Hey everyone, Jason here, and welcome back to Business Insurance 101. Today we're diving deep into additional protections that every business owner should consider. I've been in the insurance industry for over 15 years, and these are some of the most crucial yet often overlooked coverage options that can make or break your business when disaster strikes.Let's start with Business Interruption Insurance. This is absolutely vital coverage that many business owners don't think about until it's too late. Imagine this: a fire damages your retail store, or a storm destroys your warehouse. Your property insurance will cover the physical damage, but what about all the income you're losing while you can't operate? That's where Business Interruption Insurance comes in.This coverage helps replace your lost income during the period your business is forced to close. It can cover your ongoing expenses like rent, utilities, and payroll. Here's what most people don't realize - it typically takes much longer to get back to business than you'd expect. The average business interruption claim lasts about six months. Without this coverage, many businesses never recover from a major disruption.One key thing to understand about Business Interruption Insurance is that it's not sold as a standalone policy. It's typically added to your property insurance or included in a Business Owner's Policy. When you're getting coverage, pay close attention to the waiting period - that's how long you need to be shut down before coverage kicks in - and make sure your coverage limit is adequate for your business's needs.Now, let's talk about Commercial Auto Coverage. This is essential if your business owns, leases, or uses vehicles for business purposes. But here's something many business owners get wrong - they think their personal auto insurance will cover them when they use their personal vehicle for business. That's usually not the case.Commercial auto insurance typically provides higher liability limits than personal auto policies because business vehicles often face greater risks. It can cover vehicles like delivery trucks, service vans, or even regular cars used for business purposes. The coverage includes liability protection if your vehicle damages someone else's property or causes injury, physical damage coverage for your vehicles, and medical payments coverage for injuries to your drivers and passengers.Here's a pro tip: if your employees use their personal vehicles for business purposes, you need non-owned auto liability coverage. This protects your business if an employee gets into an accident while driving their personal vehicle for business purposes.Moving on to Employment Practices Liability Insurance, or EPLI. This is becoming increasingly important in today's business environment. EPLI protects your business against claims by employees alleging discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, failure to promote, and other employment-related issues.What makes EPLI so crucial is that these claims are becoming more common, and they're expensive to defend against - even if you've done nothing wrong. The average employment lawsuit costs over $450,000 to defend and settle. Small businesses are particularly vulnerable because they often lack dedicated HR departments or formal employment policies.EPLI typically covers legal costs, settlements, and judgments. It can also provide coverage for claims brought by prospective employees - like if someone claims they weren't hired due to discrimination. Some policies even include coverage for third-party claims, like if a customer claims they were harassed by one of your employees.Last but definitely not least, let's discuss Crime Insurance. This is one of those coverages that business owners often think they don't need until they become victims. Crime insurance protects against losses from both internal and external theft, fraud, and other crimes.Traditional property insurance typically excludes or limits coverage for crime-related losses. Crime insurance fills this gap by covering things like employee theft, forgery, computer fraud, and funds transfer fraud. In today's digital age, cyber-related crime is particularly concerning. For example, if someone hacks into your banking system and transfers funds, or if an employee embezzles money through manipulating your computer systems, crime insurance can help protect you.One of the most valuable aspects of crime insurance is its coverage for employee dishonesty. Statistics show that the average employee theft incident costs businesses about $200,000, and small businesses are particularly vulnerable because they often have fewer internal controls.When considering crime insurance, pay attention to the coverage territory - you want to make sure you're covered wherever your business operates. Also, look for policies that include social engineering fraud coverage, which protects against schemes where criminals trick employees into transferring ...
