As an insurance professional, I work with business owners every day who are constantly battling with one very important question:
“How can I keep the premium I pay for Business Owners Insurance (BOP) down while keeping my Business protected adequately?”
In the business climate we live in today, there is constant pressure to lower that bottom line and get the most out of every dollar you are putting out there to run your business. This is obviously a necessity as a business leader, but how can those lower premiums end up costing you much more?
Looking at insurance as a valid purchase starts with your mindset and how you make this buying decision, and why you are making this purchase in the first place.
Insurance is not just a tax that you are paying and have no control over, that ownership is the first thing to consider when making your insurance purchase. Focus on finding insurance policies that meet your needs and then you compare and shop for the best pricing.
This can be hard to do, but it is vital to truly understand the risk that you are taking on with some lower priced policies.
When buying insurance it should really be compared to buying a car. The safety features(policy coverage), reliability of the service(Agent availability/Carriers Claims service), accessories that make your life easier that you never thought you would need(additional coverage’s).
If the car you purchase does not keep you safe in an accident, there is no limit to the damage that can be caused by this. If your business owners policy does not have the protection you need, it can cost you much more than the premium you pay.
This doesn’t mean that the highest price policy is the best coverage either for your company.
When you review various business policies there are some similarities from company to company, however they all have their throw in’s and their exclusions which can vary sometimes slightly and sometimes quite a bit.
Coverage’s like Hired and Non-Owned Auto as well as Data Breach and EPLI (Employment Practices Liability Insurance) are some common coverage’s which are freebies on some policies but not on others. Some companies offer these as optional additions to the policy where others can write these as a separate policy altogether.
When assessing the value of a General Liability Policy, one thing to keep in mind is the amount of risk which the carrier is taking on. Most general liability policies see per occurrence limits as low as $100,000 and as high as $2 million. For a policy that could many times vary by just a couple hundred dollars, it is important to make sure you are getting the coverage’s you really need, not just the lowest price option.
Like buying a car, the choice you make should be there to protect you and fit your needs. If you were purchasing a motorcycle for the good fuel economy and being a vehicle which can typically be purchased for less than most cars those are two attractive features to purchasing. But if your vehicle purchase is to provide a save vehicle for chauffering your family of four, this vehicle would not fit your needs. Insurance policies are the same way as the product that might have an attractive feature and a lower price but might not be the right fit for your needs as a business.
The main priority in choosing the best business insurance policy for your company is to identify the risks that your business could be exposed to and make sure your policy covers those areas. Your professional insurance agent can help identify these areas which you are exposed to and help provide a policy accordingly; one which covers what you need but also a policy that doesn’t have costly coverage’s things you might not be exposed to.
