Insurance & Bonding

General liability insurance can provide financial protection for some of the most common accidents at a business. It can help if someone other than an employee gets hurt and your business is at fault. This is called “bodily injury.” General Liability Insurance can also help pay for repair or replacement costs if you accidentally damage property that doesn’t belong to you. And if you’re accused of reputational harm (libel or slander), false advertising (advertising injury) or copyright infringement, your insurance policy can provide coverage for that, too. It’s one of the most frequently purchased types of business insurance by small business owners because of the broad protection it offers.

General liability insurance can help protect you from unexpected expenses related to many of the most common types of accidents that can affect your business and lead to lawsuits, such as:

• Injuries to people who are not your employees (bodily injury)
• Damage to another person’s property (property damage)
• Court and legal fees
• Medical payments
• Advertising harm
• Accusations of libel or slander (personal injury or reputational harm)

General liability is included in many business insurance packages because it can help cover the risks that many small business owners face every day. It’s not typically required by law, but some clients and agencies could ask you to have a certificate of insurance before they work with you.

Professional liability insurance can help protect your business if you are accused making a professional mistake or negligence. A client or customer can file a lawsuit against you if they think you did something to cause a financial loss. If you have a professional liability insurance policy, you could get financial help to defend your business or fix the mistake. Professional liability is common coverage for professional services, such as accountants, consultants and real estate professionals.

There are two core areas where professional liability can help protect a small business from unexpected costs:

Your business mistakes

You can follow all the rules, do everything right and still make a mistake — it happens to almost everyone. Professional liability insurance can help protect you from paying entirely out-of-pocket if you or your employees are accused of making a mistake that causes financial harm to another person or business.

Accusations of professional negligence

There are standards of service for every profession. Business owners are generally expected to act in the best interest of their clients.  You might find yourself accused of professional negligence and forced to defend yourself if your business actions caused a financial loss for a client.

Workers’ compensation can help cover expenses for medical care, lost wages and other costs after a workplace injury. It can help injured workers if they are hurt on the job and it can protect business owners from significant financial losses after an accident. For example, workers’ comp can help cover medical treatment and lost wages if a heavy beam lands on a construction worker’s foot and causes a compound fracture. Without insurance, the employer could be responsible for all related costs, which could add up to tens of thousands of dollars.

But workers’ comp is not just for high-risk jobs. Repetitive-motion injuries (i.e., carpal tunnel), slip-and-fall accidents and strains can happen at relatively safe businesses.

Workers’ comp can help cover employee medical bills and other related expenses after work-related injuries.  Workers’ compensation claims can help pay for:

• Medical expenses
• Lost wages
• Retraining 
• Permanent injury
• Death benefits
• Employer liability

The employer liability coverage offered with workers’ compensation insurance can help protect your business from financial losses if an employee sues you for causing a workplace injury or illness. It can include coverage for several different types of lawsuits, including negligence.

Commercial auto insurance is essential to protect your business from unexpected expenses if you or your employees are involved in an accident.  Whether you have a single work truck or a small fleet of delivery vehicles, your commercial car insurance policy can provide coverage up to your policy limit for: 

• Expenses for claims related to emergency care
• Medical bills
• Property damage
• Damage to your vehicle
• Legal fees
• Gap coverage on financed and leased vehicles

Whether your vehicle is essential for your daily operations or something you only occasionally use for work, you need an auto insurance policy customized for your business.  If you’re like most business owners, the separation between work and home is probably blurred. Even if you only have one car for all your transportation needs, you’re exposed to different risks when you drive for business than you are when you drive personal reasons. If you have employees that operate your cars, your commercial auto insurance policy can also cover them up to the limits of the policy. 

Commercial property insurance can provide a wide range of coverage for small businesses. Common items that your insurance company can protect include:

• Inventory
• Furniture
• Fixtures
• Equipment
• Business income
• Structural damage
• Broken windows
• Flooring

Your insurance coverage could provide financial help if your property is damaged by:

• Water
• Fire
• Wind
• Vandalism
• And other risks

Even if you rent a space and don’t own the building where you work, you may need insurance to help protect what’s inside and avoid a large financial loss.

How Commercial Property insurance works

After you purchase commercial property insurance, you could file a claim to get help with replacement or repair costs for damaged property after a covered event. It’s important to note that your policy document will describe specifically what property damage your insurance will cover and any exclusions — be sure to read it carefully. If you have to file a claim, you’ll work with a claims specialist who will assist you in resolving it as soon as possible.

A business owner’s policy (BOP insurance) combines two important types of business insurance — general liability insurance and commercial property insurance — into one package that is usually less expensive than buying the coverage separately.

General liability insurance can help pay for medical expenses if your business is held responsible for an injury to someone who is not an employee, as well as legal costs if they sue your business. It can also help cover the costs if you or an employee accidentally damage someone’s property.

Commercial property coverage helps pay for business goods, gear and inventory and damage to structures and provides business income after a covered event.

