Business insurance, and specifically general liability insurance, is essential to any business's operation. It doesn't matter if you're a small realty company, or a large residential landscaping business, having general liability insurance is vital to the health of your company. What will you do if one of your employees injures themselves (at work), and then decides to sue you for it? If that employee wins the case, your business will be required by law to pay them (which will undoubtedly have severe consequences for your bottom line).
So, how do you go about choosing a liability policy? How do you compare between general liability insurance quotes? Below we go into detail about everything you need to know regarding how to choose the best policy for your company. We also detail exactly how you should go about comparing quotes between different insurance providers (so you can find the best deal with the most value). If you want to learn more about why should have a liability insurance policy, click here.
How to Choose the Best Insurance Policy
There are a multitude of different factors that go into selecting which insurance provider (and which specific policy) you should go with. Price, reliability, coverage, claims process, etc. These should all be carefully reviewed and considered during the selection process. One of the very first aspects of a liability policy you should consider is the experience of the actual insurance provider.
Business & Industry Experience
The insurance company that you choose for your liability policy should ideally have experience (or specialize) in your business's industry. Your insurance provider should have a background in serving clients that are in your same industry. For example, you wouldn't want to choose an insurance company that specializes in restaurant business liability if you're a landscaping business (and vice versa).
Coverage Options
There are countless companies selling liability policies, but it's largely up to you to decide which specific type of policy (and the coverage type) that you need. If you're a corporate catering company, you're going to need different coverage than an accounting services firm. Different companies will have various types of coverages that you will be able to choose from when you're purchasing a policy. It's recommended to choose a coverage type that is applicable to the specific industry of your business.
You should take special consideration of coverage types if you operate in an especially high-risk industry. If this is the case, it's important to look for insurance providers who offer umbrella policies or "excess" policies. These types of policies essentially ensure that you remain covered in the event of having a claim that goes over your coverage limit.
The Claims Process
This is one of the most important factors to look into during the selection process. If your insurance provider doesn't have a strong track record of settling claims, your business is going to suffer. If you're able to speak with an insurance representative about their company's claims process, it would be wise to take advantage of that. It's very important to have an in-depth understanding of your insurance policy's claims process.
Before you actually choose an insurance policy, research what their claims process entails. Will it be done online? How much paperwork will be required? Will you have a claims specialist assigned to you? Can you file a claim 24/7? These are the types of questions that you should research during the research/selection process. Take the time to carefully review each company's claims process before buying a liability policy.
How to Compare Quotes
It's important to shop around before selecting an insurance policy. However, it's not recommended to simply choose whatever policy has the best price. Just because an insurance company is cheap, doesn't mean that you'll actually save money. Whatever money you don't spend on your liability policy can come back to bite you in the future (when your policy doesn't adequately protect you from legal action).
There are several quote comparison websites on the internet that allow you to perform side-by-side comparisons. The majority of these websites allow you to select policies from various companies, and then compare their respective features/costs/benefits. As we already mentioned, it's important not to purchase a policy based only on price. Like most things in life, you get what you pay for (and this is also true in regards to liability policies). Don't risk the success of your business just to save some money on your monthly premium, it's simply not worth it.