Category: Commercial Insurance

Starting a small business is a dream come true for many. Yet striking out on your own also comes with a lot of risks. Fortunately, there are steps entrepreneurs can take to reduce risks, such as taking out commercial insurance.

Anyone with questions regarding commercial insurance can contact Harris Insurance serving Jasper, AL and other areas nearby.

How Entrepreneurs Can Reduce Risks

Keep Your Finances Straight

One of the biggest mistakes many entrepreneurs make is not getting their finances and accounting in order. This could result in a lot of problems. The business may forget to bill a customer or might run into cash flow problems. Entrepreneurs may also run into challenges come tax season. An entrepreneur may file their taxes wrong, for example, resulting in an audit.  

Eliminate Hazards

If there’s cracked and uneven cement in your parking lot, or maybe a loose railing running up a flight of stairs (among other things), someone could get hurt. If that happens, the company may face a lawsuit. Owners may also be on the hook for various injuries suffered by employees. By making sure that such hazards are fixed quickly, business owners can reduce the risks of someone being injured. 

If someone does get injured, commercial insurance policies might cover the legal costs and settlements. That said, it’s crucial to read exactly what is covered by a given plan as coverage may vary. Of course, if accidents and mishaps can be avoided, that’s the best route.

Ensure That You’re Properly Insured

One of the best ways to mitigate risks is to take out commercial insurance. Coverage varies from plan to plan, so as with everything else in the business sector, read the fine print. However, the right insurance plans may provide coverage against natural disasters, theft, fires, personal injury lawsuits, vandalism, and more.

Give Us A Call

Starting a business? Get in touch with Harris Insurance in Jasper, AL to discuss coverage options.

When it comes to owning your own business, there are many things to consider. One of the main things you need to have in place is a commercial business policy. Our agents at Harris Insurance in Jasper, AL know and understand how important this type of policy is to the success of your business.

There are several types of commercial insurance coverage options for you to choose from depending on your needs, preferences, and situation.

Commercial Insurance Coverage Options

Commercial Auto Liability

In the state of Alabama, all drivers must have at least auto liability insurance in place to legally drive and your business vehicles are no exception. All vehicles owned by your business or personal vehicles that are used for business purposes need to have at least commercial auto liability insurance coverage. This type of coverage will assist you in paying for any medical bills or property damage that is incurred if you or one of your employees is the cause of an accident.

Worker’s Compensation Insurance

If you employ five or more people at your business, the state of Alabama requires you to have a worker’s compensation policy in place to cover employees if they are hurt on the job. This type of policy can also help pay wages to employees who are off work due to a work-related injury.

Commercial Liability Insurance Coverage

This type of insurance coverage is very important because it covers any injuries to a customer or other visitor to your business if they are injured while they are there. This type of coverage can also help you out if you are ever sued for slander, copyright infringement, or libel.

Commercial Property Insurance

Commercial property insurance is extremely important because it can help you replace lost inventory or repair your business if it is damaged by an act of vandalism, a fire, or a natural disaster. This type of policy can help you recoup inventory that is lost due to a theft incident or robbery at your business.

Get The Right Coverage Today

Contact our experienced and trustworthy commercial insurance agents today at Harris Insurance in Jasper, AL to get your policy started!

While most businesses are required to have commercial insurance, it’s important to note that product liability insurance is not the same thing. Commercial insurance policies protect your business if something happens to one of your clients as a result of your work. For example, if you are in the construction business and your crew cuts the power cable to your client’s house during renovations, the client can make a claim against your commercial insurance to cover the cost of repairs. 

Product liability insurance, on the other end, protects you from legal responsibility if a client is injured by your product. For example, if your business is selling furniture and a client is injured by a sharp edge, that client can make a claim against your product liability policy. Contact Harris Insurance in Jasper, AL for expert insurance advice.

Commercial Insurance: What You Should Know 

Commercial insurance policies are designed to protect your business against financial loss if a policyholder sues you for a commercial or business-related reason. Product liability insurance, on the other hand, is designed to protect you against financial loss if a policyholder sues you because your product caused them an injury. 

If you’re a manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer, or provider of a service operating as a business, you need to get commercial insurance. You have a policy that covers your business against financial loss if a customer sues you for a slip and fall. That’s commercial insurance. Now you’re also selling coffee beans, but this time you’re selling them as a product. Let’s say someone sues you because they say the coffee beans you sold them gave them an allergy. That’s product liability, and you need separate insurance to protect yourself against this claim. 

Give Us A Call

Even though product liability and commercial insurance might be part of your business policy, they are different policies with different coverage. Commercial insurance is designed to protect your business against potential risks like property damage or bodily injury, which your business might encounter in the course of conducting its daily activities. 

