Opening your own business means developing your product or service, finding a location to perform your work, hiring employees, marketing your business to customers, and getting the tools, equipment, and materials needed for daily operations. Business owners also understand that Commercial Insurance is needed, and often required, in order to operate their business and also protect the value of their company and assets.

Businesses that have commercial vehicles and commercial drivers understand the many factors that can impact their daily routes and stops. If a driver is feeling unwell, if the vehicle is having mechanical issues, or if there are roadblocks and traffic delays, this can hurt productivity and lead to losses for the company. However, one of the biggest factors that can impact commercial vehicles comes from bad weather. Often, commercial drivers and the vehicles they operate can be seriously impacted by bad weather, and injuries and damages can result.

Businesses of all sizes and industries face the frustrating problem of theft, whether it's raw materials, money, inventory, tools, company vehicles, equipment, furniture and appliances, or even financial information or sensitive customer records. Many of these crimes can be traced back to individual criminals or gangs that focus on theft.

One of the biggest worries a business owner can have is shutting down their company temporarily due to an issue out of their control, such as a major weather event, utility outage, accident, or unforeseen property damages. For some companies, even the shortest closure could lead to the loss of customers, revenue, and even the business itself. However, when a company has the ability to quickly recover and resume operations from covered events, there is a greater likelihood that they'll survive the temporary closure.

In the Gulf Coast region, businesses are well aware of the natural disasters that are common to our region, including flooding, wildfires, hurricanes, hail, and windstorms. Any one of these severe weather events can cause widespread damage to businesses and their commercial property, leading to the loss of both commercial property and revenue. When businesses are crippled by major weather damage, they may pin their hopes for recovery on securing a federal disaster loan through the Small Business Administration.

Do you know that 4 out of every 10 businesses will experience some type of Commercial Property or General Liability claim over the next ten years? Although this might not be a surprising fact to business owners, many do not realize that the most common claims are not the most expensive ones they could face. As a result they might spend a lot of time worrying about a relatively inexpensive issue and end up overlooking a potential claim that could cost them far more in the long run.

Every day, individuals and companies turn a good idea into a great product. It might solve a common problem, appeal to a broad market, and have the ideal price point to guarantee strong sales. However, if the product itself isn't safe, or has issues that could cause problems for customers, it could lead to serious commercial liability issues.

In an ideal world, company employees always work hard, they always perform their job correctly and safely, and they never do anything that would harm the reputation or financial standing of the company. Unfortunately, we don't live in an ideal world, and sometimes our employees make mistakes, whether intentional or not, that can have a significant impact on our business. In today's blog post, we look at several ways that Commercial Insurance can help protect against employee mistakes that might harm a business.

Nearly all business owners are familiar with Workers Compensation Insurance, and many of them have it to protect against lawsuits or expensive out of pocket costs if an employee is injured or killed in the workplace. Another type of important commercial insurance policy should consider having is Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) coverage. EPLI coverage protects companies if they are sued for violating an employee's rights or demonstrating unfair treatment towards employees.

Every year, thousands of American workers are injured on the job, whether in an office, a retail store, a restaurant, or some other type of commercial property. Although workplace accidents can range from the very minor to the severe and even deadly, nearly all are preventable in some way. A minimal amount of proactive effort now can help prevent a catastrophic workplace accident in the future, protecting both employees and the company.