There is so much emphasis on insurance these days with insurance companies advertising their services hour after hour on the shopping channel, not to mention in the newspapers and on the radio. There is insurance for one’s life and health and insurance for things like cars, homes and possessions but these types of insurance are nevertheless all about insurance as it pertains to the individual. Company insurance is hardly ever mentioned. Who knows why this is, but it remains a fact that insurance for companies is often overlooked.
Just because company insurance isn’t as widely advertised as more personal types of insurance doesn’t mean it’s any less important. Corporate or business insurance as it is also known is a special type of insurance that is completely different to other types of personal insurance. In a company, there are employees and equipment that need to be insured, and this is apart from any delivery vehicles and buildings forming part of the company. Below is a more comprehensive explanation of that which might require a business owner to take out business insurance:
Vehicles, buildings and contents:
The insurance coverage for company vehicles, buildings and contents will be similar to that of insurance for personal vehicles, homes and home contents. In the case of a company car, the insurance will cover accidents, theft and hijacking on a variety of levels of comprehensiveness. The fundamental difference is that company insurance coverage is intended for when the vehicle is being used for business purposes only and not personal use. A business may also have heavy vehicles and trucks for special purposes like the transport of refrigerated goods, for example, which will require a specific level of coverage not needed for light motor vehicles. Buildings insurance is also similar in scope to household insurance but will likely be more expensive and certain special equipment needed to run the business other than, say, computers, fax machines and photocopiers, might also need specific coverage. Then there is the need for cover for large amounts of stock and perhaps cover for imported goods that will be making a journey by air or sea.
Employees, public and business owners:
The safety of employees as they go about doing company business, as well as insurance for the business owner or owners are also covered by company insurance. Businesses dealing with the public will need some sort of public liability cover in case a member of the public is injured while on company premises. Just as the business owner is liable to protect the employees of the company and will need to take out insurance for this, so might the employer need insurance as protection against the dishonesty of employees. Employee dishonesty cover will insure the business against theft such as embezzlement and malicious damage done to company assets by an employee. There is also insurance coverage for businesses losing money because they cannot operate for some reason or another. Examples of this are inability to operate as a result of unionized employee strikes, damage to premises or interruptions caused by natural disasters.