Small Business Insurance Checklist: 5 Questions to Ask Your Agent

Contractors’ professional liability insurance protects construction-related businesses like architecture, engineering, and subcontracting. This insurance policy helps you to cover the liability claims for errors and environmental impact.

 

Data Breach insurance protects the sensitive personal information of your customers. Small businesses collect information like credit card numbers and social security numbers of their clients. If some hacker or virus steals the personal information of clients, your company can be held liable. Data breach insurance policy will pay to cover the cost.

Workers’ compensation insurance protects the benefits of your employees. This insurance policy helps pay for medical bills, lost wages, and funeral expenses due to job-related injuries or illness.

Commercial auto insurance helps to cover on-job driving accidents. If you or your employee meets an accident during deliveries, the commercial auto insurance policy will help cover the loss. This insurance is especially important if your employee drives your company’s or his vehicle for the job.

  1. What is your expertise and do you have professional designations?

If you are purchasing an insurance policy through an agent, ask him about his expertise and experience. Some insurance agents work independently and some work with insurance companies called captive agents. The expertise and experience of the insurance agent will give you an idea of the reliability of the insurance policy. It will allow you to decide whether you can trust him or not. An independent insurance agent sells insurance policies of many companies according to his contracts while the captive agent is bound to work with only one company and he sells the insurance policies of that company. There are various advantages of purchasing policies from an independent agent and captive agent. An independent insurance agent can provide you many options and you can choose the best among them. Most of the customers were inclined towards independent insurance agents due to various options. Captive agents work with major insurance companies and they are the expert on selling different insurance policies. They guide you about the best policy for your business. Insurance agents specialize in a specific field or type of insurance. You should be clear about the insurance needs of your business.

 

Insurance agents have accreditation and designations like many other professionals in various fields. Commercial insurance is the subclass of property and casualty insurance. Every line of the insurance industry has different advantages and risks so, choose a commercial agent who specializes in this line and can provide the best insurance policy for your business. Common designations for commercial agents have Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and Commercial Lines Coverage Specialist (CLCS). CPCU covers a wide range of subjects related to commercial insurance and can increase their experience by selling business insurance. CLCS also has comprehensive knowledge about writing commercial lines. A commercial insurance agent should aware of the risks imposed on businesses to become a better insurance producer.