Business & Commercial Insurance

Commercial Auto
As a business owner, you need the same kinds of insurance coverages for the car you use in your business as you do for a car used for personal travel -- liability, collision and comprehensive, medical payments (known as personal injury protection in some states) and coverage for uninsured motorists. In fact, many business people use the same vehicle for both business and pleasure. If the vehicle is owned by the business, make sure the name of the business appears on the policy as the "principal insured" rather than your name. This will avoid possible confusion in the event that you need to file a claim or a claim is filed against you.

All motorized vehicles, whether used for personal or business purposes, need auto insurance. Automobile liability insurance – required by most states – covers medical expenses for injured persons and damages to the property of other individuals as a result of a motor vehicle accident caused by the insured’s negligence.

While the types of coverage provided by personal and commercial auto insurance policies are essentially the same, there are important distinctions. Typically, commercial auto insurance policies have higher liability limits, for example $1 million. They also may have provisions that cover rented and other non-owned vehicles, including employees’ cars driven for company business. Several factors related to ownership and use of vehicles determine whether a personal or commercial policy is appropriate. These include:

• Who owns or leases the vehicle – you individually or the business as an entity
• Who drives the vehicle – you or your employees
• How the vehicle is principally used – for example, transporting people, delivering packages or carrying hazardous materials

Discuss these matters with a licensed insurance agent knowledgeable about commercial auto insurance. You might also want to consider the purchase of collision and comprehensive (other than collision) coverage to protect yourself against damage to your vehicle.

Tips & Considerations Concerning Commercial Auto Insurance

• If your business owns or leases a vehicle, make sure its name is listed on the policy as the principal insured.
• If you are relying on either a personal auto insurance or personal umbrella liability policy to provide you with protection for your company’s use of vehicles, look closely at the provisions, as business-related liability may be excluded.
• If your employees operate a company car, make sure they have good driving records and are trained properly.
• Consider increasing insurance on your business vehicle to cover permanently attached items, such as a generator or storage unit. The following factors can affect the cost of your insurance premiums:
• Premiums are linked to the type of vehicle driven. So if you’re buying or leasing a new car or truck, check the insurance rates before you make your final choice.
• Safety devices can help reduce your premiums. If you’re buying or leasing a new vehicle, consider getting one with anti-lock brakes, side air bags, automatic seat belts and daytime running lights.
• Anti-theft devices, such as an alarm system and global positioning system – so that your vehicle can be located if stolen – can help reduce your premiums.
• Where you park your vehicle can impact premiums. If you have access to an indoor garage or locked parking lot – places that decrease the likelihood of theft – you may qualify for lower premiums.
• The geographic region in which your business operates affects your premiums. For example, areas prone to extreme weather – hail, wind storms, hurricanes, etc. – higher traffic patterns or higher risk of theft may have higher insurance rates.
• The number of claims you have previously filed can impact your insurance costs.
• The coverage limits you choose affect the premium – the higher the coverage amount, the higher your premium. If you’re using your vehicle to conduct business, you may want to consider a higher liability limit so that coverage protects both your business and personal assets if you are sued due to an accident.
• The cost of your insurance is directly linked to your policy’s deductible amount. The deductible is the amount of money that you agree to pay as part of a claim, before your insurer pays the remaining amount toward that claim. For example, if your vehicle incurred $1,000 of damage in an accident and your deductible was $250, you would pay the first $250 and your insurer would pay the remaining $750. The higher the deductible, the lower the premium.

Business Owners
As a business owner, you strive to make decisions that are right for your business, your employees and yourself. This includes decisions about business insurance. You know you need excellent coverage. You don't, however, have time to become an expert in business insurance. That’s where Anderson Insurance Agency can help.

A Business Owners Policy (BOP) combines property, liability and business interruption coverage for small to medium-sized businesses. This packaged coverage is generally less expensive than when purchasing coverage separately. With a BOP you have the ability to customize the policy to meet your individual business needs.

Perhaps you need general liability coverage that includes operations. Or, you need to add business auto coverage or commercial property insurance. Whether you are a home-based business, small service provider or contractor, Anderson Insurance will work with you to find the right combination of business insurance coverage to meet your specific needs.

Supplemental Coverage Available

• Extended liability for additional insureds.
• Debris removal, personal property.
• Tools and equipment.
• Valuable records protection and accounts receivable.

