Business Insurance

Running a business is hard work- finding time to deal with your insurance can be tough. Let Hardt Insurance help! We've made insurance as painless as possible for businesses from Grand Rapids to Kalamazoo, South Haven to Saugatuck and Holland, St. Joseph to Hudsonville and beyond. Your business might only need general liability coverage, or maybe you have larger needs for commercial auto, property, inland marine, workers compensation, or umbrella policies. We can help talk things through with you.

Commercial Auto

As a business owner, you need very similar kinds of insurance coverages for the car you use in your business as you do for a car used for personal travel -- liability, collision and comprehensive, and medical Personal Injury Protection coverage, and coverage for uninsured motorists. In fact, many business people use the same vehicle for both business and pleasure. If the vehicle is owned by the business, make sure the name of the business appears on the policy as the named insured rather than your name. This will avoid possible confusion in the event that you need to file a claim or a claim is filed against you.

Whether you need to buy a business auto insurance policy will depend on the kind of driving you do. This will depend on how you use vehicles in your business, who will be driving them and whether employees, if you have them, are likely to be driving their own cars for your business.

While the major coverages are the same, a business auto policy differs from a personal auto policy in many technical respects. Ask your us to explain all the differences and options.

General Liability

Unfortunately for every business owner, the chances of getting sued have dramatically increased in the last decade. General Liability insurance can prevent a legal suit from turning into a financial disaster by providing financial protection in case your business is ever sued or held legally responsible for some bodily injury to a third party or property damage.

General Liability pays losses arising from real or alleged bodily injury, property damage, or personal injury on your business premises or arising from your operations. Some areas of coverage include:

• Bodily Injury to a third party person as a result of your business operations or products
• Property Damage coverage for the physical damage to property of others or the loss of use of that property
• Products-Completed Operations provides liability protection (damages and legal expenses up to your policy's limit) if an injury ever resulted from something your company made or service your company provided

Workers Compensation

Workers compensation laws were created to ensure that employees who are injured on the job are provided with fixed monetary awards. This eliminates the need for litigation and creates an easier process for the employee. It also helps control the financial risks for employers since many states limit the amount an injured employee can recover from an employer.

Workers Compensation Insurance is designed to help companies pay these benefits. As a protection for employees, most states require that employers carry some form of Workers Compensation Insurance. Workers Compensation Insurance is not health insurance. Workers Compensation is designed specifically for injuries sustained on the job.

In most cases, if you have employees, you are required to carry Workers Compensation coverage. Even in non-mandatory cases, it can be a very good idea to protect yourself in the event of an employee injury on the job. Workers compensation insurance must be bought as a separate policy. Although in-home business and business owners policies (BOPs) are sold as package policies, they don't include coverage for workers' injuries.

For More Information

Hardt Insurance can help navigate what coverage your business needs. Call us at 269-637-1181 or contact us online today.