Taunton Business Insurance
Find the right business insurance policy for you.
Written by
Ann Herro has been writing about insurance and employee benefits for over 15 years. She has covered topics as easy as insuring a car, and as difficult as transparency in healthcare costs.
As a bustling manufacturing town, Taunton, MA is a great place to start a business. It’s close to many facilities and home to the Myles Standish Industrial Park. While all entrepreneurs dream of having their own business, there is a lot that you have to do to make it happen. A very important part of that is the insurance portfolio.
How much does Massachusetts mean to business? There are 856,682 small businesses, employing 1.8 million people across the state. But as any entrepreneur knows, there are liabilities and requirements that come with any business. There were total insurance claims of $12.8 million paid out in recent years. Starting a business is difficult for many reasons, and one of them is understanding the insurance requirements.
The most important step to finding the right Taunton commercial insurance is to develop a good relationship with an Independent Insurance Agent. Because our agents understand the area and the laws and union requirements, they can help you navigate your options and find the best quotes for your business needs at a price you can afford.
Business insurance beings with protection against general liability. This is coverage against claims for injuries by people who are on your property, including delivery personnel and customers. They will defend you in a court of law if you are sued by anyone claiming a loss. This is critical because any incident on your property can become very expensive very quickly. A recent Travelers Business Risk summary found the following:
- 60% of all businesses said that medical cost inflation was their biggest concern.
- Over 30% responded that they felt unprepared to handle this risk.
For any claims based on using your products away from your property, you need to have product liability coverage. The Insurance Information Institute found recently that 71 percent of product liability awards and 53 percent of medical malpractice awards were for more than $1 million. Protection against these kinds of nearly unlimited costs is critical for any business.
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Business Interruption Insurance for Taunton Businesses
If for any reason you can’t open your doors on any particular day, this insurance coverage matches your income until you can get up and operating again. It’s based on the revenue you took in when times were good and carries through until the problem is fixed and you are back on your feet.
A prolonged business interruption can happen for many reasons. A fire or other damage to your property from a storm is the main reason you would have to shutter your Taunton-based business for some time. There can also be other events such as the dam breaking or anything else that you would reasonably not be able to see coming. This insurance covers the ongoing costs as well, such as power and employee benefits, until you are back up and operating again.
Property Insurance for Taunton Businesses
While it’s good to have your costs covered when you can’t operate, you need good property insurance coverage for the cost of putting it all back together. It’s not just a matter of getting it all fixed up, it’s about making sure it’s done in a timely manner without a lot of hassle. This is a particular concern when there is widespread damage from a storm.
- Recently, there was a total of 119 official natural disasters across the U.S.
- Only 61% of the damage was covered by insurance.
- That left the property owners with $9.7 billion in losses they had to cover themselves.
When disasters of any kind strike, the right insurance coverage is critical to getting things all fixed up so that you are back in business in the shortest time possible without having to find the money to do it on your own.
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Our independent agents shop around to find you the best coverage.
Workers' Compensation for Taunton Businesses
Workers' compensation insurance is usually known as “workman’s comp.” It covers the expenses incurred by your employees when they are injured on the job whether by a single incident or from repetitive motion over a long time. Massachusetts state law requires this for every employee, and it pays out whenever an employee is unable to work. Nationally, this averaged out to $1.27 for every $100 in wages in recent years or an average of $612 per employee.
The cost of this insurance is based on the kind of work your employees do, based on tables developed from claims taken out by employees in similar businesses. When you have a new business, you are quoted a nonnegotiable premium, but with time a lower rate of claims by your employees will lower your cost. You can also get credit for ergonomic equipment and employee training to reduce injuries on the job.
Employee Coverage for Taunton Businesses
Beyond the required workman’s comp, there are other forms of insurance that you need or may want in order to cover your employees. They include the following:
- Health Plan Insurance: This is now required by law for companies with 50 or more employees. Even if you don’t have a business this large, you may want to provide this as an option for your employees, however.
- Life Insurance: It’s important to cover your most important employees should something untimely happen to them. They may also want to at least be able to buy into protection for their families through your business as well.
- Disability Insurance: This is like life insurance, but it pays out when an employee cannot work anymore for any reason.
In recent years, $1.0 billion was paid for employee health care coverage in Massachusetts. The average single person health plan cost employers $6,379 while a family policy ran $17,424. You may want to offer your employees a range of coverage because you want to encourage loyalty and cut retraining costs or because your union contract requires it. There are many skilled employees to be found in Taunton, but they may expect certain benefits before they are willing to join your business’s family.
Cyber Crime Insurance for Taunton Businesses
Protecting your business against all unforeseen circumstances is the key to a good commercial insurance policy. You may not be aware of the many areas where you need coverage, such as protection against losses from cyber crimes. There were 5,116 reported identity thefts recently in Massachusetts. It is absolutely critical that your business be protected against this rampant and growing problem. If your business' identity is stolen, the potential liability is nearly unlimited if you don’t have the best insurance policy.
For all of your Taunton-based business insurance needs, the most important thing you can do is to contact your Independent Insurance Agent. Once your agent gets to understand the many needs of your business, the agent can then help you navigate the complex array of coverage you need to be protected and can then obtain multiple quotes to find the best price for you to compare your options.