BOP insurance has additional benefits:

• You save money by bundling two policies into one
• You get coverage that’s tailored for small businesses like yours
• You can easily manage your coverage, add additional insureds and share certificates online 24/7

Cyber insurance can help small businesses prevent, assess and quickly respond to many technology-based problems, including:

• Compromised IT infrastructure
• Systems failure events
• Cyber attacks
• Data breaches
• And more

Risks to your cyber security can come from many places, including your personal communications (like email) and professional networks, or vendors, partners and employees. 

Prevention is key, but fast response time in the event of an incident can help mitigate damage and loss to your business.

Cyber liability insurance can help protect your business and provide:

• A suite of free cyber security tools to help monitor and protect your communication and transactions.
• 24/7 expert response to help you immediately after a cyber attack.
• Protection for physical hardware in the event of a virus or malware.
• Financial help after phishing scams, data breaches and ransomware attacks.
• Recovery or replacement funds lost due to wire fraud.

Your tools and equipment are essential to running your business. If they are stolen, lost or damaged, this coverage will get you back to work fast by paying for replacements or repairs.

Make sure your gear is protected all the time, everywhere — including in your vehicle, stored in a trailer or at a job site. Tools and equipment insurance is available as an add-on to our general liability insurance for contractors and cleaning businesses.

Tools and equipment insurance is a smart choice for anyone who brings their own equipment to different locations in order to get a job done.  Industries and professions that can benefit most include: landscaping, construction, cleaning businesses, contractors, concrete and cement, plumbers, HVAC, janitorial services, electricians and carpenters.

Tools and equipment covered include: 

• Sanding power tools
• Saws
• Laser levels
• Dust-control systems 
• Ladders and workbenches 
• Power drills 
• Blowtorches
• CNC routers 
• Oscillating multi-tools
• Concrete moisture meter
• Stand lights
• Hearing protection
• Helmets and safety gear
• Power tubing cutters

Liquor liability insurance helps protect businesses that manufacture, sell and serve alcohol. It’s designed to cover losses resulting from intoxicated guests. These losses include:

• Legal costs
• Lawsuit settlements
• Repairs to fix property damage
• Medical expenses related to injuries

For example, say there is a tipsy customer at your restaurant. While on their way to the bathroom, they accidentally knock another patron to the ground. The guest who fell breaks their wrist and decides to sue your business to cover the medical costs. Liquor liability insurance can help by paying for the medical bills and any associated legal fees. Generally, liquor liability insurance covers:

Property damage. A tipsy patron excitedly sloshes their red wine while telling a story at your restaurant’s bar area. Unfortunately, the wine lands on another patron’s new $900 designer shoes.

Slips and falls. An intoxicated patron injures themselves or another guest at your business.

Bodily injury. A group comes to celebrate a friend’s birthday with dinner and drinks. They don’t seem intoxicated as they leave, but they get in an accident on the way home that seriously injures the other driver. Your business can be held liable for the damages if the driver was over the limit.

Product liability coverage — which is included in general liability insurance — can protect your small business from having to pay for legal fees if a customer says that an issue with your product caused them injury or property damage. A consumer can bring a lawsuit against any manufacturer or seller if they allege that your product caused an injury because of a defect. The defect could be in:

• The design of the product
• The manufacturing of the product
• The marketing of the product (unclear instructions or missing warnings)

As a retailer, you can be held liable for defective products even if you were not involved in the design, manufacturing or marketing. if you own a retail or e-commerce small business that sells, makes, repairs or distributes physical items, you may want to consider obtaining product liability insurance for adequate coverage for your business. Product liability insurance is commonly purchased by business owners who sell or distribute products directly to consumers.

Product liability is crucial for protecting your business from financial losses. Many small business owners never expect to find themselves in a lawsuit, but it’s better to be prepared for unexpected circumstances. Depending on the product type and lawsuit, the customer may only have to prove that the product was faulty to win. You can be held liable even if you didn’t do anything wrong. That’s why product liability insurance for small businesses is so important. Compared to the cost of an average claim, product liability premiums are a small investment for peace of mind.

If you own a retail or e-commerce business, a customer could claim that your product was defective and caused them injury or property damage. Product liability coverage can help to cover the resulting court fees, legal defense costs, verdicts and out-of-court settlements. The liability can come from any point in the supply chain, from development and manufacturing to distribution and sales.

Product liability can also provide coverage for:

• Global claims: If your business is based in the U.S. but you sell goods abroad, your products would be covered.
• Private or white labeling of products: If you buy from a wholesaler and relabel the products (such as a clothing line that you design but don’t manufacture), your products would be covered.

We provide bid, performance and payment bonds for all sizes and types of contractors. Surety and fidelity bonds can play a significant role in helping address risk and potential loss for a growing business. Whether it’s a surety bond to guarantee payment or a bond to guarantee work, we understand what businesses need and are responsive, flexible and focused on satisfying the unique bond requirements of our customers.

Homeowners Insurance coverage protects your home and personal property. If your home is owner occupied, liability and theft coverage is included. Landlord Insurance coverage solely protects the dwelling structure of the property.