For many business owners, the topic of business insurance is a challenging one to wrap their business risks around. It can be difficult to know which types of insurance to purchase and what each one covers. Having an understanding of the most common types of business insurance necessary for your business can go a long way toward clarifying what you may need and what you can leave out. So what are the most common types and when should you purchase them?

Business insurance is complex, but it doesn't have to be complicated.

Mandatory Insurance

The easiest place to start is with the types of mandatory insurance you should have. These are policies that many businesses are mandated to have in place. They include:

• Workers’ Compensation, which covers you if an employee is injured on the job
• Public Liability Insurance, which covers you in the event that someone is injured or killed on your premises
• Third Party Personal Injury Insurance, which is required if your business operates a motor vehicle

Other Types of Liability Insurance

The following types of insurance are not mandatory but should be considered depending on the nature of your business.

• Product Liability —covers you for damage caused by a failure or defect in one of your products. If your business offers physical goods for sale, you may want this type of policy.
• Professional Indemnity —if your business offers professional advice to clients, this insurance can protect you from lawsuits arising from such advice.
• Management Liability Insurance—this insurance covers your personal assets when a manager or officer of your company engages in illegal practices on behalf of your business.

Asset Insurance

Many businesses, especially those with brick-and-mortar facilities, maintain valuable property, product inventory, and other assets that would be very costly to replace in the event of an accident. While there are many different types of policies that fall under this category, some of the most common include:

• Building and Contents— recommended for any business with a physical presence, this covers your building and contents against catastrophic events such as fire, earthquakes, floods, and more.
• Burglary— exactly what it sounds like, this insurance covers you against theft and is important for businesses where the premises isn’t always attended or monitored.
• Goods in Transit— this policy covers any damage to goods you buy and sell while they’re in transit.

Other Types of Insurance

There are many other types of insurance coverage available. Use our coverage estimator to determine which types of insurance you need. Also, consider that each insurance carrier offers slightly different coverage based on the types of risks they insure. Working with an insurance broker who understands your business and its operations will allow you to conduct a proper analysis and comparison of policies.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to insuring your business. The important thing is to take a pragmatic approach to evaluating where your potential risks are, and ensuring that you have adequate coverage to protect you in those areas. Business insurance is complex, but it doesn't have to be complicated. If you’re unsure of which policies you should be including for your business, consult with us as your professional insurance broker. We will work with you to help define your needs and select the right policies to meet them. At Pacific Reliance Insurance™, we can help you find the right coverage at the best value for your business.
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A small under insured personal injury can ruin a business.

You may not have $5,000 to $25,000 on hand and ready to cover one of the most common business accidents.

Here is how a common lease requirement can cost you: The problem lies within the lease terms.

Leases: These documents often specify that parties carry liability insurance covering “Personal Injury”, when in fact what they really require is insurance covering “Bodily Injury” (blood, bruises, broken bones or death).

Problem: You have a client who trips on a floor mat or phone cord. Maybe they slip on the ice, or a wet floor area. You have Personal Injury insurance per the terms of your lease.

The Actual Problem: This lease has ill-advised you to obtain the wrong insurance coverage.

Here is why: Personal Injury and Bodily Injury are not the same thing.

• Pay for their medical expenses
• Any related lost income
• Defense costs and damages

• Unintentional libel, slander and copyright infringement.
• Advertising infringement
• Wrongful eviction

As you see, the stipulation in the lease for personal injury insurance does not provide the insurance requirement to protect you from the most common hazard to clients. This leaves you exposed to the number one cause of accidents in your place of business.

A policy through Pacific Reliance Insurance™ – such as a CGL policy (Commercial General Liability) includes both bodily and personal injury. This policy addition to bodily injury provides coverage for the most common type of claim you will experience.

A CGL* policy through PRI protects your assets and protects you from financial ruin if you face liability claims for something that happens as a result of your premises or business operations, caused by your services, or your employees, AKA non-professional or negligent acts, if you are found liable.

PRI will also verify your CGL* policy provides limited coverage for medical payments provided on a no-fault basis.

It’s a common question that stems from the fact that many auto insurance providers don’t openly talk about the factors that influence the rate you’re charged on your auto insurance. The reality is that there’s much more that goes into how rates are determined than simply whether you’ve been in any at–fault accidents. Here are a few of the other factors.

The Type and Age of Vehicle You Drive

The type of vehicle you drive has a large influence on the insurance premiums you pay. If you drive a high–powered sports car, for example, you are statistically more likely to engage in riskier driving behaviors that cause more damage in accidents, and you’ll pay a higher insurance rate as a result. The same is true if you drive a large truck or SUV. Because of their weight, these types of vehicles can cause more damage in accidents.

