No matter the kind of business you operate, having insurance is one of the important tasks you should fulfill. The insurance you have will protect you and your business in the worst-case scenarios, and these scenarios are very probable when it comes to operating a business. You never know when you’ll face a lawsuit, have one of your employees injured on the job, or when your assets become damaged or stolen. The probability of facing natural disasters that completely ruin your office is not far fetched anymore, either. You need to prepare well, and the best way you can do so is by having insurance.
However, the kind of insurance you need will vary depending on the business you operate. In the case you’re operating a business in logistics, here’s how you can protect your business:
-
Commercial General Liability
Commercial general liability insurance is also called business liability insurance, and it’s one of the most important types of insurance any business should have. Usually, this kind of insurance will be covered in a Business Owner’s Policy (BOP), but it can be acquired on its own if you’re a contractor. Commercial general liability insurance protects you and your business against claims of bodily injury, personal injury, or property damage filed by third parties in the course of operating your business. This kind of insurance also provides you with protection in the event of personal and advertising injury, medical payments, products and completed operations, and damage to rental property.
-
Errors & Omissions Insurance
While many business owners believe that general liability insurance covers everything they need, that’s not true in many cases. General liability insurance only covers bodily injuries and property damage, but if a client claims that they’ve suffered economic loss or other kinds of damage as a result of receiving your services, then this claim won’t be covered by your general liability insurance. Instead, you’ll need errors and omissions insurance to handle these cases. This insurance will protect you against these claims, even if they are completely groundless, saving you a fortune that could otherwise bankrupt your business.
-
Commercial Property Insurance
The two previous kinds of insurance protect your business operations and their consequences, but they have nothing to do with your property. This is why getting commercial property insurance is essential to protect your physical property against damage inflicted by natural disasters and accidents. Typically, commercial property insurance will cover the cost of physical damages in the case of fires, explosions, theft, vandalism, burst pipes, and storms. While floods and earthquakes aren’t usually covered, you can check with the insurer to make sure they’re added to the policy.
-
Cargo Insurance
While commercial property insurance protects your physical assets, its coverage doesn’t include your shipment and cargo. In order to protect your cargo from being stolen or in case of damage resulting from an accident, you’ll have to get cargo insurance. This kind of insurance will get very expensive when dealing with more than one vehicle of transportation. To ensure you get the best deals when insuring more than one vehicle, vans for instance, you can compare multi-van insurance deals and find the most cost-effective solution. This option will also cover all your vans under one insurance umbrella; in doing so, it removes the hassle of paperwork and documents associated with each insured van separately. It will give your transporter the flexibility of driving any van you have, without needing to stick to one kind of van.
Cargo insurance covers your transporting vans, but it can be customized to the kind of vehicle you’ll be using. Depending on your method of transportation, you can get any kind of land cargo insurance or even marine cargo insurance.
-
Workers’ Compensation
Worker’s compensation is required by most states legally. This insurance provides compensation for your employees in the case of being injured while doing their job. Any kind of bodily injury or personal injury acquired during the work will make them eligible for getting workers’ comp, even if they were partially or fully at fault. The insurance will pay for their medical treatment and bills, cover their lost wages, and provide monetary benefits to their families in the unfortunate occurrence of dying on the job. In return, employees who accept workers’ comp give up their rights to sue you or your business for wrongdoings, which serves to protect you as well.
In order to ensure the protection of your logistics business, as well as protect yourself, there are a few types of insurance that you need to get. For starters, commercial general insurance is a must for every business, but since it doesn’t cover everything, then you’ll need errors and omissions insurance as well. Commercial property insurance will cover your physical assets with exception to your cargo, which will be covered by cargo insurance. Finally, protect yourself and compensate your employees in the case of work-related injuries by workers’ compensation.