Goose Creek 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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Hudson Valley New York Business Insurance

A suburb of Charleston, Goose Creek is home to more than 2,000 small businesses. They range from healthcare facilities with many employees to small businesses run out of people’s homes. If you are among the many proud business owners in this South Carolina city, you can protect your investment by purchasing a comprehensive business insurance policy package.

Local independent insurance agents make shopping for coverage easy. These agents are available to help you identify your company’s specific risks and find the right insurance products to cover them. Find an insurance agent in Goose Creek to learn more and to start comparing customized business insurance quotes.

What Kinds of Liability Coverage Can Your Goose Creek Business Insurance Provide?

We live in a litigious society. If your business ends up on the wrong end of a liability lawsuit, having the right insurance coverage is crucial for protecting your company’s finances. Business liability insurance is designed to absorb expenses like court costs, legal defense fees, and damages if your company is sued for a covered event.

All business insurance policies include, at a minimum, commercial general liability insurance (CGL). It is designed to cover third-party injuries, illnesses, and damage, whether they are caused by an accident on your business property (premises liability insurance) or because of a defect in a product your company produces, sells, or promotes (product liability insurance).

Most companies have liability risks that go well beyond what a basic CGL policy can cover. An independent insurance agent can help you identify your business’s other liability exposures and can recommend the right liability coverage products to protect against them.  Examples of some of the many commercial liability insurance policies available to you include:

  • Employment practices liability insurance: This covers businesses against accusations of illegal business practices such as discrimination, harassment, and wrongful termination.
  • Cyber liability insurance: This covers businesses that electronically store customer data in the event that hackers break into their computer systems and steal sensitive data like credit card numbers and personal information. This insurance can pay for resultant damages and provide restitution to those who were affected.
  • Pollution liability insurance: This covers businesses that use or produce toxic substances. It can pay for clean-up costs and damages if an accident or disaster leads to these substances polluting the land, air or water.

Talk to your insurance agent to learn more about these and other liability products that may be a good fit for your Goose Creek business.

What Kinds of Property Does Goose Creek Business Insurance Cover?

All business insurance policies also provide commercial property insurance. This is designed to cover the cost of repairing or replacing your company’s property if it is damaged or destroyed by a covered event. This insurance can cover business assets, including merchandise, inventory, tools, machinery, computers, furniture, and more.  

Businesses in Goose Creek are most likely to experience property damage caused by severe weather events like tornadoes, hurricanes, severe storms and hail. Fortunately, these hazards are covered by your commercial property insurance.

One hazard that is not covered by your commercial property insurance, however, is flood damage. This is a very real risk in Goose Creek, particularly for businesses located near Foster Creek and the Cooper River. Of course, when hurricanes and tropical storms bring heavy rains to the area, flash flooding can occur anywhere.

Adding commercial flood insurance to your business insurance policy package can protect your company from losses associated with this hazard. Flood insurance policies are provided through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and provide an affordable way to get the coverage your business needs.

Talk to a local insurance agent to learn more about covering your business property.

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Why Purchase Business Interruption Insurance?

Damage to your business-owned property isn’t the only expensive risk your business faces during a catastrophic event. Major damage caused by disasters like fires and tornadoes can potentially cause your business to remain closed for several weeks while repairs are made.

For example, the F2 twister that touched down nearby in May 1998 caused more than $5 million in damage to area homes and businesses, some of which had to temporarily close.

Disasters in South Carolina

  • Number of federally declared disasters in SC since 1953: 38
  • Most common reasons for declared disasters: Hurricanes
  • Average number of tornadoes in SC per year: 27

Without an ongoing stream of revenue, many small businesses would be forced into bankruptcy. Business interruption insurance protects against this risk. It provides a continuation of income during the times that your company is forced to temporarily close because of damage caused by a covered event. When your company is covered by business interruption insurance, you can afford to continue to pay regular expenses like loan payments and employee salaries until your business can once again resume normal operations.

Do All Goose Creek Businesses Need Workers’ Compensation Insurance?

If you have at least four employees in South Carolina, and you have paid out at least $3,000 in overall payroll in the previous year, you are required by law to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Exceptions are made for certain employees, such as sole proprietors, corporate partners, LLC members, railroad workers, real estate agents, and agricultural workers.

Workers’ compensation insurance is designed to cover medical treatment, lost wages, and other related expenses if your workers are hurt or suffer an occupational illness due to exposure to toxic substances in the workplace. This insurance can also pay out survivor benefits to family members in the unfortunate event that a workplace injury proves fatal.

Costs for workers’ compensation insurance are based primarily on the types of jobs your workers do. The more dangerous the job, the higher the cost for coverage. It costs much more to insure a truck driver than it does to cover a cashier in a clothing store. An independent insurance agent can help you compare rates from a variety of reliable insurance companies that specialize in covering businesses like yours.

What about Purchasing Insurance Benefits for Your Employees?

There is no way to sugarcoat it: Healthcare coverage is expensive. However, subsidizing it for your employees can have money-saving benefits for your company. Studies by human resource experts have shown that workers who have health insurance tend to use fewer sick days. Also, offering an attractive benefits package helps businesses recruit and retain the best employees.

  • Annual amount spent on healthcare coverage by SC businesses: $878,428,000
  • Ranked 32nd for highest medical insurance costs in the US
  • Average annual cost of health care in SC: $5,557/person or $15,780/family

If you are looking for health and life insurance to include in your employee benefits package, you will find that there are many different policy types and options available for your consideration. You may find it beneficial to have the guidance and advice of an experienced insurance professional when you are deciding which policies to purchase.

Talk to a local independent insurance agent for help when you are shopping for employee benefits insurance products.

Why Work with an Independent Insurance Agent in Goose Creek, SC?

Businesses vary in their coverage needs. The risks at a local diner are very different from those at a construction firm. That is why there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all business insurance plan. With a wide variety of products and options at their disposal, business owners can fully customize their company’s insurance coverage.

Independent insurance agents can help you choose the right policies and options to meet your company’s specific coverage needs. Because they do not work for a particular insurance company, these agents can shop around to find the best business insurance policies at the most competitive price. Contact an insurance agent in Goose Creek to get started.

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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