Type of business: The cost of insurance depends upon the type of business. There is more risk in the businesses like construction and manufacturing. Construction workers, janitors, and manufacturers have costly general liability insurance because they work on other’s property. The risk of incurring liability for the injury will be higher for security guards than for accountants. So, the cost of insurance policy for businesses providing accounting services will be higher than those providing security services.
Location of business: Areas with greater climatic hazards risks have high property insurance premiums. Climatic hazards including floods, wildfire, and snow increase the risk of property damage, and risk will ultimately increase the insurance cost. Locations at lower climatic risks have a lower cost of property insurance.
Your history of insurance claims: Insurance companies look at your claim history to decide the cost. If a business owner has a higher number of claims or has been sued many times for the mistakes in the services provided by his business, the insurer may charge a higher premium from him.
Years in the business: If you have a well-established business, you will be charged less. Businesses with no solid track record pay more to buy an insurance policy.
- How can I submit a claim?
After discussing different insurance policies, their coverage and, cost, you can ask about the procedure of claim submission. Insurance policy claims are the requests made by the policyholder to insurance companies or agents after a loss occurs. The policyholder demonstrates the loss and then the insurance agency investigates either it has happened or not. The insurance company covers the expenses after confirmation. You can follow these steps to claim insurance.
- You should have a record of the damage that happened to your business. Physical damage can be easily demonstrated by police reports and through pictures. If the claim includes physical injury or property damage, you should immediately contact to appropriate authorities and police if needed. Without police reports, criminal activities like theft are not paid for by insurance companies. Documentation of liability claims is not easy. You should have a record of the incident in case of a lawsuit. Business owners should have a proper system for recording incidents that can turn into claims.
- After recording damage, business owners should take steps to mitigate the damage. You should try to protect the property from further loss. Subsequent loss after initial damage is not paid by insurance companies. You should start repairing to reduce further damage. Start getting bids for major repair without waiting for an insurance claim.
- Now review your insurance policy to check what they cover. Every policy already has outlined damages that they cover and exclusions that they do not cover.
- After deciding to file a claim, notify the insurance company. Those incidents where you cannot afford to pay for damage are the right time to file the claim. The insurance company can charge a high premium to business owners who have already filed multiple claims.
- You should avoid filing the claim if the repair cost is less than deductibles and if you think that claim would not be accepted due to any reason. You should notify the insurance provider as soon as practically possible. You can simply call them or apply through online claim management if available.
- Prepare documents for the claim because liability and property claims require different documentation. Liability claims require witness statements, repair bills, medical bills, contracts, emails, change orders, and meeting notes. Documents that establish the value of loss are required in property claims.
- Adjusters are sent by insurers for the inspection of damages. They gather the information about the business owner and assess the damage. They also determine the amount that the insurance company should pay to the policyholder.
- An insurer can accept or deny the claim in one month. If they deny, they must inform in writing. Insurance companies must send payment in one month and the business owner should sign acknowledgment after receiving payment.
