Owning a business is much like owning a home. It requires a huge investment of time, money, energy and passion. If you have just opened your first small business in New Jersey or a seasoned business, one of the things you need to consider is commercial / business insurance. But with so many options available, it is customary to question what commercial policies are right for you depending on your situation. Whether big business insurance or small business insurance, at Retcho Insurance Agency in Closter NJ, we understand that each business is unique and require special care. Here are the different coverages you should consider.
Workers Compensation Insurance
In 1911, the state of New Jersey passed a workers compensation law that made coverage mandatory for all employers. Workers compensation insurance provides benefits to your employees who are injured or ill at work. This coverage is also known as workers compensation or workman's compensation.
Whether you own a small business or a large business in New Jersey that has employed workers you must have workers compensation insurance.
Workman's compensation in NJ can assist if your employee suffers a work-related injury or illness.
Medical treatment to aid in the recovery of injured workers. Employers or insurance companies in New Jersey have the right to select the healthcare provider for treatment.
Lost wages if they are unable to return to work for an extended period of time while recovering.
Costs of ongoing medical care, such as physical therapy or surgery.
If your employee is unable to work for more than seven days, you may be eligible for temporary total disability benefits.
Benefits for permanent partial disability are determined by the type and severity of your employee's injury. When an employee returns to work, they may not be able to do the same type or amount of work as before they were injured.
Permanent total disability benefits are available if your employee has lost two major parts of their body or is unable to work at all.
If your employee died as a result of a work-related incident, you may be entitled to death benefits, such as funeral expenses.
Our Retcho insurance agents at Closter are very familiar with the workers compensation insurance in Closter NJ.
Commercial General Liability Insurance
Commercial general liability insurance (also called business liability insurance and commercial liability insurance) protects your company from everyday business risks like customer property damage or injuries, and slander and libel accusations. 
Commercial General Liability insurance does not cover damage to your property, premises you own, or injuries to your employees. It is a coverage that responds to claims of bodily injury, sickness, or disease, including death of the other party. It also provides coverage for claims involving false arrest, libel and slander, wrongful eviction of others, invasion of privacy, copyright infringement, trademark infringement, and malicious prosecution. Policy coverage example as follows:
Bodily Injury - Physical damage to a person other than an employee at your place of business, as well as injuries caused by you or an employee at a client's home or workplace.
Property Damage - harm done to someone else's property by you or an employee.
Personal Injury - Libel, slander, copyright infringement, invasion of property or privacy, wrongful eviction, false arrest, and similar acts that harm a person's reputation or rights are examples of personal injury.
Advertising injury - refers to financial losses caused by your advertising.
Legal Defense and Judgments - legal defense and judgment costs up to the limit of your coverage. It should be noted that this generally excludes punitive damages for willful or negligent misconduct.
Accidents and lawsuits (both legitimate and frivolous) do occur in New Jersey. If your New Jersey small business or large business owns property or other valuable assets, you should invest in adequate commercial general liability coverage to limit your risk exposure.
If you need general liability insurance in Closter NJ or any other part of the state, give our insurance agents in Closter a call.
Commercial Auto Insurance
Commercial Auto Insurance protects company-owned vehicles. If you or an employee get into an accident while driving a business car and causes property damage or bodily harm, you'll be protected from the financial ramifications of accidents, such as vehicle repairs and medical bills. Remember that a covered claim is subject to the deductibles and limits of your policy. Furthermore, coverage availability and requirements differ by state.
To get you started, here are some common commercial auto insurance coverages:
Auto Liability - Which protects you and your business by paying for bodily injury or property damage for which you may become legally liable as a result of a covered automobile accident. Covers the business's liability if an employee causes an accident while working on behalf of the business.
Medical Payments - Cover medical expenses incurred by you, your employees, and your passengers as a result of motor vehicle accidents, regardless of who is at fault.
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage - Pays for medical expenses, lost wages, and other damages owed to you, your employees (expenses not covered by workers' compensation), or your passengers in the event of an accident caused by an uninsured or underinsured motorist.
Collision Coverage - Which pays for damage to your vehicle from another vehicle whether you hit another vehicle or object, another vehicle hits you, or your vehicle rolls over – regardless of who is at fault (subject to deductible)
Comprehensive Coverage - which can help pay for damage to your vehicle caused by something other than another vehicle, such as vandalism, theft, weather events, and animal accidents (subject to deductible)
Rental Car Insurance - If your company vehicle needs to be repaired after an accident, rental car coverage allows you to continue operating your business with a rental vehicle.
