Small Business, Big Risks: Customizing Commercial Insurance

Running a small business is thrilling, but it comes with unique challenges and risks. As your partner in protection in Kansas, Marla Williams Agency delves into tailoring commercial insurance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), ensuring your business is safeguarded against the unexpected.

Customizing Commercial Insurance 

Every SME is unique, and so are its risks. Identifying specific vulnerabilities, from property damage to liability, is the initial step in crafting effective commercial insurance. A tailored approach ensures comprehensive coverage.

Unlike larger corporations, SMEs have nuanced insurance needs. A customized insurance plan takes into account the unique aspects of your business, offering protection that aligns with your size and industry. This prevents gaps in coverage and unnecessary expenses.

Commercial insurance for SMEs should include vital components like property insurance, liability coverage, and business interruption insurance, forming a strong foundation against common risks.

Employees are a valuable asset. Adequate coverage for workers’ compensation, health, and benefits is essential. Tailoring insurance to address employee-related risks ensures a secure working environment.

SMEs often operate on tight budgets. A tailored insurance approach allows businesses to maximize coverage within budget constraints, optimizing their insurance investment.

As your SME evolves, so should your insurance coverage. Regular policy reviews are vital to ensuring that your commercial insurance remains aligned with your business’s growth. This safeguards against underinsurance or overpayment.

Schedule A Consultation Today

In the dynamic landscape of small business, a one-size-fits-all insurance approach falls short. Tailoring commercial insurance for SMEs is the key to navigating risks and fostering resilience. Understanding the unique challenges your business faces and customizing coverage empowers your SME with the protection it needs to thrive. If you’re looking for commercial insurance in Kansas, reach out to us at Marla Williams Agency to get started. 

Ways To Increase Employee Retention

Employee retention has become a real issue for employers in the last five years. Finding ways to increase employee retention will be essential to your overall success. Here at Marla Williams Agency, we want to help Kansas employers overcome these challenges.

Here are some ways to increase employee retention:

Mental Health Services 

Everyone is dealing with increased amounts of stress today, and this stress is compounded by the difficulty of finding and affording quality mental health care or counseling. Considering that work stress is high on the list of factors contributing to mental health challenges, it stands to reason that employers who provide mental health services on-site, for free, or for reduced rates will send the message to employees that your mental health matters.

When employees feel that these types of needs are important to their employer and that the employer is actively seeking ways to meet those needs, they want to stick around. 

Healthy De-escalation Practices

Many employees leave jobs because of a particular event that felt like it was too much to handle or because of a series of events that were not handled properly. These types of problems often have a root in poor de-escalation practices as a whole. How tense situations are handled in the workplace becomes an integral part of your company culture. The employees recognize this over time.

Having poor de-escalation practices as a whole makes for an insecure work environment where employees do not feel safe to voice opinions, problems or confront situations. This can lead to a high turnover rate for you as the employer. 

Reach Out To Us!

If you would like to learn about commercial insurance and how it can contribute to your company’s success, please contact us at Marla Williams Agency serving Kansas. 

Don’t Leave Your Business Unprotected – Get Commercial Insurance

Are you the owner of a Kansas business? Are you adequately insured? Our team of insurance experts at Marla Williams Agency can provide the protection your business needs.

Commercial Insurance: Vital Protection For Your Business

Do you wonder why commercial insurance is important for your business? It helps to cover the costs related to liability claims and property damage. Without this coverage, a business owner needs to pay out of pocket for costly damage or legal claims against their business. This could be the difference between closing your doors forever or remaining in business.

Commercial insurance is typically a one-year contract between an insurance company and the business owner in which the insurance company assumes responsibility for the business liability in exchange for a premium.

Most small businesses should have a BOP or business owner’s policy

It combines business liability, business property, and business income protection in one policy. Business property is sometimes referred to as “commercial property” and helps to protect the physical location of the business and its assets.

