these ten facts about business insurance?

If you have a business, you know that you have quite a bit of risk. Maybe more than quite a bit. Yeah, probably more. Anyways, the problem with business insurance is that it can be hard to make heads or tails of it sometimes – it can be like a foreign language. To help you get more confident speaking “business insurance,” we have ten “phrases” that you should know. Okay, they’re more like facts, but we wanted to keep the analogy going.

1. A BOP is a convenient way to insure small businesses.

A BOP, or business owner’s policy, can help small business owners get the coverage they need. It can basically smoosh general liability, property insurance, and business interruption insurance into a convenient, neatly-wrapped package. Different coverages can be added to a BOP to increase your business’s protection. However, there are a few qualifications your business has to meet before it’s BOP-worthy.

2. Your business might be required to have workers’ compensation.

Certain businesses are required by law to carry workers’ compensation insurance – in fact, most are. Workers’ comp protects your employees if they get hurt on the job. It provides for medical payments and even reimburses the employee for a portion of their lost wages if they’re unable to work. Make sure that you have the workers’ comp coverage you need to be compliant with your state’s laws – and keep in mind that each state has different workers’ comp requirements. Workers’ comp is really important because your employees aren’t covered under general liability.

3. Flooding is not covered.

Your business has to purchase flood insurance as a separate policy because flooding is not covered under property insurance. If you’re worried that your business could someday end up underwater, you’ll have to go through an agent to get commercial flood insurance from the National Flood Insurance Program, or NFIP.

4. Property insurance protects your premises and business essentials.

Property insurance can protect your building and business necessities (inventory, machinery, computers, etc.) against common perils, like fire. It helps you rebuild and repair your premises so that you can get your business started up again. Keep in mind that you need to be mindful of the perils covered by your property policy.

5. Choosing a higher deductible can help you save on your business insurance premium.

Your deductible is the amount that you agree to pay before the insurance company steps in to start covering expenses from a loss. If you select a higher deductible, your premiums may go down. It’s a bit of a balancing act – you want to make sure that your deductible isn’t so high that it would be hard to pay, but high enough that your premiums go down.

6. Having claims can make your premiums go up.

If you have a claim, the insurance company might see you as more of a risk. And that’s not good because the more of a risk you are, the higher your premiums could be. That’s why it’s so important for your business to commit to quality, safety, security, and workplace policies.

7. General liability insurance is your “slip-and-fall” insurance.

General liability protects your business against claims (true or untrue) that it caused someone bodily harm, property damage, or advertising injury. Basically, that means any claims that you broke their stuff, you broke them, or you slandered them in some way. General liability is crucial because people are clumsy. Accidents happen. You don’t want anyone to hold it against you.

8. If you have a really big claim, umbrella insurance can save the day.

Umbrella insurance protects your business from the whopper claims. It’s basically extra liability insurance that kicks in when the limit on the other, underlying policy runs out. Okay, you may still be scratching your head, and that’s okay because we have an example.

Let’s create a business. We’re going to say that they have $1 million of general liability. Now, let’s give them $1 million of umbrella insurance. Okay, here’s the fun part – let’s give them a $1.8 million claim. The general liability would kick in first and cover its $1 million before tapping out. But…that leaves $800,000 for our hypothetical business to pay. But don’t worry – their hypothetical umbrella insurance would swoop in and take care of the remaining $800,000. The day is saved!

9. Every business is different and needs different coverages.

The types of business insurance and limits that you need depend on several different factors – for example, your business’s size, the type of work that you do, and the business’s location. When getting insurance, it’s important that you work with an agent that will help you identify your risks and build an insurance plan that’s tailored to your business. We can help you do that here at Atlanta Insurance.

10. Risk management can help you reduce your business’s chance of financial loss.

Risk management is basically the process of scrutinizing your business for risks and taking steps to, well, manage them. It means implementing strategies to reduce or eliminate risks before they have the opportunity to hurt you. Risk management considers the losses that you’re vulnerable to and the likelihood that those losses will occur. Strategies for risk management include increasing safety and buying insurance.

