It’s important for small businesses switching insurance to have the right protection. It’s also important to keep looking at your business’s insurance needs. Step one is to make sure the business insurance company you work with is the right one for you. We’ll talk about when and how to easily switch companies.
There are many reasons you might want to switch small business insurance companies. You may not have had time to review your coverage options when you bought your insurance quickly to meet the requirements for a lease or contract.
Maybe your company has grown so much that you need more coverage or want to add new plans. You’d like to know what your choices are.
There are a few things you should think about about your current coverage before you switch providers. For example, make sure you won’t have any gaps in coverage or cancellation fees.
Why would you want to move insurance companies?
A big reason why companies switch insurance companies is the same reason why a lot of people switch internet or car insurance companies: to get a better deal.
Though you might not find a better rate, it can be comforting to know that you’re still getting a good deal on your insurance. You won’t know for sure until you check out what other insurance companies have to offer.
There’s another reason small business owners might want to switch insurance companies: their lives or their businesses have changed.
For example, if you used to work from home as a sole operator but now rent space, hire staff, and buy new tools, you’ll probably need to add more insurance plans and increase your coverage.
Check your insurance to make sure you’re fully covered for any changes you want to make to your business or products and services. This is always a good idea when your business is growing. You might want to look around and see what your choices are while you do this.
How do I get a new insurance company?
As you look for small business insurance and compare plans, you should think about any legal or contractual requirements, how much money you’ll need in case of a claim, and the terms of the policy.
Figure out how much covering you need.
It’s important to know how much insurance you already have and if your needs have changed before you look for any kind of insurance.
To get a lower rate, you might want to buy less coverage. However, if you have to pay more out of pocket for a claim, it could end up costing you more in the long run.
Before you move auto insurance companies, take a close look.
If you get new work cars, you should review your commercial auto insurance policy to make sure it still covers what you need. When giving out quotes for car insurance, companies will look at a number of things.
Before they can tell you how much car insurance you need, an insurance agent will want to know how old your cars are, how many miles they’re driven each year, and the driving records of everyone who uses them. All of these things can change how much your new car insurance costs.
In most states, companies that own cars need collision coverage, which is also called auto liability. It covers damage to people, property, and other cars. Most of the time, these plans offer the most affordable car insurance.
More in-depth car insurance coverage is comprehensive auto coverage, which is also called full coverage. It covers your own cars, drivers, and guests.
Some auto insurance companies offer extra benefits, like accident forgiveness, which can keep your rates from going up after a small accident.
Check the standards for your license and job switching insurance
As a worker, you may need to have certain types of insurance in order to get your license. Most of the time, general builders have to have general liability insurance.
Agents and traders who work in some states need to have errors and omissions (E&O) insurance, which is also known as professional liability insurance.
Medical liability insurance may be required for doctors and other health care workers to keep their licenses or to work in a hospital or clinic.
Here are some other common insurance needs to think about:
- Your owner may want you to have commercial property insurance if you rent your business space.
- Some business contracts may say that you need to have a certain kind of insurance and a certain amount of coverage.
- If you have a mortgage or a business loan, your backer may require that you have certain types of insurance.
- Workers’ compensation insurance is required by most states for businesses with one or more employees or for sole owners who work in dangerous jobs like roofs.
- Your rates may change if your credit score has changed. You can get the best rate if your credit score is high.
- No matter where you shop for insurance, your rates may be higher if you’ve had big insurance claims in the past or if you still have an open claim.
- Think about the policy’s terms.
- The protected person, the property and risks that are covered, the policy limits, and the policy period (the times the policy starts and ends) are all spelled out in the policy terms.
If you cancel your old insurance policy in the middle of the policy period, your old insurer may charge you a lot of money.
Here are some terms of an insurance contract to think about when you buy it:
- Premiums are the amounts you have to pay each month or each year. If you pay for the whole year at once, some companies will lower your rate.
- Coverage limits are the most money that an insurance company will pay out for a single claim or during a policy year. Your yearly and claim limits should be high enough to protect your bottom line.
- The deductible is the amount of money you have to pay out of pocket for a claim before your insurance starts to pay.
- What a policy does not cover is called an exclusion. As an example, business property insurance usually doesn’t cover floods. Also left out are intentional acts and crimes.
- Look into new insurance companies.
- It’s easy to compare quotes for business insurance online, but there’s more to getting insurance than just the numbers.
To begin, you could ask other small business owners how much insurance they have and how much they pay for it. This is a good way to compare insurance plans, especially if the other company is in the same area and about the same size.
Cut down on the amount of providers you look at when you’re shopping. If you look at three or four choices, you should be able to find the covering you need. If you look at too many, you might get confused.
You might be able to find reviews and information about different insurance companies by searching Google. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) might have details about your insurance agent or company. You can also find information on Yelp and Facebook.
Make a chart with all of your insurance choices so that you can easily compare rates, fees, and limits on what they cover.
When reviewing insurance plans, some important things to think about are:
- Is an insurance company with a lower payment still the best choice if the coverage is less and the fees are higher?
- Does the insurance company charge extra for insurance ID cards or certificates of insurance that are lost or stolen?
- How simple and quick is it to get your insurance proof?