The peace of mind and protection this coverage offers are critical. If you have an employee that gets hurt on the job or becomes seriously ill as a result of his or her work, workers’ compensation insurance helps to pay medical costs, reimburse them for lost wages, and provide funeral expenses if needed.

If you have a customer that falls and gets injured on your business property, this coverage will help to pay for associated medical expenses and in the event of a lawsuit, the business will not need to pay out of pocket for the damages.

As with all types of insurance coverage, there are some things this coverage will not cover:

  • Intentional wrongdoing
  • General liabilities for day-to-day accidents not directly related to workplace activities
  • Illegal activities
  • Employee disputes, such as if an employee files a suit based on discrimination, will not be covered under commercial insurance.
  • False advertising

Looking To Protect Your Business in Kansas?

Let us at Marla Williams Agency provide the protection your business needs. Contact us today, and we will be happy to answer your questions. 

Do home-based businesses need commercial insurance?

Home-based businesses are an excellent option for people who want a little more flexibility and don’t want to have to rent an office or business space. But, as convenient as it is, it needs to be treated like it is a real business, not just a hobby. That means thinking about what kind of commercial insurance you need. At Marla Williams Agency in Kansas, we are here to provide the guidance you need to choose the right coverage for your home-based business. 

You may think that your home insurance is adequate to cover your home business, but that is not correct. There are several areas where your business will be lacking with home insurance. 

Benefits of commercial insurance for home-based businesses

Property insurance

Home property insurance is made to protect the building, but content insurance is different insurance. Your business content will for the most part, not be covered by home property insurance. With commercial property insurance, your business records, your office equipment, your inventory, raw materials, and tools will all be protected from something bad that happens. 

Liability coverage

Liability insurance protects you from legal action against you. If you have clients or customers coming to your home to do business, your home insurance will not protect you if they are injured and decide to sue. Customers can also sue because they are dissatisfied with the service you have provided and again, home insurance liability would not cover you for that. 

Business interruption insurance

If your home is damaged by a covered peril, your home insurance will repair your home, but what about your business? How will you be able to do business and where will you do business?  Home insurance will not provide you with any income to keep your bills and payroll paid, but business interruption insurance will. 

Contact Marla Williams Agency in Kansas for help with your commercial insurance. 

 

Required Commercial Insurance in Kansas

If you own a business in Kansas, it’s important to know which types of commercial insurance your specific business needs. There are two types of commercial insurance that are required for many businesses in the state. There are also many other types of commercial policies that are important to have, even if they aren’t required by the state. If you need commercial insurance, come to the pros at Marla Williams Agency in Kansas. 

Workers’ Compensation Protection

Workers’ comp insurance is one of the basic types of commercial insurance that most businesses should have. If you have a business that has a payroll of $20,000 or more, you must have this type of insurance for your employees. There are certain exceptions, including some agricultural jobs. Workers’ compensation is a policy that will pay for the medical bills after an employee gets a work-related illness or becomes injured while working. This keeps your business safer from lawsuits after an accident has occurred. 

Commercial Auto Coverage

When you have a business that owns a vehicle, you must have a commercial auto policy on it. No matter what the type of vehicle, it must have this type of policy. There are three different types of coverage that businesses are required to have in their auto policy. The policy must have bodily injury liability coverage, with one amount for a single person who gets injured in an accident and another amount for all of the injured in an accident. You must also have property damage liability coverage in a specific minimum amount. You must also have uninsured motorist coverage that includes one amount of coverage for one person who is injured and a higher amount is required for everyone who is injured. 

Get Commercial Insurance

When you own a business that needs insurance, come to us. Give us a call at Marla Williams Agency in Kansas to find out more. 

Types of Commercial Insurance

When insuring your business, there are many types of commercial insurance in the market to secure your business. From covering theft, employees, equipment, and company vehicles, each element of your business needs specific coverage. At Marla Williams Agency of Kansas, we understand businesses have different needs, so we have outlined the different types of commercial insurance.

