Owning your own business comes with a bounty of rewards and advantages, but it can also come with a high level of risk, particularly if you have employees on your worksite. Regardless of the industry and levels of training, employees can and do get hurt on the job every day, creating serious liability issues for employers. Workers Compensation insurance makes payments to injured employees for lost wages and medical expenses related to workplace injuries, while also shielding employers from both covering these expenses out of pocket and costly lawsuits.

Compared with other areas of the country, Houston has long enjoyed a strong and growing economy due to the diversity of our industries and business-friendly tax laws. Because of our robust economic growth, businesses must compete even more with their competitors to gain an edge and win a larger share of their market. One way that businesses can stay ahead of their competitors is by a full range of quality commercial insurance.

During the holiday season, many businesses such as retail stores, restaurants, delis, and bakeries depend on temporary workers to help handle the barrage of additional customers and sales. Although they offer relief to swamped business owners, temporary workers can also create potential liability issues when they are not properly trained in all areas of safety and business operations.

The needs of a business can change dramatically as the business grows, adds services, and makes improvements. Over time, these changes can impact a company's liability risk and commercial insurance coverage. Unfortunately, some business owners do not realize that some company changes warrant the need for updating coverage amounts and policy protections. In today's blog post, we look at three common changes that make updating commercial coverage necessary.

During the holiday season, business owners often plan team-building exercises and company functions to celebrate the company’s successes, reward hardworking employees, or serve the local community as a team.  However, sometimes company functions can get out of hand when employees celebrate a little too much, or they are injured while participating in an event, creating a potential Workers Compensation issue.

If you venture inside any major retailer, department store, or big box store, you're likely to see a wide array of holiday décor and items for sale. Although the holiday season is the busiest season for both small and major retailers, it can also come with major risks for the business and its owners. In today's blog post, we'll highlight four major risks retailers face during the holiday season, and some simple ways business owners can manage and reduce their risk exposure.

Business owners typically secure commercial insurance to protect their company from damages caused by theft, fire, floods, and utility disruptions. However, another type of threat looms large for many businesses: civil lawsuits. Unfortunately, many businesses forgo insurance protection from lawsuits because they falsely believe they won't be sued, or they are unaware that such commercial insurance protection exists.

At any given time, companies can experience interruptions to their daily operations due to a number of causes, such as power and utility outages, fire, theft, vandalism, or lightning strikes. Although Commercial Property insurance can cover the cost of replacing or repairing damaged company assets, it does not provide any assistance for companies to cover existing expenses during the business closure. Thankfully, business owners can get help covering existing expenses and keep their business afloat with Business Interruption Insurance.

With Halloween less than a month away, many businesses have begun planning out their Halloween festivities and parties, whether for employees or customers. Activities might range from simple costume or pumpkin decorating contests to full-blown parties with alcohol, live music, and spooky events and games. Although Halloween can be a great opportunity for companies to attract new customers, or provide a fun event for employees, there are some risks with Halloween parties and activities that can pose liability threats.

Houston continues to develop new commercial, office, and residential properties at an astounding rate, far surpassing economic growth in other areas of the country. Our city's robust economy allows many individuals to take a leap of faith and become small business owners. However, owning a small business such as retail shop comes with both high rewards and high risk. Thankfully, there are proactive steps retail shop owners can take to minimize risk and protect their business.