There is always an element of risk in our lives, but that doesn’t mean that we should be ignorant, especially when it comes to the things that we care about. Let’s face it, your business is important to you. You worked hard to build it up to where it is today, and you want to protect it from any dangers that can threaten it. Having insurance means that you can reduce financial losses if and when they might occur.
You need business insurance to cover the things you can’t predict, like natural disasters and theft. If you walked into your office tomorrow to find that it had been robbed and every computer was taken, would you be able to replace them today and still keep your business going? Losses from theft, natural disaster, and other unforeseen accidents could easily bankrupt your business if you don’t have the correct insurance to help you replace what you lost.
You can’t protect yourself from lawsuits happening. You have great clients, which might make you think you will never get sued. This, in turn, might make you think that you don’t need business insurance. But it only takes one – one accident, one broken contract, or one disgruntled employee to put your entire business at risk. You need to be prepared. Without proper insurance, you might find yourself paying some rather large legal fees in order to defend yourself.
Business insurance might be a legal requirement. Once you have employees, your responsibilities become more substantial, and there are types of insurance that you are legally required to obtain. States often require you to have certain types of business insurance. When you have employees, you must purchase worker’s compensation coverage. Some states also require businesses to carry disability insurance.
You might not think you have the assets to make it worth it. Even if you don’t think your business has enough assets to be sued, you still need business insurance. Why? Because absolutely anyone can be sued. In reality, the smaller your business is, the more likely you can be held personally liable for debts.
Just because other people have insurance, that doesn’t mean you are covered. Let’s think about things you can’t control. Let’s pretend that your business is located on Main Street in town and another person causes an accident which ends with a car coming through your front window. Their auto policy, if they have one, might cover the damage to your business, but it’s probably not going to compensate you for the income you lost while your place had to be closed for repairs.
There are benefits that come along with business insurance. Property insurance is there to cover the damages to your business, but it doesn’t reimburse you for any profits that you lose. Business interruption insurance pays you for your lost sales until you can get your business back on its feet.
You can’t predict unexpected events like the death of a partner, an injured employee, a lawsuit, or a natural disaster. However, you can protect yourself from them. Don’t procrastinate being prepared until something happens. The question you should be asking yourself isn’t if you should get insurance. The question you need to focus on is how can you afford not to insure your business?
Resources:
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/business-insurance-important-2948.html
http://www.lifehack.org/345820/10-reasons-you-should-have-business-insurance
