Driver at fault for accident files claim against victim
Running a small business is a gamble where, as a small business owner or manager, you try to undertake the least amount of risk you can with an eye toward reaping the greatest gain. Small business insurance is your best tool for keeping your risk level low. Since this isn’t a game for you or your employees, small business insurance isn’t a luxury but an absolute necessity. So finding the best small business insurance coverage for your company becomes your goal.
When considering what the best coverage to have is, you need to start with the basics: general liability insurance, property insurance, and workers’ compensation. The purpose and function of the latter two are relatively straightforward.
Workers’ compensation insurance grants monetary awards to employees who are injured or disabled due to job related circumstances. This coverage is often required and may be regulated by state laws.
Property coverage for small business insurance guards against the loss of physical assets due to fire, accident, or theft. It allows you to replace or repair furniture, office equipment and supplies, inventory, and sometimes even the building itself. This type of small business insurance may either cover your loss at the replacement value of lost items or for their depreciated cash value. The best option for you depends on the capital you have on hand. Taking depreciated cash value coverage, also known as actual cast value (ACV), will save you money in the short term from lower premiums but will cost you valuable time in the event of an actual loss. Additionally, the items you need to replace may not be available at the depreciated cost no matter how much time you expend searching for a comparable replacement, and you may end up with substantial out-of-pocket expense. When possible, replacement cost small business insurance coverage is the superior alternative as it transfers a greater degree of risk to the insurance company, which is the purpose of having insurance in the first place.
General Liability small business insurance is a little more complicated. It protects you against legitimate or fraudulent lawsuits brought against your company for:
• Bodily Injury – Harm to a non-employee due to an action or inaction on the part of your company, including a fatal injury. Note that harm to an employee is covered under your small business insurance workers’ compensation plan.
• Personal Injury – Which includes, but is not limited to, libel, slander, wrongful entry, false imprisonment, and malicious prosecution carried out by your company or an agent of your company.
• Property Damage – Destruction of privately owned items or real estate by an action of your company or by the action of an employee while carrying out his or her duties for your company.
• Advertising Injury – Harm to an individual or a corporate body due to your company’s advertising activities, including character defamation, plagiarism, and unfair competition.
General liability small business insurance not only covers damages assessed against you, but also your legal fees. Even if you win a lawsuit, a court case can be quite expensive. With a general liability policy, you are compensated for attorney’s fees, court costs, witness fees, and loss of earnings while in court.
How much general liability small business insurance should you get? The simple answer is: As much as you can afford. You certainly want enough to cover the dollar amount value of your business. One suggested baseline is a minimum of one million dollars per incident and three million aggregate, but this answer is too simplistic to cover the breadth of eventualities that comprise every small business owner’s risk. Individual cases will have different exposure and insurance needs. Does your firm interact extensively with the public? Do you manufacture goods that could be dangerous if handled incorrectly? You should also consider recent court awards for your type of business and in your locale as well as the general liability requirements of companies you may do business with. To determine the best option for you, consult with your small business insurance agent.
In most cases, a business owners policy, or BOP, will be the most affordable option. A BOP combines property and general liability coverage, as well as other useful coverage such as vehicle coverage, into one small business insurance policy. Generally available to companies not engaged in high risk activities, a BOP is simpler for you and more efficient for the insurance company, resulting in lower premiums.
Watch the video related to how much does business insurance cost
accident, it would be more costly to fight and win in court than simply to pay a settlement, so they gave the driver $10000. Charles said, “The sad truth is that it’s cheaper for [the insurer] to settle as if they did something wrong when they didn’t do something wrong… Thus it’s perpetuated that opportunistic lawyers can continue to do these things. They’re made stronger when who’s made weaker? The American people — the hardworking people.” In this case, Charles was right. After …
Help answer the question about how much does business insurance cost
How much will insurance cost for my business?I am interesting in getting insurance for my business that i am starting. The business will be a sole proprietorship based in Knoxville,TN. It is a travel agency that is online. How much will general liability, errors and omissions, and umbrella coverage cost cost?
About Author
James Cochran, owner of Techinsurance.com, is a web-based business insurance agent specializing in the IT industry. Over 15 years of insurance experience, he founded Techinsurance in 1997 to provide insurance products for IT professionals. It has grown to become one of America’s leading providers of online general liability business insurance and workers’ compensation insurance.
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Posted by American Car Insurance on March 2nd, 2010 filed in business insurance | 15 Comments »
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15 Responses to “Driver at fault for accident files claim against victim”
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March 2nd, 2010 at 4:03 am
This is really nice! Great job on the video.
Would someone tell me where Inn the Doghouse is? I might need it some day.
