Let’s take just a minute to talk about coverages for your business that you may not be familiar with. One of the biggest questions a lot of people have is they don’t really know the difference between a general liability policy versus a business owner’s policy. Depending on the kind of business you have, you may only need one versus the other.
What is General Liability?
General liability for the most part takes into consideration when you are performing a job or service, or if you’re completing products, you’re offering products to somebody, it will actually take into consideration damage that maybe you caused somebody else unintentionally from the course of work that you performed. If somebody sues you because you didn’t do something the way that you say that you were supposed to as a business or the customer is trying to say that you didn’t perform your job or service to the level that you should have, and they decide to sue you over it. Maybe a product or service that you did offer to somebody caused them damage because of a mistake that was made on your part, or at least what they’re trying to say was your fault. That’s where general liability comes into play. It helps protect you against these types of instances.
What is a Business Owner’s Policy?
A business owners policy has liability built into it, but it also offers a wide range of other coverages. There are different riders and endorsements that you can put on business owners policy to be specific to your industry. Depending on exactly what you do, you may want certain endorsements in those range. Those can range, on a broad spectrum. If you own the building that your business operates, a business owner’s policy will actually cover the building itself and liability. You can also include your business personal property on the business owner’s policy, this not your personal property, but your business personal property, the stuff that you have in your business to operate on daily basis. Those are some of the main differences between a general liability policy and a business owner’s policy. So if you have equipment, I don’t care if you are a lawn business or if you’re a retail store, you’re going to have equipment and inventory, you need to add to your business owners policy. That’s not something a general liability policy typically will cover. If you mow lawns or landscape, you are going to have equipment. Your lawn care business has mowers, weed eaters, leaf blowers, and all kinds of other tools. You need a business owner policy to cover your equipment properly.
I hope that explains a little bit more about the differences between a general liability policy and a business owner’s policy. If you’re not sure if you’ve got the right kind of policy, feel free to reach out to us, give us a call, let us look policy. We’ll be able to tell you if you should maybe look at adding some different coverages might be looking at a different type of policy. We would be more than happy to help you out if you’ll call us at (606) 297-5300, or you can go to www.appainsurance.com and you can find all of our contact information.