General liability
Addresses claims from other people, such as a customer injured on your premises or damage you cause to someone else’s property.
Business insurance
Insurance for the business you actually run.
Shops, offices, restaurants, salons, studios, manufacturers and the many small operations that do not fit a tidy category. If you employ people, own equipment, hold a lease or have customers on site, there is something here worth reviewing.
Business insurance coverage options
Every business is different. We can help you review the insurance options that may apply to your property, employees, vehicles and daily operations.
Commercial property
Your building if you own it, and in most cases contents, fixtures, inventory and improvements even if you lease. Worth checking how the policy values things, since replacement costs change over time.
Business owners policy
Packages liability and property into a single policy, and is commonly used by smaller businesses that meet a carrier’s eligibility criteria. Not every operation qualifies, and a package is not automatically better than separate policies.
Workers compensation
If you have employees, this is a separate statutory matter rather than part of a liability policy. How it applies to owners, officers, family members and part-time staff is worth reviewing specifically.
Commercial auto
Coverage for cars, trucks and vans owned or used by your business. We can also help determine what coverage may be needed when employees use personal or rented vehicles for work.
Umbrella or excess liability
Sits above your underlying policies and is intended to provide additional limits once those are exhausted. Often reviewed when a lease, contract or customer requires higher limits than you currently carry.
Tools and equipment away from your premises
Tools, equipment, inventory and other business property that travel between job sites, vehicles and storage are often treated differently from property that stays at your primary location. A standard property policy is generally written around the building and what is kept inside it.
If your business regularly carries equipment in vehicles, leaves it at a customer site overnight, or holds property belonging to someone else, those situations are worth reviewing separately so the right coverage can be considered.
What can affect your insurance needs
Two businesses in the same industry can need quite different programs. The details that usually matter most:
- What you actually do day to day, described plainly rather than by category
- Whether customers, clients or the public come to your premises
- How many people you employ, and whether any are seasonal or part time
- Whether you own, lease or work from more than one location
- Vehicles, and who drives them
- Whether you hold property belonging to customers
- What your contracts and leases oblige you to carry
If you are a contractor
Construction and trade businesses run into a different set of questions, particularly around subcontractors, work performed away from your premises and jobs that are finished but not forgotten. We have separate guidance for that on the contractor insurance pages.
This page describes coverages in general terms and is not a recommendation for your business. Whether a particular coverage is appropriate, available or in force depends on your operations and on the policy, carrier, terms, conditions, limits and exclusions that apply. Eligibility is determined by the carrier, not by this page.
What to have ready for a review
- A plain description of what the business does, and how it makes money
- Annual revenue, and payroll split between office and other staff
- Number of employees, including seasonal and part-time
- Addresses of any locations, and whether you own or lease each
- A list of business vehicles, and whether staff drive their own
- Approximate value of equipment, inventory and tenant improvements
- Any insurance requirements written into a lease or a customer contract
- Current policy declarations pages, and any claims from recent years
Questions we hear
I lease my space. Do I still need property coverage?
Usually there is something worth covering. Your landlord's policy is generally concerned with the building rather than with your contents, equipment, stock or the improvements you paid to install. Reading what your lease actually requires is a good first step, and we are happy to go through it with you.
A customer is demanding higher limits and a certificate. What now?
Send us the requirement itself rather than a summary of it. Contract wording often asks for specific limits, additional insured status or particular endorsements, and whether your current program meets that is a question we can answer once we see the exact language.
It is just me, no employees. Is business insurance overkill?
Not necessarily. Liability exposure tends to follow what you do rather than how many people you employ, and equipment, customer property and vehicle use all exist whether or not there is a payroll. It may well be a modest policy, but it is worth ten minutes to find out.
Ready to review your business insurance?
Tell us about your business, property, employees, vehicles and equipment. We will help you gather the information needed to review your options.