Melrose Business Insurance
Make sure your company is covered against all of its risks
There are several businesses located in the Boston suburb of Melrose, MA. From small companies that are run out of people’s homes to the many shops that line Main Street, the businesses all play an important role in the community and contribute to the local economy. Business insurance helps them stay profitable when problems arise.
Building a comprehensive commercial insurance policy package can be a complicated task, but you do not need to tackle it alone. Independent agents in Melrose can identify your company’s various exposures and can recommend the right policies to cover against each of them.
Find an insurance agent near you to start comparing customized quotes for customized business insurance policies.
Why Do Businesses in Melrose, MA, Need Liability Insurance?
Liability lawsuits can be particularly expensive, even if the courts ultimately rule in your favor. Business liability insurance is designed to cover your company’s court costs, legal fees, and financial damages if it is sued for a covered event.
There are lots of different liability products available. You will need to be sure to purchase the right policies to cover against all of the potential liability exposures your business has. Some of the commercial liability products your insurance agent may recommend include:
- Premises liability insurance: This can cover third-party injuries, illnesses, and property damage that results from accidents that occur on your business property.
- Product liability insurance: This can cover third-party injuries, illnesses, and property damage that is caused by defects in products your business produces, sells, or promotes.
- Cyber liability insurance: This can cover financial losses and liabilities if cybercriminals hack into your business’s computer systems and steal sensitive customer data such as credit card information, social security numbers, and personal data.
- Employment practices liability insurance: This can cover lawsuits related to accusations of illegal employment practices such as discrimination, harassment, breach of contract, and wrongful termination.
- Liquor liability insurance: This can cover lawsuits related to damages and injuries caused by a person who became intoxicated while in your establishment if your business provided the alcohol. This is a real risk due to the dram laws in Massachusetts.
- Environmental liability insurance: This can cover cleanup costs and damage if an accident at your business results in the pollution of the ground, water, or air.
Talk to an independent insurance agent in Melrose to learn more about these and many other commercial liability policies. Your agent can help you be certain that your business is properly covered against all of its potential liability risks.
What Insurance Products Cover Your Business Property in Melrose?
Businesses in Melrose are most likely to experience significant property loss or damage due to hazards such as hurricanes, tropical storms, blizzards, freezing temperatures, strong winds, fires, and property crimes.
Fortunately, each of these risks is covered by commercial property insurance, which is a standard part of all business insurance policies. It is designed to cover your commercially owned property including such things as furniture, computers, supplies, and merchandise.
Sometimes, adding specialized property insurance policies is also necessary. Your insurance agent may recommend supplementing your commercial property insurance with products such as:
- Inland marine insurance: This can cover your company’s portable property while it is in transit or is away from your place of business, such as on location at a worksite or stored in a warehouse.
- Boiler & machinery insurance: This can cover the cost to repair or replace broken down essential machinery and can also cover any business losses associated with the mechanical malfunction.
- Bailees insurance: This can cover your customers’ valuable property whenever it is in your business’s care, custody, or control, such as when you are performing repair or maintenance services on it.
- Commercial flood insurance: This can cover against flood damage to your business. It is necessary because commercial property insurance specifically excludes flood damage from its coverage, and many businesses in Melrose are at risk, particularly during hurricane season.
A local independent insurance agent can help you be sure that all of your business assets are appropriately covered and that your coverage limits are high enough.
Why Is Business Interruption Insurance a Good Idea in Melrose, MA?
A major disaster like a hurricane can do more than just damage your business property. If the destruction left in its wake is particularly severe, it could also force your company to remain closed for several weeks while repairs are made.
Catastrophic events in Massachusetts:
- Number of federally declared disasters in MA since 1953: 54
- Most common reasons for declared disasters: Severe storms, hurricanes, and heavy snows
- Average number of tornadoes in MA per year: 1.4
If your company must close for a while due to damages caused by a covered event, business interruption insurance can help by providing a continuation of income until it is able to resume normal operations.
Business interruption insurance can enable your company to pay regular monthly expenses such as utility payments, loan installments, and employee salaries even though it is temporarily unable to generate revenue. Talk to your local insurance agent to learn more.
Do Businesses in Melrose Need Workers’ Compensation Insurance?
Workers sometimes get hurt on the job. If your employees suffer injuries or develop occupational illnesses, your business is responsible for covering their medical treatments and financial losses. Workers’ compensation insurance is designed to provide this coverage.
With few exceptions, all employers in the state of Massachusetts are required by law to cover their full-time and part-time employees with workers’ compensation insurance.
Rates for workers’ compensation insurance are based mainly on the types of jobs your employees do and the likelihood that they will be injured while doing them. It would therefore cost a lot more to insure a construction worker than it would to cover a receptionist at a doctor’s office.
An independent agent in Melrose can help you review your costs and can match you up with an insurance company that specializes in covering businesses in your industry.
What about Insurance Products for Melrose Employee Benefits Packages?
There is no getting around the fact that healthcare coverage in the United States can be quite expensive. However, offering subsidized coverage to your employees can actually have cost-saving benefits for your company.
Studies conducted by human resource managers have shown that businesses that offer a competitive employee benefits package find it easier to attract and retain qualified employees. Insured workers also tend to call off sick from work less frequently.
- Annual amount spent on healthcare coverage by MA businesses: $1,064,684,000
- Average annual cost of health care in MA: $6,379/person or $17,424/family
When you are shopping for insurance products to include in your employee benefits packages, you will find that there are many different life insurance and health insurance policies to choose from. This can make it difficult to determine which policies to purchase.
A local independent insurance agent can go over the pros and cons of each of your various options so you can make an informed decision.
Why Work with an Independent Insurance Agent in Melrose, MA?
Insurance providers know that every company has its own specific risks and exposures. That is why business insurance comes with so many products and policy options. An independent agent can help you find the best and most affordable policies to fully cover your Melrose business.
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 get a comprehensive business insurance policy package at a competitive price.
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts
https://www.fema.gov/disasters
http://www.naic.org/prod_serv/AUT-PB-14.pdf
https://www.nfib.com/content/legal-compliance/legal/workers-compensation-laws-state-by-state-comparison-57181
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
http://www.city-data.com