Workers’ compensation insurance provides medical and wage benefits to people who are injured or become ill at work. When employees are injured and can’t work, workers’ comp replaces wages and reimburses medical costs, but only if the employee agrees not to sue the company for getting injured at work. Workers’ comp can also cover a part of lost wages due to work-related injury or illness.

Workers’ compensation insurance is actually mandated by law. According to California law, businesses with one or more employees must carry workers’ comp insurance. Workers’ compensation insurance coverage must also include corporation directors and executive officers. The only exception is if they are owners of the company. If the directors and executives are business owners, then they can opt-out of workers’ compensation insurance coverage. If you are the sole proprietor of your business, contact us to learn whether workers’ compensation insurance is right for you.

Workers’ compensation covers more than medical bills and lost wages. It can also cover the retraining costs for when a worker returns to work. Workers’ compensation also protects your business from future litigation. If an injured or ill worker receives workers comp, he or she cannot sue your company for the workplace conditions which lead to the injury or illness.

This is perhaps the most basic type of business insurance a company needs. It typically covers all of a company’s assets as well as obligations like medical costs when someone gets hurt on-premises. It can also cover legal defense costs and judgments in the event your business is sued.

This coverage usually protects all property (buildings and content) that your business owns from damage and theft. This includes office furniture, equipment, building repairs, and so on. It is similar to homeowners insurance but for a business owner.

Commercial auto insurance is a type of business insurance that safeguards against medical expenses for both your employees and any individuals affected by one of your vehicles in the event of an accident. It also offers coverage for legal defense and property damage, along with various other benefits.

Commercial auto insurance covers any vehicle that is used for business purposes. This type of insurance covers both property damage and liability. Insured vehicles can include company-owned vehicles as well as personal vehicles that are used for business purposes.

It’s important to note that personal auto insurance will not cover you if you have an accident while driving for work. If your company has any type of vehicle, such as taxis, vans, small trucks, or buses, then commercial auto insurance is necessary. Having the right insurance protects you, your employees, and your company from the costs of property damage, injury, and liability claims.

Personal auto policies exclude business-related driving, whereas commercial auto policies cover both business and personal driving. At Brashears & Newendorp, we can help you identify which cars business owners would want to insure on their personal auto policy and which would be better covered on their commercial auto policy.

This particular insurance is able to cover an extensive list of costs. These costs can include medical coverage for treatment, hospitalization, or funeral costs. It can also cover property damage and bodily injury. Further, commercial auto insurance can cover alternative transportation costs and towing and labor costs. Commercial auto insurance is tax deductible when the vehicle is being used for business or commercial purposes. Commercial auto insurance is also completely customizable, allowing your company to cover one or several vehicles with the exact amount of coverage you need.

This type of liability insurance offers “extra” insurance on top of your normal business insurance policies. Umbrella policies increase the limit of coverage and offer extended coverage beyond what the original policy does. Excess policies only increase the limits of coverage. These policies are particularly useful for high-net-worth companies and individuals.

This type of business insurance is often called PLI or PII insurance. It is used to protect companies against lawsuits about professional advice or services provided by the company or its agents. Usually, such lawsuits occur as a result of error or omission in the product or service. This type of insurance also specifically covers companies when clients claim that work is below expectations (i.e., malpractice) or when employees perform with negligence. This does not always cover services performed before the policy started or work performed by temps, so look at your policy carefully.

Also called EPL or EPLI, this business insurance policy covers expenses when an employee sues for discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, failure to promote, or other employee-related problems.

Directors and officers (D&O) liability insurance protects the personal assets of corporate directors and officers, and their spouses, in the event of a legal action brought against them by employees, vendors, competitors, investors, customers, or other parties, for actual or alleged wrongful acts in managing a company. It may also cover defense in a lawsuit.

Cyber Liability Insurance covers your business in the event of a data breach, like social security numbers and credit card numbers (and other personal information). Cyber liability insurance also protects a company against lawsuits related to stolen information.

This type of insurance is designed to cover businesses that engage in electronic activities that include online sales and the storage of data on computers or networks. Policies cover a business’s liability for losses that result from the breach of information such as credit cards, bank accounts, customer information, and personal identity theft, among others. Considered by many to be a type of privacy insurance, it covers losses that may include legal fees, civil lawsuits, fixing systems, damaged equipment, and notifying clients.

Although people understand they are vulnerable to hacks, few follow through with little more than virus and spyware programs. In terms of deciding whether you should have a policy in place, consider these questions:

• Does your business have a network where employees house important data?

• Would the operation be at risk if this information were hacked?

• Do you make online purchases that require credit card or banking information?

• Are employee or personal information records stored on computers or a network?

These policies go beyond standard business insurance coverage that focus on physical injury and property damage. Businesses often house sensitive information that includes bank accounts, stocks, personal ID, credit card numbers, and health records. Hackers use hidden electronic tools to get at valuable data. The losses associated with this type of theft may include:

• Legal fees and expenses

• Civil lawsuits

• Business shutdowns

• Notification costs

• Data loss recovery

• Restoration of damaged computer systems