In contrast, product liability insurance is designed to protect you from liability if a customer were to get sick or hurt from a product you distribute, or if a customer were to sue your company because of a product malfunction or a malfunction in the supply chain. For inquiries in the greater Jasper, AL community, contact Harris Insurance.

Harris Insurance is proud to serve the insurance needs of the greater Jasper, AL area business community. If you are concerned about the amount of protection covering your inventory, we are here to help! Give us a call today, and let’s set up a time to review your insurance needs.

Calculating your inventory insurance coverage level

When it comes to protecting your business investments and assets, inventory coverage is often a confusing piece of the puzzle. Inventory levels can fluctuate in an extreme way, depending on how sales are going, how much cash is on hand to invest, and the costs of acquiring your inventory. And, if you are a seasonal business, it can make the calculation even more difficult. 

The first step is to review your inventory levels over the past three years. If there are any outliers that are due to non-recurring events or occurrences, they should be removed from your calculation. Take a look at the normalized average over the analysis period and then consider what changes you anticipate in the coming year.

If you expect delivery of goods and sales to continue on the same trajectory as the previous three years, then use those numbers to decide on the level of inventory protection you need, adjusting for any future anticipated changes.

We can help you with all of your commercial insurance needs

If you are the owner or manager of a Jasper, AL area business, you can turn to the team at Harris Insurance for all of your commercial insurance needs. We are knowledgeable about our local business community and have the experience and insight necessary to help our clients protect their businesses. Give us a call today. We look forward to working with you!

Harris Insurance serves the Jasper, AL community. We enjoy helping our clients obtain the coverage they need to live life comfortably. Searching for the right insurance policies can be complex at times. We assess each of our client’s personal situations so that we can help them obtain coverage that aligns with their personal needs. We aspire to build long-term relationships with our clients so that we can help them as their needs change in the future.

Extra Coverage Alabama Business Owners Should Consider Adding To Their Commercial Insurance Policies

The Jasper, AL economy thrives when local businesses are successful. As a local business owner, you are constantly brainstorming both short and long-term goals. Commercial insurance can help you stay on the right path. Your business is covered if your equipment is damaged or stolen. This gives you peace of mind if an accident happens, or you’re a victim of theft. Liability coverage protects your business if one of your customers is injured on your property. Worker’s compensation protects your business and assists your employees if there is an injury in the workplace. While you assess your commercial insurance policy, consider these potential add ons.

Errors & Omissions Coverage

This type of liability coverage protects your business if one of your employees is accused of negligence while performing a service.

Interruption Coverage

Severe weather can move through the South at any moment. If your property suffers damage due to a natural disaster, business interruption coverage will help you stay afloat. The policy covers your basic day-to-day operations until your property is repaired.

Cyber Liability Coverage

Due to the popularity of online transactions and storage files, consider adding cyber liability coverage. The coverage protects your business if you are the victim of a data breach.

Harris Insurance Will Help You Protect Your Investment

Visit our website to learn more information about commercial insurance.

When you own your business, and you want to make sure that it is protected, you should consider getting a commercial insurance. Commercial insurance helps reduce your risk as a business owner and ensures financial protection for your employees. If you have never carried business insurance before, and you want to know more about it, Harris Insurance serving clients in Jasper, AL prepared a list of basics about this type of insurance: 

Things You Should Know About Commercial Insurance

• There are several types of commercial insurance. They are commercial property coverage (covers commercial buildings and their contents), general liability (coverage to a business for personal injury, property damage, or bodily injury), professional liability (covers a business owner from damages caused by errors and mistakes), commercial auto insurance (covers vehicles used for commercial purposes), workers’ compensation (protects your employees), business interruption insurance (covers any loss of income that a company experiences after loss or disaster). 
• Certain factors may affect the cost of your commercial insurance. These factors include the type of your business, risks, the number of employees, and others. 
• Commercial insurance policies have their limit, and they do not cover everything. For example, they will not cover damages caused by flood or liability resulting from your own negligence. 

Harris Insurance Serving Jasper AL – Your Safety and the Safety of Your Business Is Our Priority

If you are a business owner running your business in Jasper, AL or any other surrounding town, Harris Insurance is ready to help you find a policy addressing your personal needs and preferences. Feel free to visit our website or give us a call if you need more information about the insurance options we offer. 

Harris Insurance knows that when you own a small business in Jasper, AL, it is important to make sure your employees and customers are safe. Following is a small business safety checklist that could save you from needing to make a claim against your commercial policy.