In addition to advising you on the right coverage, we provide additional services, such as:

• Loss Prevention Programs—with our insurance company partners, we can evaluate your business's current conditions and recommend ways to lower property, auto, workers compensation or liability losses. Lower losses will not only lower your insurance costs, but also increase your productivity by avoiding downtime.
• Quick Claim Response—when you do have a claim and need fast and fair service, we work with you to make that happen. That's why we only represent companies with excellent records for settling claims fairly and promptly. 
• Competitive Rates—many of the insurance companies we represent specialize in insuring specific types of businesses or industries, offering special coverage and pricing.

General Liability
If you have a personal umbrella liability policy, there's generally an exclusion for business-related liability. Make sure you have sufficient auto liability coverage.

Unfortunately for every business owner, the chances of getting sued have dramatically increased in the last decade. General Liability insurance can prevent a legal suit from turning into a financial disaster by providing financial protection in case your business is ever sued or held legally responsible for some injury or damage.

General Liability pays losses arising from real or alleged bodily injury, property damage, or personal injury on your business premises or arising from your operations. The Hartford's liability programs extend far beyond the provisions of typical policies, with broadened coverage and increased limits in over 30 areas.

Broad Range of General Liability Protection

• Bodily Injury, including the cost of care, the loss of services, and the restitution for any death that results from injury
• Property Damage coverage for the physical damage to property of others or the loss of use of that property
• Products-Completed Operations provides liability protection (damages and legal expenses up to your policy's limit) if an injury ever resulted from something your company made or service your company provided
• Products Liability is a more specialized product liability insurance that protects your company against lawsuits from product-related injury or accidents
• Contractual Liability extends to any liability you may assume by entering into a variety of contracts
• Other coverage includes: Reasonable Use of Force; Borrowed Equipment; Liquor Liability; Non-Owned Vehicles (such as aircraft and watercraft); Fire, Lightning or Explosion Damage; Water Damage Liability Protection; Legal Defense Costs; Medical Payments; Personal Injury; Advertising Injury; and specialized liability protection for specific business types

Workers Compensation
Workers compensation laws were created to ensure that employees who are injured on the job are provided with fixed monetary awards. This eliminates the need for litigation and creates an easier process for the employee. It also helps control the financial risks for employers since many states limit the amount an injured employee can recover from an employer.

Workers Compensation Insurance is designed to help companies pay these benefits. As a protection for employees, most states require that employers carry some form of Workers Compensation Insurance. Workers Compensation Insurance is not health insurance. Workers Compensation is designed specifically for injuries sustained on the job.

In most states, if you have employees, you are required to carry Workers Compensation coverage. Even in non-mandatory states, it can be a very good idea, particularly if you have many employees, or if they are engaged in hazardous activities.

Do I need workers compensation insurance?
Employers have a legal responsibility to their employees to make the workplace safe. However, accidents happen even when every reasonable safety measure has been taken.

To protect employers from lawsuits resulting from workplace accidents and to provide medical care and compensation for lost income to employees hurt in workplace accidents, in almost every state, businesses are required to buy workers compensation insurance. Workers compensation insurance covers workers injured on the job, whether they're hurt on the workplace premises or elsewhere, or in auto accidents while on business. It also covers work-related illnesses.

Workers compensation provides payments to injured workers, without regard to who was at fault in the accident, for time lost from work and for medical and rehabilitation services. It also provides death benefits to surviving spouses and dependents.

Each state has different laws governing the amount and duration of lost income benefits, the provision of medical and rehabilitation services and how the system is administered. For example, in most states there are regulations that cover whether the worker or employer can choose the doctor who treats the injuries and how disputes about benefits are resolved.

Workers compensation insurance must be bought as a separate policy. Although in-home business and business owners policies (BOPs) are sold as package policies, they don't include coverage for workers' injuries.

Commercial Umbrella Insurance
If umbrella policies are good for individuals, then they are imperative for business. When a catastrophic liability loss occurs, an umbrella insurance policy can mean the difference between a business surviving, or not.

 The rising costs of lawsuits and judgments are important for today's business owner to consider. Catastrophic liability losses can happen to any business at any time, and a commercial umbrella policy protects you when those losses exceed your basic liability coverage. The time and effort you have taken to build your business is too important for it to disappear after one unforeseen event.

What you need to know about commercial umbrella insurance
Commercial Umbrella helps you protect your assets by providing liability limits above and beyond your other policies. In some cases, it even broadens your protection. Due to the unpredictable nature of jury awards Anderson Insurance recommends that your business insurance program include this coverage.

 What is Excess Liability Coverage?
This coverage provides extra liability limits over an Umbrella policy. This coverage typically follows the terms of the first underlying insurance policy.

 Who needs Excess Liability Coverage?
Higher limits may be necessary for businesses with high loss potential, high profile, sizable sales, numerous assets, large auto fleets, worldwide presence, significant public exposure.

Additional Information