Remember back when we began this blog? We started by saying insurance isn’t glamorous, but everyone needs it. This time, we’re going to add that insurance can be complicated. But at Freeman & Sherburne, we try to make it less confusing, so you can make the best insurance decisions. Let’s start with business insurance.
Types of Business Insurance
The easiest way to think of business insurance is to break it down into two categories: insurance that covers physical things and insurance that covers the invisible or less tangible.
Business insurance that covers physical elements can include property insurance, home-based business insurance and business vehicle insurance. We’ll begin by discussing these, and in our next part, we’ll move on to the less tangible.
Property Insurance
Let’s say you have a business with a storefront or office in Gainesville, Virginia. You sell sandwiches, subs and salads. You would need property insurance to cover inventory, furniture, equipment and other physical assets on the property. Generally, insurance will cover you in the event of theft, a storm or a fire. Acts of God are generally not covered, so if there’s a hurricane, tornado or an earthquake, you might be out of luck, like everyone else.
Home-based Business Insurance
We know many business owners in the Gainesville, Haymarket, Bristow and Warrenton areas that have home-based businesses. Why not operate out of your home if you can? It can be not only comfortable, but economical. However, many businesses owners who have home offices neglect to get the right kind of business insurance. A regular homeowners insurance policy will not cover your physical business assets. So, for example, if your laptop is stolen or a fire destroys your printer, those might not be covered, and you just lost a lot of money in equipment. You need a separate home-based business policy.
Business Vehicle Insurance
If you use your vehicle for business purposes for any reason, your safest bet is to have business insurance on that vehicle. For some carriers, this means even if you are just driving to a fast food restaurant and you are in a vehicle that has your logo on it, your vehicle is considered a business vehicle. Don’t assume your personal car insurance policy will cover you in the event of an accident. At the very least, you’ll want business vehicle insurance to cover injuries. But comprehensive insurance can’t hurt, especially in a place like Northern Virginia where traffic and aggressive drivers put you more at risk. Don’t risk losing your business because you don’t have the right kind of insurance.
In our next blog, we’ll discuss insurance that covers the less visible aspects of your business. Stay tuned!
Freeman & Sherburne has more than 130 years of experience serving the insurance needs of our clients. We are licensed in Virginia, Maryland and Washington D.C. We couple a small-town approach with high technology tools to serve you best.
As independent professionals, we provide all our clients with the best insurance solutions from a wide range of companies and programs. We make insurance simple, straightforward and economical. Reach out today and experience the way our agency works.