Protecting Your Business and Preparing for the Unexpected: Potential Gaps to Look Out For

National Small Business Week is celebrated this month. This year’s theme spotlights the resilience of America’s entrepreneurs and the renewal of the small business economy. That is indeed something to celebrate. As we’ve seen, in today’s world, it’s vitally important to be proactive to protect ourselves and our businesses from the unexpected. Fire, vandalism, cyber-attack, power outages, a global pandemic, are all examples of things that can happen and affect your business in various ways. Different businesses and services have different coverage needs. If you specialize in food service, construction or offer a professional service, there are different considerations to take into account. Reviewing your policy with your insurance carrier on a regular basis is a good idea and if you are leasing your space, talk to your property owner to find out what you’re responsible for in the event of a loss.

From my experience working with business owners I’ve noticed many coverage gaps that can leave a business owner vulnerable. Here are some of the common gaps to look out for:

Business income coverage: This protects you from a loss of income if your business closes due to a covered loss such as a fire, theft or a disaster event. For example, if a fire caused damage to a restaurant and its cooking equipment and it had to close for three months, business income coverage would cover the loss of income the restaurant would have earned during the period it takes to get back up and running.

Data breach coverage: Businesses leveraged online tools and resources more than ever this past year, to take orders, communicate with customers, even sell merchandise online. All of these activities create potential exposure to risk. Data breach coverage may cover the expense of the data breach response, data breach liability and legal fees.

Equipment breakdown: If your company experiences an equipment breakdown that leads to financial loss, this coverage will cover that loss as well as the expense to replace or repair the equipment up to the building and personal property limit.

Care, custody and control: This coverage is especially important for businesses such as contractors who perform work at a customer’s property. This is liability coverage for the customer’s property that’s in your possession if it’s damage or destroyed. For example, if you’re a paint contractor and damage a homeowner’s giant flat screen TV when you’re remove it from the wall, unless you have care, custody and control insurance, you may be liable to replace or repair the TV.

These examples are by no means exhaustive and there are variations depending on your type of businesses. If you have questions regarding your current business policy, contact your insurance representative to ensure you have the proper coverage for your needs. Additionally, you can find more information at Business Coverage Options – COUNTRY Financial.

Terrance Baxter is an insurance agent with COUNTRY Financial in Tualatin Oregon. He can be reached at terrance.baxter@countryfinancial.com or (503) 454.4494 with questions.