Kentwood Business Insurance

The city of Kentwood, MI is focused on business expansion and job creation. This city offers many resources and incentives to local companies, such as industrial tax abatement and business development programs. Regardless of the type of company you own, you can protect the investment you have made with a solid business insurance plan.

Buying business insurance can be complicated, but it doesn’t need to be. Independent agents can help by identifying your company’s specific risks and recommending the best and most affordable policies to cover against each of them. Contact an insurance agent in Kentwood to learn more.

Why Do Kentwood, MI Businesses Need Liability Insurance?

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. No single commercial liability product covers against every liability risk, so you will need to be certain that you carry the right policies to cover against each of your company’s liability exposures.

A local independent agent can help you identify all your company’s potential liability risks and can recommend the right policies to cover against each of them. That way, you do not need to worry about having unintentional coverage gaps.

Some of the many commercial liability products that are available to you include:

• Premises liability insurance: This is designed to cover third-party injuries, illnesses, and property damage caused by accidents on business property for which the company can be considered responsible.
• Product liability insurance: This is designed to cover third-party injuries, illnesses, and property damage that are caused by defects or design flaws in products that your business produces, sells or promotes.
• Cyber liability insurance: This covers businesses that store customer data electronically. If criminals install skimmers on credit card readers or hack into the business’s computer system and steal sensitive information like Social Security numbers, financial data, or personal information, this insurance can provide restitution and credit monitoring services to affected individuals.
• Employment practices liability insurance (EPLI): This can cover businesses against accusations of illegal employment practices such as discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wrongful termination by current, former, or prospective employees.
• Liquor liability insurance: This covers businesses that serve alcoholic beverages. It is important because Michigan’s dram shop laws allow individuals who are injured by a drunk person to sue the establishment that provided the alcohol if these drinks were served to a minor or to a visibly intoxicated adult.
• Professional liability insurance: This covers individuals in professional positions against lawsuits related to errors in judgment, failure to act, and other professional mistakes.
• Environmental liability insurance: This covers businesses that use, sell, or produce toxic materials in the event that an accident or natural disaster leads to these substances polluting the ground, water, or air. It can cover cleanup costs and damages.

You can learn more about these and other commercial liability coverage options by consulting an independent insurance agent in Kentwood.

What Insurance Products Cover Your Business Property?

Businesses in Kentwood are most likely to experience property loss or damage due to hazards like structure fires, property crimes, electrical storms, windstorms, tornadoes, hail, heavy snows, and freezing temperatures.

Commercial property insurance is designed to cover business assets like computers, office furniture, supplies, inventory, merchandise, and tools against loss or damage caused by these risks.

Sometimes, additional property insurance products are necessary. Depending on the type of business you have, your insurance agent may recommend supplementing your commercial property insurance with optional products like:

• Inland marine insurance: This can cover your company’s portable property whenever it is being transported to or from another location or is being stored away from your place of business, such as at a job site or in a warehouse.
• Bailee's insurance: This can cover your customers' valuable property whenever it is in your company’s care, custody, or control. This is essential if your business provides repair, alteration, or maintenance services on expensive items.
• Boiler & machinery insurance: This can cover the cost to repair or replace your business’s essential machinery if it breaks down or malfunctions. It can also cover financial losses your business sustains as a result of the malfunction.
• Commercial flood insurance: This is important because commercial property insurance does not cover against flood damage. The flood risk in Kentwood is rather low, but if your business is located near a waterway like Plaster Creek or Whiskey Creek and has a risk of flooding, you will need to carry flood insurance to be covered.

A local insurance agent can help you be certain that all your valuable business assets are suitably covered, and that your coverage limits are high enough to enable you to rebuild, repair, or replace your business property following a covered event.

Is Business Interruption Insurance a Good Idea in Kentwood, MI?

The risk of tornado activity in the Kentwood area is 12% greater than the national average. In April 2019, an F1 twister touched down within the city limits, causing excessive damage to a number of area businesses, including a storage facility and a lumber & supply company.

Disasters in Michigan

• Number of federally declared disasters in MI since 1953: 42
• Most common reasons for declared disasters: Floods, severe storms, and tornadoes
• Average number of tornadoes in MI per year: 16

A disaster like a tornado or a structure fire can do more than just damage your company’s valuable property. If the destruction is particularly severe, your business might also be forced to remain closed for several weeks while repairs are made.

Many small businesses cannot financially handle a forced long-term closure following a disaster. Fortunately, business interruption insurance provides a solution to this problem.

Business interruption insurance is designed to provide your company with a continuation of income during the times it must remain closed for repairs due to damage caused by a covered event. Coverage can continue until you are able to safely resume normal operations, usually up to 12 months.

Business interruption insurance isn’t ideal for every company. Consult a local independent insurance agent for help determining whether this insurance is a good fit for your Kentwood business.

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Do Businesses in Kentwood Need Worker's Compensation Insurance?

Unfortunately, workers sometimes get injured on the job. This can happen even when businesses have taken all reasonable precautions. That is why, with few exceptions, all employers in the state of Michigan are required to carry worker's compensation insurance.

Worker's compensation insurance is designed to protect your business and your employees from financial losses related to workplace injuries and occupational illnesses. It does this by covering the cost of medical treatment, follow-up care, disability pay, and other related expenses for your employees while helping your company avoid liability lawsuits.

Your cost for coverage will be based primarily on the number of people you employ, how much they are paid, and the types of jobs they do. Workers who have a high risk of injury, like residential construction workers, will cost more to insure than those with low risk, like clerical workers.

An independent agent can obtain customized quotes for coverage from a few competing worker's compensation providers. That way, you can be certain that you are getting this mandatory coverage at a competitive price.

What about Insurance Products for Employee Benefits Packages?

Desirable employee benefits like paid vacation and sick time, an employer-matched 401(k) plan, life insurance, and health insurance can make your company more attractive to high-quality job seekers.

When shopping for healthcare coverage products to include in your employee benefits package, you will find that there are several different kinds of policies available to choose from. You can choose between HMOs, PPOs, and managed care plans, as well as policies that offer different deductibles, co-pays, and levels of coverage.

This can make it difficult to decide which health insurance policies make the best choices for your employees.

An experienced independent insurance agent in Kentwood can explain the pros and cons of each of your various options and can help you compare rates from a few competing providers. That way, you can be sure that you are getting good coverage at a competitive price.

Why Work with an Independent Insurance Agent in Kentwood, MI?

Independent agents can provide guidance and advice as you consider your many options and build your business insurance policy package. These agents are not tied to a single insurance company, so they can shop around to help you find the best and most affordable products to cover against all your company’s exposures.

Sometimes, this means that the best way for your business to save money is by purchasing products from a few different insurance companies. Don’t worry, you will still have only one point of contact with your local independent agent.

Set up a one-on-one consultation with an insurance agent near you to start comparing business insurance quotes from a selection of highly rated providers.