March 2nd, 2010 at 5:03 am
Duke loves Inn the Doghouse! He also loves being in the commercial! Great video. Whitney you are a pro in front of the camera.
-Andrea & Thomas Jager
March 2nd, 2010 at 6:32 am
What an awesome commercial. As former customers of Inn the Doghouse and former residents of Lakewood, we sure do miss you guys. Macie and Attis miss their overnights stays with you. Looks like business is booming.
Jeremiah & Karla Rogell – Savannah, GA
March 2nd, 2010 at 3:57 am
Restorations, does that mean you're a contractor?
It entirely depends on exactly waht the business does – if you're doing roofing, and you have 8 employees, this could easily run you $30,000 a year, without benefits.
You didn't give anywhere NEAR enough information for even a guess.
There's no such thing as "basic", and "small" is extremely subjective.
Some small businesses pay over $100,000 a year for their insurances.
March 2nd, 2010 at 4:09 am
There's no "geospacial business" package, so each line will have to be underwritten seperately. Frankly, it sounds to me like you want to build a space station or something, so what you NEED is going to depend on 1. contracts and 2. exactly what you're doing.
And you can't get monthly payments on insurance, for a new venture – you'll have to either pay in full for the year, or finance the premium through a premium finance company.
In other words, your question is too vague to answer.
March 2nd, 2010 at 6:32 am
GL – probably about $750 / year.
E&O – probably about $1,500 / year
March 3rd, 2010 at 5:00 am
That ENTIRELIY depends on the product. If it's completely harmless, like widgets, it should start at around $2500. If you manufacture airplane parts, it could be $100,000.
Sorry, too vague! You'll have to get a "real" quote from an agent, and probably fill out some product liability applications.
March 3rd, 2010 at 9:43 am
depends on the type of business and the amount of coverage you are looking for. Best advice is to contact an insurance agent in your area and have them work up a quote for you.
March 3rd, 2010 at 7:43 pm
To be honest, there isn't a single person who could answer your question in yahoo answers unless they were at work (an insurance company) and ran a quote for you. There are many many variables that are fed into a risk probility formula to determine your annual premium.
Things to consider: Prior accidents or claims for all 3 of you, what city in CA, how many miles per/yr would the vehicle be driven, how far from the registered business address would it go, is your business sitting on a fault-line, ect. Break out a phone book and start calling around. There are more than enough companies that will offer a free quote over the phone to get your business. When I got my own first auto policy, I literally called about 20 companies to compare. The differences in quotes between minimum and maximum were over 40% variation. It's best to shop around. Good luck in your venture.
March 4th, 2010 at 12:07 pm
you should really find out from your city clerk about all the details. But I know that if the IRS visit their business location right now it's not going to be pretty.. BEFORE they even start the business they had to get insurance. Usually you just pay a $2500 bond or less depending on your credit but you should definitely check. Good luck!
March 4th, 2010 at 6:28 pm
You had me at Dublin. You had me at Dublin.
Can I please get a job at Inn the Doghouse? And I actually have Progressive insurance (diggin’ it)… Great production… What’s not to love?! Excellent commercial!
March 5th, 2010 at 9:29 am
Execellent video and commercial!!!! Nobie thanks you.
March 5th, 2010 at 5:37 am
It depends on several factors, including the type of business, age of the group members, general health and claims experience of the members (and any family members also included in the plan), location, type of plan, and deductible.
For the sake of comparison, if everyone is in fairly good health and not working in a physically dangerous job, in Virginia a plan with a $500 deductible (and $25 copayments for doctor office visits from day one) would run approximately $3000/month. If anyone in the group is seriously overweight, or has any significant health issues, it could easily go to $4500 (or more, depending on how many people have issues.)
Honestly, you'd really need to speak with an agent who can help you determine what's called the CMF (a rating factor they use based on the health and claims experience of the members of the group) and figure out which plans might be a good match.
If you're looking in Virginia or West Virginia, I can help you. You can contact me directly via email, if you like.
March 5th, 2010 at 3:53 pm
I spy me and Brogan! Hooray! We’re famous! haha. I really like how this turned out.
March 5th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
It would completely depend on the type of company you ran. For example, a private medical practice will count insurance as it's most costly expenditure due to the potential liability of malpractice.
A bar would have much higher insurance costs than a carpet cleaning service because of the potential liability of the effects of alcohol on the patrons. However, a carpet cleaning business will have to pay for worker's compensation, whereas those costs would be dramatically lower in a business run out of an office.
It's also going to depend on the state that you live in, as all states have different requirements. Your company size and overall revenue will contribute as well. Also, are we including health insurance provided to employees? That's a big one if you are.
All in all, I would expect insurance costs for a small business to be no less than 5% of total expenditures, but that number is barely a ballpark estimate considering how many factors are in play.