Starting a New Business? How to Buy Enough General Liability Insurance

It can be difficult to pinpoint how much general liability insurance a new company needs. You may not have any experience with claims previously. It may not seem like there is much risk involved in running your company either. Yet, having the proper amount of business insurance is essential. Here’s some insight to help you. 

Know What It Covers 
To start, it’s important to understand what general liability insurance can provide to you. Most policies will include: 

• Bodily injury coverage
• Property damage coverage from business operations
• Personal injury
• Advertising injury
• Lawsuits filed against your business 

If an accident occurs at your property requiring that a customer receive medical attention, the policy may help cover those costs. Keep in mind that these costs can rise quickly, making it hard for you to pay for them out-of-pocket. 

Bigger Risks Mean More Coverage 
To determine how much general liability insurance you need, it’s important to consider just how risky your business is. In other words, how likely is it that you will need to file a claim with your business insurance company? 

There are various factors that play a role in this. For example, some of them may include: 

• The type of business you are in (construction work is far riskier than typical office work)
• The location of your business
• The size of your business
• The condition of the actual building your business is in
• The types of claims other businesses in your industry tend to file 

All of this information can help to determine what you’ll pay for general liability insurance, too. 

Some Industries Need Extra Help 
Some industries may need specialty general liability insurance. This goes a bit farther by providing more coverage for specific products or services that you may have. Your business insurance agent can provide more insight into this end goal. Most of the time, these are high-risk industries such as those working in construction, manufacturing, or wholesale difficult-to-place products. 

What’s Right for You? 
It’s a good idea to work with your business insurance agent to get the right policies in place as soon as possible. Your agent can give you examples of claims that may impact your business. With that information and more details about your property, they can help you find the right level of protection for your needs.