You’re a small business startup and you don’t have time to shop for the best insurance, you’re focused on growing your business, you need solutions. Protecting your startup business by buying insurance often happens when you’ve grown to a certain point and need to prove to shareholders and clients that you are guarding yourself and them from risk. Basically, it’s about time you looked into pairing up with a knowledgeable broker and finding the right insurance for you.
These are the coverage options that every startup needs to consider:
CGL Insurance covers your business from lawsuits arising from bodily injury and property damage. This is usually purchased in a package form which will also include some coverage for stock, contents or equipment depending on your business. Startups often purchase one million or two million dollars liability coverage, depending on what their clients are requesting. We can provide you with a Liability certificate to show your client as proof of insurance once purchased.
This coverage is needed by those offering professional services like Accountants, Doctors, Lawyers or Real Estate Agents. More and more small businesses are starting up in peoples’ homes offering some sort of consulting. If saying or doing something by mistake, or neglecting to do so could cause your client to suffer a loss, then you definitely need this coverage.
This is the fastest growing coverage to be purchased today. It seems almost weekly we are hearing of major hacks where client data is stolen. The latest one is the Equifax hack in September 2017. When Equifax got hacked, almost $145 million North Americans had their data stolen. If you are retaining any client data at all, we recommend you buy this coverage. Coverage typically includes liability for stolen client data, legal defence and crisis management.
If you’re looking for investors or are growing an executive team, you’ll want to have this coverage. This is another coming-of-age coverage where you’ve hit a critical mass and need more coverage as you grow. Any actions of the C level Executives, Officers and Directors could be potentially covered under this policy. You can purchase first and third party to cover such things as wrongful acts, shareholder mergers and acquisition lawsuits, and class action suits.
If you’ve purchased D&O Insurance, you might want to consider Employment Liability Insurance. This covers your business for wrongful dismissal, sexual harassment, or human rights claims among others.
There are many other coverages a business will want to purchase as they grow like non-owned auto, business interruption, employee fidelity, crime, and accounts receivable coverage just to name a few. Partnering with the right broker will inform you as to when you will need each of these as you grow. At Begin Insurance, we are full of insights to help you buy the right amount and types of coverage.
About the author Sean Graham:
Sean Graham has been an insurance broker in Ontario for the past 18 years. He is considered a pioneer in the digital insurance space and has been featured on CTV’s Canada AM, CBC, City TV, AM 640, Newstalk 1010 and Toronto Star. In 2014 he was named one of Canada’s Top 10 brokers under 40. Sean believes strongly in putting the consumer at the center of everything the business does. He is also an advocate for fostering the next generation of insurance talent through education and mentorship
Posted Apr 28, 2019