Do you have a hole in your business insurance policy?
A hole in your business insurance can cost you big money. Can you do anything to help plug these holes?
There are times at Fortress when we look at a business insurance policy and find sizable coverage holes in about 5 minutes. Having a hole in your coverage means that, while you are paying your premiums each month, when something goes wrong, you are not covered in the way that you thought you were.
In one recent case, we found that the NAME on the insurance policy was not quite the same as the name of the business. It seems like a very small oversight, but it means that, should the policy holder be named in a lawsuit, then there actually IS no insurance policy in force under the businesses real name. How’s THAT for a kick in the pants?
Then there was the business owner whose employees used their own cars to travel to and from the office to various job sites. However, the business owner was not covered if one of his employees was involved in an accident while on the way to a client’s office.
Another company we worked with had two trailers which they towed to and from job sites behind the company vehicle. And yet this company’s insurance agent had neglected to write a line of policy on these expensive (and vulnerable) pieces of equipment.
In addition to the lack of coverage on the trailers themselves (despite vulnerability to collisions, jackknifing, etc.), the insurance agent had also written a policy on the company’s tools covering them for up to five thousand dollars’ worth of loss. However, the business routinely carried THIRTY THOUSAND DOLLARS WORTH OF tools!
Depending on the size of the business, a loss suffered because of these holes in coverage could mean a serious setback or even closing the doors for a smaller, independent company.
The moral of the story is simple; make SURE that your insurance agent is conducting regular assessments of your coverage. And you can help by making a list of all the things that could go wrong in your business and asking your agent whether you’re covered. It takes some extra time, and might even mean extra premium payments, but when trouble hits, it could make the difference between survival and the end of the line for your business.