Not sure if you need Commercial Auto insurance in NJ?
It all depends on your line of work. Here are a few occupations that could benefit from commercial auto insurance:
Artisan / specialty contractors
Carpenters
Plumbers
Electricians
Landscapers
Realtors
Doctors and Dentists
Lawyers
Florists
And more
Commercial Property Insurance
Whether you own or have rented your business location, business property insurance protects your company's physical assets from unforeseen events such as fires, windstorms, theft, and vandalism. Physical assets covered by commercial property coverage could include business property that you own or rent, office equipment, furniture, fixtures, inventory, improvements and betterments and other items that you rely on to run your business. Commercial Property Insurance also includes business interruption insurance. So, if you can’t operate your small business or big business because of covered property damage, your policy can help replace your lost income.
When an unexpected loss causes disruption or even temporarily shuts down your business, your ability to recover quickly is critical. Commercial property insurance can provide the support and financial assistance needed to get your business back up and running. Here are some examples of what's covered under Commercial Property Insurance:
Keep in mind that your commercial property insurance policy may not cover all types of property damage. Here are some exclusions:
Other types of commercial insurance can be obtained to provide your company with additional protection against these types of claims.
Keep in mind that you will never find an insurance policy that covers exclusions such as intentional damage and normal wear and tear. It's simply not a risk appropriate for a commercial property insurance policy.
Professional Liability Insurance
This is a critical business insurance policy if you offer expert services to clients. It applies to certain professionals such as accountants, lawyers, and consultants. If a client sues you for negligence, mistakes, or missed deadlines, the policy can cover the legal fees and the compensation entitled to the client.
Experts in a specific field typically require professional liability insurance coverage because their services can lead to mistakes that can cause financial or indirect loss for their clients. These types of incidents are typically excluded from other business insurance coverages.
Professional liability insurance can help cover the following claims:
Negligence
Misrepresentation
Inaccurate advice
Personal injury, like libel or slander
Even if you did nothing wrong, your client may sue your company if they believe you made a mistake. You will have to pay for expensive legal defense costs out of pocket if you do not have coverage.
What Doesn't Professional Liability Insurance Cover?
Professional liability insurance does not cover all claims. It will not help your business if you make the following claims:
Bodily injury or property damage: You should obtain general liability insurance to help cover claims that your company injured someone or damaged their property.
Injuries or illnesses at work: If one of your employees is injured or becomes ill on the job, you'll need workers' compensation insurance to help them recover and return to work.
Data breach insurance can help you respond to a data breach if your company loses personally identifiable information (PII). Some insurers refer to this as cyber liability insurance.
Business Owner Policy
A business owner policy, or BOP, is a small business insurance and mid sized business insurance in much the same way that a homeowner policy protects your home and family by combining property and liability insurance into one convenient package. It includes lot of the coverages found on commercial package designed for larger businesses. Think of it as a one policy solution for small businesses. The best part of BOP is that it is very affordable and tailor made for smaller businesses. Some of the BOP coverages include:
Property insurance protects against covered loss to your business property, for your buildings, improvements and betterments and contents. A BOP policy, like most other policies, has certain coverage exclusions that you should be aware of. If you need protection for something that isn’t covered, policy endorsements might be available to extend coverage.
Business liability provides protection against claims and lawsuits arising from bodily injury or property damage to others. This includes protection against liabilities like customer injury and property damage, advertising injury, and product related claims.
Business interruption coverage replaces lost income if your business suffers a covered property loss and is forced to close down temporarily.
When you have worked so hard to establish a business in New Jersey, it makes sense to protect it. You might need a small business insurance such as a BOP or a more specialized policy such as Professional liability insurance. At Retcho Insurance Agency in Closter, our commercial insurance agents are here to plan out what is right for your business and customize a policy so that you will be best covered while not overpaying for unnecessary coverages. We can help you with your business coverage quotes and provide advices and services for your small business insurance plan or larger veteran business insurance plans you may need. We specialize in both small business insurance and large business insurance. Contact our insurance agents in Closter NJ for your business insurance quote today, and together we can find the right type of commercial insurance for your businesses and find the protection you have been missing.
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