Oxford, MS Business Insurance

(Everything you need to know - and more)

Written by Meg Stefanac
Written by Meg Stefanac

Financial blogger and business owner, Meg Stefanac, has more than 15 years experience working in the financial services industry and enjoys helping individuals make solid financial decisions. Meg has extensive experience writing about insurance and finances and is a key contributor to TrustedChoice.com.

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Grenada Mississippi business insurance

Home to Ole Miss, the city of Oxford presents many business opportunities. The thousands of small companies located in this city represent a wide range of industries and play an important role in the local and state economies. Well-built business insurance policy packages help these companies remain profitable when disaster strikes.

Selecting the right commercial insurance products can be confusing, but you don't need to do it on your own. Independent insurance agents in Oxford can help you build a solid business insurance package by identifying your company’s specific risks and recommending the policies that can best cover them. Contact an insurance agent near you to learn more.

Why Do Oxford Businesses Need Liability Insurance?

Liability insurance is one of the most important parts of every business insurance policy package. It is designed to pay your company’s court costs, legal fees, and damages in the event of a lawsuit for a covered event. You will need to be sure that you have the right kinds of liability insurance to cover each of the specific risks faced by your Oxford business.

Depending on what your company does, some commercial liability products will be appropriate while others are unnecessary. A local independent agent can help you determine your company’s specific needs.

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

  • Premises liability insurance: This covers third-party injuries, illnesses, and property damage if they occur due to an accident on your business property. 
  • Product liability insurance:  This covers third-party injuries, illnesses and property damage if they are caused by defects in products your business produces, sells, or promotes.
  • Employment practices liability insurance: This covers lawsuits related to accusations of illegal employment practices such as discrimination, harassment, breach of contract, and wrongful termination.
  • Environmental liability insurance: This is beneficial for businesses that use or produce toxic substances. It can cover clean-up costs and damages if an accident leads to the pollution of the ground, water, or air.
  • Cyber liability insurance: This covers against financial losses and liabilities if cyber criminals install skimmers on your credit card readers or hack into your computer system and steal sensitive customer data such as financial information, Social Security numbers, or personal data.

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

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What Insurance Products Cover Your Business Property?

All business insurance policies include commercial property coverage, which is designed to compensate your business for loss or damage to your commercially owned property. This insurance covers a wide range of assets, including signs, computers, furniture, supplies, merchandise and inventory.

Businesses in Oxford, MS are most likely to experience property loss or damage due to hazards such as structure fires, severe storms, hail and tornadoes. Fortunately, most commercial property insurance covers against all of these risks.

Sometimes, additional property insurance products are necessary. Depending on your business’s scope and location, your insurance agent may recommend adding:

  • Inland marine insuranceThis covers the valuable portable property your business may own whenever it is in transit or is stored away from your place of business, such as at a job site.
  • Boiler & machinery insurance: This covers the cost to repair or replace a broken-down furnace or other machinery and can also cover any business losses associated with mechanical malfunctions.
  • Bailee's insurance: This covers your customer’s property whenever it is in your care, custody, or control.
  • Flood insurance: This may be necessary because commercial property insurance will not cover flood damage. Oxford businesses located near Goose Creek and Toby Tubby Creek are most at risk, but flash flooding can happen anywhere in this city, particularly during hurricane season, when prolonged heavy rains are common.

A local insurance agent can help you be sure that all of your business assets are appropriately covered, and that your coverage limits are high enough to enable you to rebuild, repair, or replace, if necessary.

Why Is Business Interruption Insurance a Good Idea in Oxford, MS?

A major disaster can do more than just damage your business’s property. If the damage is particularly severe, it could also force your business to remain closed for several weeks while repairs are made. This can be financially devastating for many small businesses.

Disasters in Mississippi

  • Number of federally declared disasters in MS since 1953: 83
  • Most common reasons for declared disasters: Severe storms, hurricanes, tornadoes
  • Average number of tornadoes in MS per year: 43

Business interruption insurance provides a solution to this problem by providing your company with a continuation of income until you can resume normal operations.

When you have this insurance, your business can afford to pay regular monthly expenses such as utility payments, loan installments, and employee salaries even though your business is temporarily unable to generate revenue. Business interruption insurance is usually limited to up to twelve months of coverage.

Do Businesses in Oxford Need Workers’ Compensation Insurance?

As a business owner in Oxford, you are required to provide a safe and healthy workplace for your employees. Unfortunately, even when precautions are taken, workers sometimes get hurt. Your business is responsible for covering your employees' financial losses in the event of a workplace injury or occupational illness.

Workers’ compensation insurance is designed to protect your business from liability losses by covering the cost of medical treatment, lost wages, and other expenses related to these workplace injuries. In the event of a fatal work-related injury, this insurance can also provide long-term benefits to surviving family members and dependents.

With a few exceptions, if you have five or more regular employees in the state of Mississippi, you are required by law to cover them with workers’ compensation insurance.  A local independent agent 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 Employee Benefits Packages?

Although health insurance can be expensive, offering subsidized coverage to your employees may have cost-saving benefits. The businesses that offer competitive employee benefits packages find it easier to attract and retain the most qualified employees, according to various studies conducted by human resources professionals.

  • Annual amount spent on healthcare coverage by MS businesses: $332 million
  • Average annual cost of health care in MS: $5,207/person or $14,053/family

There are many different life insurance and health insurance products available for you to choose from. This can make it difficult to determine which policies are the best to include in your employee benefits package. An independent insurance agent in Oxford can go over the pros and cons of each of your various options so you can make the most informed decision.

Why Work with an Independent Insurance Agent in Oxford, MS?

Every business has it is own specific risks and exposures.  That is why insurance companies enable business owners to fully customize their commercial insurance coverage. Independent insurance agents in Oxford make shopping for coverage stress-free by offering guidance and by shopping around to help you find the best and most affordable policies to cover your business.

Find an insurance agent with an office in or near Oxford to learn more. You will soon discover how easy it can be to build a comprehensive business insurance policy package for your company.

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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