Small Business Insurance
Business Insurance Explained
As a California business owner you have taken the biggest step toward your financial freedom. But as you also know, the opportunities of a business owner also come with many risks and liabilities. Having the peace of mind in knowing that your employees, property and revenue are safeguarded you can focus on the big picture – growing your business.
From minimum coverage to comprehensive protection, our flexible options make it easy to get customized business insurance to match each stage of your business’s life cycle.
One Size Does Not Fit All
We realize all businesses are different and have different needs when it comes to the right insurance policy. We also offer a package policy, called a business owners policy (BOP) that includes business property coverage and general liability protection. Your business may also need professional liability insurance, in addition to general liability coverage.
General Liability Insurance
General liability insurance (also called a Business Owners Policy or BOP) protects your California business from financial loss resulting from claims of injury or damage cause to others by you or your employees.
Premises and Operations
Let’s say a customer has a slip and fall inside your store or business. They sustain medical injuries and file suit against you to cover the damages; this coverage will help protect your business assets.
Products and Completed Operations
Products liability protects manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors against exposure to lawsuits by people who may have been injured or suffered other losses because of their product. It provides coverage against claims stemming from products sold, manufactured or distributed.
Completed operations responds to bodily injury or property damage claims that would occur after the completion of a project, resulting from the negligence of the work performed.
Crime Insurance
Provides your business with protection from fraud, theft, forgery or robbery.
Workers’ Comp Insurance Basics
This can satisfy the state requirement and your employees’ medical needs in the event of an accident or disease while on the job. It also helps against the potential of a lawsuit by current or former employees.
Who Needs Workers’ Comp Insurance?
Workers’ comp insurance is required by law in almost every state. Workers’ comp laws are designed to ensure payment by employers for some part of the cost of injuries, or in some cases, of occupational diseases, received by employees in the course of their work.
Safeguard Your Business and Employees
Upon the unexpected, it’s essential that your employees’ medical needs are quickly addressed so they can return to work as fast as possible. We offer a valuable addition to Workers’ Compensation coverage in the form of Loss Control Services. These services help your employees by identifying workplace hazards, such as a faulty electrical wire in the kitchen, providing a safe environment for employees. The safety and loss prevention materials include tips on how to reduce slip and fall accidents in restaurants, ladder safety tips and how to prevent back injuries.
Building Coverage
Property insurance will make certain your property is rebuilt or repaired from fire, theft or windstorms so you can avoid losing income and preserve both the equity and your future.
Business Personal Property
The loss of any property you own or create for sale affects your bottom line. If a windstorm damages any of these items, Business Property insurance can help you replace everything from computers and inventory to equipment and tools.
Business Income
Provides coverage to keep your business operating until goods and services are being produced again. This protection not only replaces lost business income while the office and its contents are being rebuilt and replaced, but it can also cover the operating and payroll expenses necessary to keep you and your business on your feet after a loss.
Business Auto
Business Auto insurance options for the vehicles you own, lease or rent for business use. It can ensure your business is protected against losses from injuries to other drivers, passengers and pedestrians for which you and your employees are liable.
Auto Insurance Includes
- Auto liability
- Medical payments
- Comprehensive coverage
- Collision coverage
- Uninsured and under-insured motorists
- Borrowed or Rented vehicles
- Coverage for employees using their own personal cars for the business
Umbrella Insurance
This coverage goes above and beyond basic business liability insurance limits, offering up to $10 million of additional funds you could be potentially liable for millions of dollars in medical or other payments.
Umbrella Coverage Explained
If, for example, your business faced a $1.5 million dollar legal settlement and your first policy limit was only $1 million, your business would be responsible for coming up with an additional $500,000. With an Umbrella Liability Insurance policy in place, however, the additional half-million dollars would come from the insurance company rather than your own pockets. Umbrella policies tend to be relatively inexpensive, they can provide significant financial protection and peace of mind to business owners who don’t have especially deep pockets.
California Group Health
Employer sponsored health insurance benefits for your employees. Small Group Health insurance in California consists of 2-50 employees. Although insurance is regulated at the state level, Federal law states that Group Health Insurance cannot turn down an individual for having a pre-existing condition. This mandate is known in the insurance industry as Guaranteed Issue.
Benefits of Group Health
Statistic show that carriers that provide benefits to their employees have increased loyalty and less turnover. It may also reduce absenteeism and decrease risks associated with poor health in the long run. Besides offering access to affordable health services, group coverage also helps businesses in ways relating to employee retention and tax benefits. Generally speaking, any expenses an employer incurs related to health insurance (for employees or for dependents) are 100% tax-deductible as ordinary business expenses, on both state and federal income taxes. Employers should also be aware that the Affordable Care Act offers small businesses healthcare tax credits to help offset the cost of insurance.
Types of Health Insurance
The Affordable Care Act requires that insured small group plans offer health plans that meet certain benchmarks. The benchmarks are represented by the metal levels of platinum, gold, silver and bronze. Each metal level tier plan is designed to provide the same average level of benefit to an enrollee. The tiers are based on the percentage the plan pays of the average overall cost of providing essential health benefits to members:
- Platinum plans are the most generous and more expensive. These are designed to pay 90% of medical expenses
- Gold plans are designed to pay 80% of medical expenses
- Silver plans are expected to pay 70% of medical expenses
- Bronze plans are expected to pay 60% of medical expenses.