San Jose Business Insurance

(How to find the best business insurance policy for you)

Written by Rene Todd Fields
Written by Rene Todd Fields

Environmental and natural resource advocate and business owner, Rene Todd Fields, has more than 10 years of experience working within both private and public sectors and enjoys helping individuals understand their options and make solid coverage decisions.

Updated
San Jose California business insurance

San Jose, CA, located at the southern tip of San Francisco Bay in the Santa Clara Valley, is known as the “Southern Peninsula” and is the epicenter of a prosperous agricultural area. San Jose is the capital of Silicon Valley and has seen a major increase of the city’s population. San Jose has been forced to face some of the problems that arise with a growing and prosperous metropolis, including traffic congestion and air pollution.

San Jose is bordered by the Diablo Mountains on the east and the Santa Cruz Mountains on the west. The city’s climate is mild and semi-arid, with higher levels of humidity.

Sometimes, constructing a comprehensive business insurance policy package can be mystifying, but you are not alone. Independent insurance agents in San Jose, CA, can assist you by finding your business’s individual risks and suggesting appropriate policies to cover against them.

Contact a local independent insurance agent near you to get started today.

Does My San Jose, CA Business Really Need Liability Insurance?

A valuable component of your business insurance policy package is business liability insurance. It is meant to cover your business’s court costs, legal fees, and financial damages in case of a pending lawsuit. However, even if you find favor with the court system, these legal fees can be expensive.

It is also vital that you acquire the right kinds of coverage for your business liability insurance to cover against any risk your business must face. Following are some of the business liability options available to you:

  • Commercial vehicle liability insurance: This insurance coverage is required if your business owns and operates autos. It covers your business's added liability risks in case one of your employees causes an accident that  results in damage to a third party.
  • Pollution liability insurance: This optional insurance covers the cleanup costs and losses if your business is liable for an incident leading to the pollution of the air, ground, or water.
  • Cyber liability insurance: This insurance option covers monetary losses and liabilities if hackers gain access to your computer systems and take sensitive customer data.
  • Product liability insurance: This insurance option covers damage occurring to a third party caused by faults in goods your business produces, sells, or promotes.
  • Premises liability insurance: This insurance option covers damage occurring to a third party due to a mishap on your business property. 
  • Employment practices liability insurance: This insurance option covers claims related to accusations of unlawful employment practices such as a breach of contract, discrimination, harassment, and wrongful termination.

By speaking with an independent insurance agent, you can find out more about these and numerous other business liability coverage options. Your agent can help you to find the best business insurance for your San Jose, CA business.

What Business Insurance Options are Offered for My San Jose, CA Business Property?

In San Jose, CA your business property is highly likely to experience property losses or damage due to dangers such as the following, in order of occurrence:

  • Wildfires and structure fires
  • Flooding and water damage
  • Earthquakes and tremors
  • Severe storms and lightning damage
  • Burglary and other property crimes

Most of these dangers are covered by your business property insurance, which is a standard part of all business insurance policies. Designed to include your business-owned property, it covers your computers, furniture, inventory, and other merchandise.

Occasionally, you may find it necessary to add specific business insurance options to your business insurance policy package. Your independent insurance agent may propose adding one or more of the following insurance options:

  • Flood insurance: Note that business property insurance does not cover flood damage, even if a covered hurricane damages your business property.
  • Equipment breakdown insurance: This option covers repair or the replacement of damaged equipment and any losses related to equipment breakdowns.
  • Bailee's insurance: This option covers other people’s property when in your business’s care, such as when you are doing repairs or upkeep on it.
  • Inland marine insurance: This option covers your movable business property during transfers or if you store it away from your place of business.

Since your business is located close to waterways, specifically, the Coyote and Guadalupe rivers, you are more at risk for flooding, so business flood insurance would really make sense.

Contact your local independent insurance agent to help you insure your business properties. Also, make sure your business insurance options are adequate to allow you to rebuild, repair, or replace if needed.

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Why Should I Buy Business Interruption Insurance in San Jose, CA?

When an earthquake or flood occurs and the damage is considerable, your business may have to temporarily close for a sustained period, while repairs are being made. Following is data on past declared disasters:

  • Number of federally declared disasters in CA since 1953: 330
  • Most common reasons for declared disasters: fire/250
  • Average number of tornadoes in CA per year: 11

If your business must close for an extended period, it can be financially devastating, particularly if you own a small business. Business interruption insurance proposes an answer by providing your business with an income extension until your business can resume regular schedules. This allows you to pay normal monthly payments such as utility bills, loan payments, and employee wages, when your business is for the time being incapable of generating an income.

Speak with your local independent insurance agent today to discover more about how business interruption insurance can benefit your San Francisco, CA business.

Does My San Jose, CA Business Need to Carry Worker's Compensation Insurance?

All California business owners are required to provide a safe workplace for their employees to carry out their duties. Things happen, and even when all involved take all safety precautions, people do get hurt or become ill.

Additionally, when you own a business in California, you must cover your employees’ financial losses if they become ill or get hurt on the job. Your business must also provide worker's compensation if an employee works on a constant basis or you are an out-of-state employer.

Insurance enterprises base their worker's compensation rates on the sorts of jobs being performed by your employees and the probability they might get hurt or sick while on the job. It would cost more to cover a deep-sea diver than to cover a dog groomer.

An independent insurance agent can help by taking a look at your expenses and pair you with an insurance firm that concentrates on covering businesses in your industry.

What about Insurance Options for Employee Benefits Packages?

Nowadays, healthcare coverage is outrageous, but if your business offers underwritten health coverage to your employees, it can have beneficial outcomes. Human resources administrators have researched and determined that businesses offering viable employee benefits packages find it easier to recruit and retain model employees. The following is data on the annual amount spent on healthcare coverage:

  • National annual amount spent on healthcare coverage: $2,305/person
  • State annual amount spent on healthcare coverage in CA: $1,166/person

There are numerous car, health, and life insurance options available for you and your employees to pick from, which can make it hard to determine which of the policies to combine with your employee benefits package.

An independent insurance agent can go over the advantages and disadvantages of each business insurance option so you can make an educated choice.

Why Should I Work with an Independent Insurance Agent in San Jose, CA?

In the insurance market, insurance companies recognize that every business is unique and has it is own particular risks. Knowing this, they enable business owners to entirely tailor their commercial business insurance options.

Find an independent insurance agent with an office in or near San Jose, CA to discover more. You can soon find out how easy it can be to build a comprehensive business insurance policy package.

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