Charlestown Business Insurance
Let a local independent agent help you build an ideal business insurance policy package.
Jeff Green has held a variety of sales and management roles at life insurance companies, Wall street firms, and distribution organizations over his 40-year career. He was previously Finra 7,24,66 registered and held life insurance licenses in multiple states. He is a graduate of Stony Brook University.
In 2019, 318 Indiana businesses filed for bankruptcy. In many cases, the right insurance policies could have prevented these financial pitfalls. Protect the investment you have made in your Charlestown business by purchasing a comprehensive business insurance policy package.
Independent insurance agents make shopping for coverage easy. These agents can do a complete risk assessment on your company and can recommend the best and most affordable policies to cover against each identified exposure. Contact an insurance agent near you get started.
Why Do Businesses in Charlestown Need Liability Insurance?
Even if the courts ultimately rule in your company’s favor, managing the costs associated with a liability lawsuit can be very expensive. Business liability insurance is designed to protect your company by covering expenses such as court costs, legal fees, settlements, judgments, and other damages if your business is sued for a covered event.
You will need to be sure that your business insurance policy package includes the right commercial liability products to cover against each of your company’s potential exposures. Some of the many liability products your agent may recommend include:
- Premises liability insurance: This covers third-party injuries and property damage that occur on your business premises.
- Product liability insurance: This covers third-party injuries, illnesses, and property damage caused by products your business produces or sells.
- Liquor liability insurance: This covers third-party injuries or property damage caused by a customer who got intoxicated at your place of business if your company is named in a liability lawsuit.
- Cyber liability insurance: This covers financial damages if cyber criminals hack into your company’s computer system and steal data such as your employees’ or customers’ financial and personal details.
- Employment practices liability insurance: This covers against accusations of illegal employment practices such as wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.
- Professional liability insurance: This covers individuals in professional positions against accusations of negligence, errors in judgment, and other professional mistakes that caused their clients to suffer financial losses or other damages.
Talk to an independent insurance agent to learn more about these and any other commercial liability policies that may be a good fit for your Charlestown business.
What Insurance Products Cover Your Business Property?
Commercial property insurance is a standard part of every business insurance policy. It is designed to cover your company’s assets like inventory, furniture, and outdoor signs if they are lost or damaged due to a covered event.
Business in Charlestown are most at risk for hazards such as accidental fires, theft, electrical storms, windstorms, tornadoes, hail, freezing temperatures, ice accumulation, and blizzards. Fortunately, each of these risks is covered by commercial property insurance.
Commercial property insurance does have some limitations, however, so it may be necessary for you to purchase supplemental coverage to ensure that your business property is fully covered. For instance, your insurance agent may recommend products such as:
- Flood insurance: Commercial property insurance does not cover flood damage. At-risk business owners, particularly those located near the Ohio River, Jenny Lind Run, and Pleasant Run can purchase an affordable commercial flood insurance policy through the NFIP.
- Inland marine insurance: Commercial property insurance does not cover your company’s portable property whenever it is being transported to or from another location or is being temporarily stored away from your place of business. Fortunately, inland marine insurance does.
- Bailee's insurance: Commercial property insurance does not cover your customers’ valuable property when it is in your business’s care, custody, or control. Bailee's insurance does, so this is an ideal product if your company performs maintenance, alteration, or repair services.
- Boiler & machinery insurance: This covers the cost of repairing or replacing your company’s essential machinery if it breaks down or malfunctions. It can also cover any revenue losses associated with the breakdown.
A local independent insurance agent can help you be sure that all of your business assets are suitably covered.
Is Business Interruption Insurance a Good Idea in Charlestown, IN?
The risk of tornado activity in Charlestown is 74% higher than the national average. The worst to strike in the area was an F4 twister that touched down just 8.1 miles from the Charlestown city center in 1974. This tornado caused more than $50 million worth of damages to area homes and businesses.
A major disaster like a tornado or a structure fire can do more than just damage your business property. It can also force your company to shut down for several weeks while repairs are made.
Disasters in Indiana
- Number of federally declared disasters in IN since 1953: 51
- Most common cause of disasters: severe storms, floods, snow, and tornadoes
- Average number of tornadoes in IN per year: 22
- Amount paid out in business insurance claims in IN in 2019: $6,780,466,000
If your company must close for an extended time due to damages caused by a covered event, business interruption insurance can help you avoid large financial losses by providing a continuation of income until you are able to resume normal operations. That way, you can continue paying regular monthly expenses like rent, bills, loan installments, and employee salaries even though you are temporarily unable to generate revenue.
Do Businesses in Charlestown Need Workers’ Compensation Insurance?
Workers’ compensation insurance can provide coverage for medical treatments and lost wages if your employees are injured on the job or if they develop an occupational illness due to exposure to toxins at the workplace.
With very few exceptions, all employers in Charlestown are required by Indiana state law to cover their full-time and part-time employees with workers’ compensation insurance.
Rates for this insurance are based primarily on the types of jobs your employees do and the likelihood that they will be seriously injured while doing them. It would therefore cost a lot more to cover a construction worker than it would to cover a receptionist at a hair salon.
What about Insurance Products for Employee Benefits Packages?
When it comes to recruiting and retaining a talented pool of employees, you can give your company a competitive edge by offering attractive benefits like paid vacation time, sick time, an employer-matched 401(k) plan, life insurance, and health insurance.
A local independent insurance agent can go over the pros and cons of your various health and life insurance options. They can explain different types of policies such as PPO, HMO, and managed care plans, and can make recommendations about prescription plans, copays, and other options.
Purchasing insurance products for your employee benefits package can be complex, but it is easy to make informed decisions when you have the benefit of advice and guidance from an experienced insurance professional.
Why Work with an Independent Insurance Agent in Charlestown, Indiana?
Local independent agents can help you identify all of your company’s potential risks and can recommend the right kinds of policies to cover against each of them. Unlike captive agents, these agents are free to shop around for the best price, so you can be sure you are getting great coverage at a competitive rate.
Set up a one-on-one consultation with an independent insurance agent near you to learn more. You will soon discover how easy it can be to obtain and compare a variety of customized business insurance quotes.
http://www.city-data.com/city/Charlestown-Indiana.html
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts
https://www.fema.gov/disasters
https://www.in.gov/wcb/employers/
https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/benefits/pages/alter-benefits-attract-retain.aspx
https://www.business.org/hr/benefits/top-reasons-to-offer-employee-benefits
https://www.statista.com/statistics/817662/number-of-business-bankruptcies-in-indiana/