• Understand OSHA – The Occupational Safety & Health Administration requires that certain safety steps are taken to ensure the safety of your place of business and the employees and customers who visit. Check out OSHA.gov for specific guidelines.
• Take a look around – Look for potential hazards and safety issues.
• Proper Training – Provide proper training for safety. When the staff knows how to handle specific situations, there is a higher chance of a good outcome for all. You may even alleviate a potentially dangerous situation altogether.
• First Aid – Make first aid a priority. Always have basic first aid items available.
• Give Employees A Break – A lot of accidents happen because a worker became tired or fatigued on the job. Make sure that doesn’t happen by enforcing break time.
• Have a Plan and Practice Prevention and Escape – Make a plan for any and all types of emergencies. Have a fire exit plan as well as a computer team in place to prevent a cybersecurity attack.
• Keep Equipment Running – Make sure any equipment or machinery your business uses are in proper working order at all time and that safety gear is used properly.
• Have Coverage For When Something Goes Wrong – As the owner, it is important that you make sure you have the proper coverage before something goes wrong.

Talk with your insurance agent at Harris Insurance serving Jasper, AL today to make sure you have the right amount and right type of coverage for your business.

If you operate a business in Jasper, AL, you obviously understand all the risks and uncertainties you face every day. To be on the safer side, it is always necessary to make sure that you have a commercial insurance policy that helps you to cover possible damages. Harris Insurance has highlighted some of the basic coverage that you should expect from a commercial insurance policy. 

Business Income Coverage

Commercial insurance can be one of the best ways to recover lost income that usually occurs when natural disasters have disrupted your business operations. For example, if a natural calamity like a flood or earthquake has a significant impact on your business, it is the commercial insurance policy that will reimburse all the income you will lose for the length of the time the company will not be operating.

Business Property Coverage

For every business to operate effectively, there are very many valuable assets and properties that are involved. Buildings, land, machinery, and other tools are valuable assets that help the company continue operating. With commercial insurance, all these essential assets for business operations will be protected against possible theft, fire, vandalism, and natural calamities.

Employee Health Coverage

There is always a chance that workers will get injured or sick when working in a commercial facility. It is the business’s responsibility to cater to medical expenses for all the injuries that employees might get at the company. Commercial health insurance will help in covering additional health issues such as disability compensation and income replacement.

Do You Need Commercial Insurance?

Harris Insurance knows that many companies in Jasper, AL that operate without a commercial insurance policy. This is a dangerous issue as it can easily affect the operations of the company. However, having a good commercial policy helps in addressing some problems addressed above. Contact us today for more information about commercial insurance.

Small businesses in Alabama should have several different commercial insurance types, but only two are required for most businesses. With workers’ compensation and commercial auto insurance policies in place, most small businesses have the coverage legally required to do business in Alabama. If you need coverage for your business, call us at Harris Insurance in Jasper, AL.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Some of the smallest businesses don’t have to have this coverage, but any business with at least five employees must keep this insurance. The five employees may be part-time or full-time, and they include members of an LLC or officers of a corporation. This insurance coverage pays the medical bills of workers who become injured or get sick while at work. This coverage keeps your business able to pay those bills so that you won’t have to pay out of pocket from company funds.

Commercial Auto Coverage

Any vehicle owned by a business in Alabama has to have a commercial auto insurance policy on it. There is the minimum required coverage amounts for any property damage done by the accident and the amount it will pay for bodily injury for one person and bodily injury for two or more people. This coverage is the only type that will pay for these expenses, as personal auto insurance will not pay out for accidents that happen on the job. This is also a good reason to get a policy called hired and non-owned for any vehicle you use for business but is not owned by the business. 

Get Your Business Covered

If your company doesn’t have the proper insurance in place, or you want to add optional coverage types, contact us at Harris Insurance in Jasper, AL to talk to an agent about your needed coverage. 

Business owners need to be well informed when they make decisions regarding commercial insurance coverage. Luckily, we offer commercial insurance coverage at Harris Insurance.

Unfortunately, there are some widespread misconceptions out there regarding commercial coverage. As a business owner, you need to be aware of these misconceptions. The following are three misconceptions about commercial insurance you should know about.

I don’t need errors and omissions coverage unless I’m working as a doctor or lawyer.

Errors and omissions coverage is a good thing to have if you’re involved with any business that involves giving advice. You could potentially be sued if a client is paying for your advice regarding their health or finances.

Errors and omissions coverage can provide you with valuable protection against expensive lawsuits. 

My homeowner’s insurance coverage will cover me for claims against a home-based business.

Some homeowners who run a home-based business make the incorrect assumption that their home insurance will cover their business activities. This is not typically the case. Homeowners insurance won’t provide coverage for a lawsuit or any liability issue against a home-based business. 

My commercial property insurance will cover flood damage.

If you own a home, you may already be aware of the fact that a standard home insurance policy will not protect against flood damage. Commercial property insurance coverage works the same way.

If your commercial facility is located in an area with flood risk, you should invest in a flood damage policy. Your commercial property insurance will not pay for damage to your commercial property caused by flooding. 

Contact us to learn more about commercial insurance in Jasper, AL. We’re here to answer your questions and provide you with assistance at Harris Insurance.