Why Business Insurance is Important

It goes without saying, some things are worth insuring more than others. A home is the greatest investment most Canadians will ever make, so home insurance makes sense (even at high premiums). Just like homes, businesses require our capital, effort, and constant attention, which should place them as one of our top priorities needing coverage.

Whether you are running a small one-location café, or a global logistics company, having business insurance is important for several reasons, as we will discuss below.  

First off, despite using the term ‘business insurance’, there is actually no such thing…We’ll, not under that name anyways. Since every company is so unique (all of which have different coverage needs), it would be impossible to have a one-size-fits-all business policy that would be considered satisfactory. Therefore, we look at commercial insurance in two different avenues of risk exposure: property and liability. Both of these exposures can be protected under one policy known as a CGL, or Commercial General Liability policy.

When putting together a CGL policy, we need to look at what property is at risk, and what liability exposures are at play.

If we look at Property Coverage, we are assessing the various assets the company may own, such as: buildings, inventory, equipment, etc. Then we must ask ourselves questions like, ‘what would happen if an office that I am renting floods and all my inventory becomes ruined?’, or ‘what if a tenant in one of my buildings accidentally starts a fire and causes serious damage?’ By assessing these possible scenario’s, we can better understand the financial implications, and make sure they are protected.

In addition to property, we need to evaluate the Liability Coverage needed. Liability insurance adds protections in case a company is named in a lawsuit relating to bodily injury or property damage. That is the liability definition; however, there are many line-items of liability in a CGL. For example, under a commercial policy, a company can have protection for liability issues, such as: causing someone else financial hardship, leaking personal data online, hitting a pedestrian with a company car, providing incorrect advise, and so much more.

These ‘business insurance’ policies can become multi-layered and very confusing, so it’s important to speak with a qualified and well educated insurance professional on packaging the right solution for you and your business.

Reach out to one of our team members today, complete our CGL form, or email us at info@alteri.ca and we will help!