Insurance Broke?

• Business Auto, coverage to protect you and your employees driving company owned vehicles, covering bodily injury and liability, property damage and other risks associated with operating vehicles in your business. EXAMPLE: Your driver cuts a corner short and damages a customer’s building and landscaping. This coverage pays for the damage to be repaired.

• General Liability protects you company if your business is involved in bodily injury or property damage. This coverage is often part of a larger “Commercial Package.” EXAMPLE: A customer slips and falls in your parking lot and receives a concussion. This coverage will pay the medical bills and defend your company in a lawsuit.

• Worker’s Compensation, pays medical expenses of employees injured on the job, replaces most of lost wages due to a work-related injury, and provides life insurance benefits after an on-the-job loss of life. Workers Compensation also covers ongoing care such as physical therapy. EXAMPLE: Your driver gets his arm caught in the hopper of your truck and requires extensive surgery. This coverage will pay the medical bills and provide compensation to the driver while he is off work.

• Inland Marine, many times a part of a larger commercial package, provides coverage for equipment that is transported over land, or is at a location other than your address. In the waste industry this would apply mostly to carts, containers, compactors, and other equipment installed at a customer’s location. EXAMPLE: a rolloff container at a remote location catches fire and the paint is burned off and the walls warped. This coverage will cover the cost of needed repairs to the container.

• Business interruption. Will pay the extraordinary expenses to continue operations in the event of a loss which otherwise will cause interruption for the operation. This could be part of a larger “Commercial Package.” EXAMPLE: A worldwide pandemic occurs and your whole staff is out sick. This coverage would cover the loss of income incurred due to the inability to perform services for your customers.

• Umbrella Coverage extends the coverage limits for many liability policies. Umbrella Coverage is often required under certain commercial, industrial, and municipal contracts.

• Pollution Liability, also commonly referred to as environmental insurance, helps protect businesses from unexpected pollution exposures that may not be covered by standard casualty and property policies. In the Waste Industry, Pollution Liability Insurance can be important in the event of a diesel, hydraulic oil or other leakage that can potentially cause an environmental cleanup. EXAMPLE: One of your trucks has a leaking hydraulic hose and sprays several lawns in a high-end HOA. This policy would pay for the cleanup and the replacement of the damaged lawns.

• Cyber Coverage, Protection for liability if confidential information is stolen via an intrusion into your computer network.

• Key Employee. Covers the loss experienced by the company in the unexpected death of a key employee who may be difficult or expensive to replace. EXAMPLE: your lead mechanic dies, and you now need to out-source equipment repairs until a replacement is found. Proceeds from this policy could be used to pay the additional expense of the outsourcing.

• Buy – Sell agreements funded by life insurance. This coverage enables shareholders to pay the survivors of a shareholder who has died for their portion of the business.

• Employment Practices Liability. Protect the company from inappropriate conduct, misrepresentations, or dishonesty on the part of an employee. EXAMPLE: An employee flirts with a customer’s employee and you are sued for harassment. This coverage would cover your expenses to defend this case and pay any damages.

• Employee Benefits Liability. Covers the company’s expenses in the event of an error in administering employee benefits. EXAMPLE: When a new employee was hired, a health insurance application was lost, and they were never properly enrolled. This policy would cover your expenses in covering any health expenses this employee had while he was not covered when he should have been.

• Employee Dishonesty. Protects the company from loss due to the dishonest of an employee. EXAMPLE: an employee services customers using your equipment and pockets the money. Once caught and prosecuted, this coverage would compensate for the loss the company incurred from providing the work and not seeing the income from that work.

• Bid Bond. Often required by municipalities, a Bid Bond is a guarantee that a bid that is provided by a contractor is a serious bid. If a company is awarded a bid but fails to fulfill the terms of the bid and commence certain activities by a certain date, the bond holder (the municipality) can collect on the bond to cover expenses incurred due to the inability of the contractor to meet its bid commitment.

• Performance Bond, Often required as part of a municipal bid, a Performance Bond is a policy the contractor will provide to the municipality which will pay the city’s expenses if the contractor defaults on the terms of the contract.

So, insurance is a major expense if you want to conduct you business at the highest level of quality and professionalism. Do not get caught short. Having the wrong coverage or being under protected can cost thousands and thousands of dollars, or even your entire business. As a company grows, the risks only get greater. Do yourself a favor and review your coverage with an insurance professional soon and make sure you are adequately covered.