General Liability Insurance

Most entrepreneurs that have just opened a business and are still starting to learn what risks their businesses are exposed to should consider this type of insurance. It covers many risks like bodily injury, property damage, and medical expenses. If your company is found liable for property damage or bodily injury to a third party on your premises, it can help cover the resulting damage.

Business Interruption Insurance

This type of commercial insurance covers the financial loss a business suffers when they have to shut down a business temporarily due to a disaster. For instance, a major power outbreak can impact your fridge and freezers, or a road repair can cut traffic access to your business, making it impossible for you to run the business for a few days. This insurance helps cover the lost income for the period business was interrupted.

Workers Compensation Insurance

This insurance helps protect both you and your employees in case your employee suffers a work-related injury. Workers’ compensation insurance helps cover medical expenses, including the cost of ongoing care if your employee needs it. Also, in an unfortunate event that your employee dies due to an injury related to work, this type of insurance covers the funeral expenses.

Cyber Liability

If you have a business dealing with a lot of customer data, then it is essential you protect your business and clients from data theft. If the data is breached, cyber liability offers you coverage if you are sued.

Whether you own a big or small business in Kansas, reach out to us at Marla Williams Agency. We will ensure you get an appropriate policy for your business.

Commercial insurance FAQs

Commercial insurance can benefit almost every business. It is customizable to your particular business, and you only need to purchase lines that make sense to you. Owning a business is risky, and commercial insurance is designed to mitigate some of that risk. Having an insurance agent who knows you and your business makes it easier to get the insurance you actually need. At Marla Williams Agency in Kansas, we take the time to get to know our clients. 

What are some types of commercial insurance to consider?

Commercial insurance comes in some general categories that, with customization, will be appropriate for almost every business. The most common types are:

  • Commercial property insurance
  • Commercial liability insurance
  • Workers compensation insurance
  • Business interruption insurance
  • Commercial auto insurance

What is a business owner’s policy? 

A Business Owners Policy (BOP) is one policy combining two of the most popular types of commercial insurance. It includes commercial property insurance and commercial liability insurance. Most businesses can benefit from these two types of coverage, and by buying one policy that covers two areas of risk, you can usually save money.  

Are businesses in Kansas required to carry commercial insurance? 

Yes, in Kansas, two types of commercial insurance are required, workers’ compensation and commercial auto insurance. All employers require workers’ compensation with a gross payroll of more than $20,000 except for certain agricultural employers. If your company owns any vehicles, they must have commercial auto insurance in the amount of 25/50/25 and equal amounts of uninsured motorists’ coverage.

If I rent the building, do I still need commercial property insurance? 

Commercial property insurance covers so much more than just the physical building housing your business. It protects your machinery, office equipment, electronics, raw materials, inventory, and even your records. This insurance protects what you need to do business and is vital. 

Contact Marla Williams Agency in Kansas for all your commercial insurance needs. 

Do businesses in Kansas need commercial insurance?

In Kansas, there is a range of cities that can offer a small business a great place to establish and grow. For those looking to develop a business here, there are a lot of great opportunities to take advantage of. However, some risks come with owning a business as well. Fortunately, many of these can be mitigated by a commercial insurance policy. There are several reasons why you may need to get this for your business.

To Remain in Compliance with Stakeholders

One of the reasons that you will need to get commercial insurance for your business is that it could be needed to comply with various stakeholders. Any lender, investor, landlord, or other stakeholders in your company will want to ensure that your business, and their investment, is properly covered and protected. A great way to do this is by requiring your company to get commercial insurance as it offers valuable coverage. 

To Comply with State Laws

While you may be the only person that works for your company, eventually, you will grow. When this occurs, you will need to make sure that your team is covered and protected. A great way to do this is with workers’ compensation insurance, which protects if an employee is hurt while at work. In this state, you are required to have this coverage as soon as you hire an employee. Not complying with the law could result in a penalty.

When you get insurance in Kansas for your business, you should call the Marla Williams Agency team. The team at the Marla Williams Agency can give you the support you need to choose a policy. This will ensure your company is properly protected.