These ten facts are only the tip of the glacier when it comes to business insurance, but it’s not so scary, right? There’s a lot to learn about commercial insurance, and that’s why it’s important to find out new stuff. Knowledge is power – someone smart said that once. It’s also important to find an insurance partner that you can trust, and that’s where we come in. We would love the opportunity to earn your business and become that trusted advisor, and we’ll start by getting you free quotes on your business insurance. To get started with your quotes, all you have to do is fill out our online quote form or give us a call today.

What coverages do you have to add to a BOP to protect your Atlanta business?

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There are some coverages that you'll need to purchase separately or add to your BOP.

We recently talked about the magic that is a business owner’s policy (aka BOP) and how they make insurance wonderfully convenient for businesses. But it’s important to note that there are some things that simply aren’t covered in a business owner’s policy. BOPs (catchy nickname, right?) typically cover general liability, commercial property, and business interruption insurance. However, the risks covered by the three types of insurance bundled into a BOP may not be enough to fully cover your business. There are lots of other disasters out there. To help you ensure that your business is fully insured, we’re going to go over some coverages and losses that aren’t bundled into a BOP.

Coverages that can be purchased as separate policies:

There are some coverages that you would purchase as separate policies for your business. Here are some coverages that you might want (or need) to get for your business.

Workers’ compensation:

Workers’ comp insurance is essential for businesses. It protects your employees if they get hurt or get sick because of their jobs. It can provide them with medical payments so that they can get back on their feet. It also reimburses them for a portion of the wages that they lost while they weren’t able to work if they’re medically approved to take time off. Depending on your business and state, you might be required to carry workers’ comp insurance.

Group health insurance and disability insurance:

These coverages can be procured separately if you want your employees to be able to get health insurance through their jobs.

Professional liability:

Professional liability can help you if you’re in a business where you offer advice and then politely ask for money. If a customer accuses you of negligence, giving bad advice, or not acting in good faith, they might sue you, professional liability insurance can help you cover the costs of the lawsuit.

Coverages that you can add to your BOP:

BOPs can bundle more than general liability, property, and business interruption insurance. There are other types of insurance that can be added to a BOP policy if you so choose. Some of those coverages are…

Crime coverage:

Crime coverage includes protection for a variety of theft that your business could face, including employee theft and commercial burglaries. Usually, you can add between $1,000 and $5,000 of coverage to your policy.

Data breach coverage:

With how dependent businesses are on technology and computers, data breaches are a very real risk. That’s why it’s important to protect your business from cyber risks. Adding data breach coverage to your BOP will help your business with the costs of…

  • Telling people who have had their information stolen from your company that their information has been stolen from your company.
  • Hiring consultants who can help you sort out the ensuing chaos.
  • Defense and settlement costs from potential lawsuits.
  • Replacing income that you lost due to the breach.
  • Extortion/ransom (Believe it or not, holding computer files or systems hostage and demanding money for their release has become a favorite of hackers, as far-fetched as it may seem. It’s a real thing.)

It’s important to make sure that you understand exactly what your BOP will and won’t cover. If there are any areas of risk that are not included in your BOP, you need to fill your coverage gaps. Disasters have a nasty habit of striking those areas that aren’t protected by insurance. Don’t underestimate the power of Murphy’s Law – whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. You don’t want to fall prey to a loss that isn’t covered, so review your insurance carefully and bolster any areas that are missing coverage.

Do you need to get some business insurance? We’d love to help you out with that! We can help you identify the risks that your business faces and build an insurance plan to protect you from them. We can get you some business insurance quotes for free. All you have to do to get started on your quotes is fill out our online quote form or give us a call today.

Does my Atlanta business need employment practices liability insurance?

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Employment practices liability insurance can help you business in the event of a lawsuit.

Employment practices liability insurance can save your business from a costly lawsuit.

Employees are the force that keeps your business going. They’re the heart, blood, and life of your company. But one day you might end up in a situation with an employee that turns into an employment-related practices lawsuit. You might not think that your employees would ever do that to you, and you would never hurt an employee intentionally. But your business could someday be saved by employment practices liability insurance, or EPLI. We’ll go over what EPLI is and why you might want to consider adding it to your business insurance plan.

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