4 Types of Insurance You Didn't Know Your Small Business Needed

Many small businesses have inadequate insurance for their operations. Some small businesses, especially sole proprietorships, may not have any commercial insurance at all. While there's many types of insurance offerings out there, here are a few you may not know about. You may just need them for your business.

1. Commercial Vehicle Insurance

Do you sometimes drive your personal vehicle for business purposes? Do you have another vehicle you use exclusively for business purposes? In either case, you should consider commercial vehicle insurance. Commercial vehicle insurance works much like other forms of auto insurance.

One notable thing about commercial auto insurance is you can cover multiple vehicles under one policy. Besides, if you're using a personal vehicle for commercial purposes, and an accident occurs, your normal auto insurance may not cover anything.

2. Cyber Liability Insurance

You likely use a computer, smartphone, tablet, or other computing device during the course of running your business. All computing devices can fall victim to a data breach. Just by doing business, you're collecting all types of sensitive information.

You'll want to protect that information. Many small business owners assume they're not a target because they're a small business. However, hackers target small businesses specifically because of that reason.

3. Workers Compensation Insurance

The moment you consider hiring somebody, you'll need to know if your state requires you to have workers compensation insurance. Laws governing workers compensation vary, and many small businesses operate in violation of those laws.

If you hire someone, and they hurt themselves while working for you, they will have to sue you or your business. It's the only way they can recoup medical expenses and wages. For a small business, such a situation can put the operation in jeopardy. Even if you're in a state that doesn't require WC insurance, you should still consider it.

4. Crime Insurance

Do not assume your business cannot fall victim to any of a number of crimes. Basic commercial policies do cover some crime, but it's limited. Adding specific crime insurance can add more types of crimes, and uncommon situations. For example, it can cover eventualities like embezzlement or employee fraud.

Start with an Overall Policy

It's possible your small business has no insurance at all. At the very least, you should start with a basic BOP policy. From there you can add on the specific types of insurance offerings you need.

Your BOP policy may come with lesser versions of many of the aforementioned types of coverage. You should work with an insurer like Bennett Agency to figure out what coverage you should expand. Your insurer should also help you decide what additional packages will work best for your specific business and situation.