Business Insurance
Coverage at an affordable rate can make the difference between success and failure. Our independent commercial insurance experts can choose the right carrier and products to help you succeed.
What is Business Insurance?
Major Types of Business Insurance
General Liability Insurance is a standard insurance policy issued to business organizations to protect them against liability claims for bodily injury and property damage arising out of premises, operations, products, and completed operations; and advertising and personal injury liability.
Commercial Auto Insurance covers cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other road vehicles owned by or operated within a business. Its primary use is to provide financial protection against physical damage and/or bodily injury resulting from traffic collisions and against liability that could also arise therefrom.
Commercial auto insurance may also offer financial protection against theft of the vehicle and possibly damage to the vehicle, sustained from events other than traffic collisions.
This insurance covers risk of loss to an organization’s buildings or personal property. It usually includes buildings, personal property of the insured business or business owner, personal property of others on site and in the insured’s possession.
Coverage can be provided on an all risk or specific perils basis.
Commercial Umbrella insurance is liability coverage that is in excess of specified other commercial insurance policies and also potentially primary insurance for losses not covered by the other policies.
When an insured business is liable to someone, the insured’s primary insurance policies pay up to their limits and any additional amount is paid by the umbrella policy (up to the coverage limit of the umbrella policy).
Professional liability insurance (PLI), also called professional indemnity insurance (PII) but more commonly known as errors & omissions (E&O) in the US. It is a form of liability insurance that helps protect professional advice and service-providing companies from bearing the full cost of defending against a negligence claim made by a client, and damages awarded in such a civil lawsuit.
Professional liability coverage sometimes also provides for the defense costs, including when legal action turns out to be groundless.
A Business Owner’s Package (often called a BOP) is an insurance policy that combines protection from all major property and liability risks in one package. It typically combines all the basic coverages required by a business owner into one bundle and is usually sold at a premium that is less than the total cost of the individual coverages.
Business Owners Policies usually target small and medium-sized businesses and typically contain business interruption insurance, which provides reimbursement for up to a year of lost revenue resulting from an insured property loss.
Group life insurance coverage is a policy that is purchased by an employer and is offered to eligible employees of the company (and often to the employees’ family members) as a benefit of working for that company.
A surety bond ensures contract completion in the event of contractor default and are typically required by project owners when seeking a contractor to fulfill a contract.
Although there are many types of surety bonds, the four most common types needed by business owners are:
Bid Bond – Ensures the bidder on a contract will enter into the contract and furnish the required payment and performance bonds if awarded the contract.
Payment Bond – Ensures suppliers and subcontractors are paid for work performed under the contract.
Performance Bond – Ensures the contract will be completed in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract.
Ancillary Bond – Ensures requirements integral to the contract, but not directly performance related, are performed.
Restaurant & Bar Insurance
Our principal owner, Mark Swartz spent over 35 years in the restaurant business and knows the issues you face each and every day. Our team understands the insurance coverage you need and the challenges of operations. We are here to assist in your success.
Typical Restaurant Insurance Policies
- General Liability Insurance — General liability insurance protects you against third-party claims such as property damage, bodily injury, or personal injury. For example, if someone were to slip and fall on a wet floor in your restaurant.
- Product Liability Insurance — Product liability insurance covers you if your food products were to make someone ill. For example, you sell your signature salad dressing for take home and a customer became ill from eating your dressing.
- Food Spoilage Insurance — Inventory insurance protects you against loss such as food spoilage. For example, let’s say you lose electricity to your restaurant and your refrigerated products spoil overnight.
- Liquor Liability Insurance — If your restaurant sells, or serves alcoholic beverages, you could be liable if you serve alcohol to a patron who then injures someone or causes property damage. For example, your staff serves alcohol to an intoxicated person who then drives away and causes an accident.
- Commercial Auto Insurance — If you use a vehicle for your restaurant operations, it may not be covered under your personal automobile insurance. Commercial auto insurance provides coverages specific to your business operations.