Additionally, newer cars offer more safety features and theft deterrents that can reduce your insurance premiums.

Driver Age

Statistically speaking, young drivers are involved in more accidents than older drivers. As a result, younger drivers typically pay a higher premium than older drivers. Generally, you’ll be considered a young driver if you are under the age of 25, though on some policies the minimum age can be higher.

Where You Live

Some cities have a statistically higher incidence of accidents than others. If you live in one of these cities, you can expect to pay a higher insurance premium to cover the increased likelihood of getting into an accident.

The Amount of Your Insurance Deductible

Your insurance deductible is the amount of money you are responsible for paying before your insurance coverage kicks in. If your insurance deductible is $500, for example, a repair that costs $3,000 would result in an insurance payout of $2,500 ($3,000 minus $500). Because this reduces the potential costs the insurance company will have to pay, they are then able to pass these savings on to you in the form of a lower insurance rate.

Be careful though; if you’re involved in an accident and your deductible is too high, you may wind up paying more than you can afford out of pocket. A great approach can be to start with a smaller deductible, then increase it over time as you build up savings, thereby reducing your insurance premiums as you go.

The Type of Insurance You Choose

Insurance that only pays for damage you cause to third party vehicles and property will naturally cost less than insurance that also covers damage to your own vehicle since the potential liability to the insurance company is lower in the former scenario.

It is important to select the right type of insurance coverage to meet your needs and protect yourself and others. A professional understands these risks and can help you choose coverage that not only protects you, but also reduces your financial risks in case of an accident.

Conclusion

Beyond these factors, your credit score, criminal record, and payment history can affect your rates as well. Ultimately though, choosing to work with an insurance broker is your best bet for reducing your insurance premiums. Pacific Reliance Insurance™ works with many insurance companies that offer different coverage and incentives. We understand which carriers might be the best fit for your needs and we'll work with you to help you select the right coverage and the best value—a clear advantage over the do–it–yourself approach!

Once we begin working together, our customer service will continue to monitor your policy, make recommendations and watch for changes that will affect your monthly premiums. Better drivers deserve a better auto policy.
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Agents like to say that "a broker will make you broker and an agent is your friend."

The primary difference between an insurance broker and an insurance agent is who they represent. Initially it might appear that both represent the insurance buyer. Some might say that the term “Insurance Broker” sounds complicated and “Insurance Agent” sounds friendly. It is true that both act as intermediaries between insurance buyers and insurers. In full exposure, the broker represents the insurance buyer, an agent represents the insurance company.

How can this be? Why is there a difference and how does the difference affect me as an insurance client?

The agent is a captive employee insurance of the company. In the insurance industry they are known as captive agents because a captive agent only has one line of products to offer. They are also captive in that they can only market and sell their brand of insurance company products. You can identify a captive agent by the logo on the product and on their business sign.

An insurance broker truly works for the benefit of the insurance buyer. They offer many different insurance products from many insurance companies. Insurance is typically not a one product, one solution, one price commodity. Everyone and every business buying insurance coverage is slightly unique. This uniqueness creates opportunity to shop for the right insurance product. That is what an insurance broker does on behalf of the insurance customer.

A captive agent knows all about their products. An Insurance broker understands many insurance companies products. It is in the small details that the insurance broker can find the best value for their client. If price is the only option and proper coverage does not matter, or if coverage is the only option and price doesn’t matter, or a third option, the right coverage and the best value is important for their client, the insurance broker is uniquely able to find the best solution.

Why are there agents and brokers? That is a good question and suffice it to say, the insurance market has room for both and I will save the answer for another time. It is complicated. Today, if you are looking for value, coverage and price, or if you comparison shop, I recommend that you seek an insurance broker. And as always, you should compare policies for those elements important to you; policy terms, coverage and pricing.

And here is where, a captive agent can’t help you. They have one product, one solution. Therefore they have a limited knowledge of what other insurance products are available for your best value comparison.

We are not against captive agencies. They offer our clients many reasons to come see us. A recent typical example: A referral client came to us having heard about Pacific Reliance Insurance™ from trusted friends. We had saved them enormous amounts of money and found better coverage as well. This new client was being charged a far too high price for her condominium insurance. We were quickly able to assess which carriers would be a better match for her situation and immediately began researching these options to find the best coverage and value for her. We earned her business and saved her an excess of eight thousand dollars per year, with slightly better coverage.

Stop in, look us up. If you do not have time to meet with us, call in and speak with a broker. If we can get you into a better policy and save you money, would today be a good day?