Will I need to protect my employees in the event they are injured on the job?

Yes, and in most states there are legal requirements that must be met, and for which you may be responsible. State laws vary, but most states require that you carry some form of workers compensation insurance. This protects the employee and also offers you the business owner a degree of immunity from lawsuit by an injured employee.

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I keep one auto strictly for business. Do I need a separate policy?

Yes. Whether you have one vehicle or several, you will need a business automobile policy. Such a policy covers any motor vehicle used in your business including cars, vans, trucks and trailers pulled by trucks, and offers coverage if they are damaged or stolen. It also covers liability if the business vehicle is in an accident and the driver is at fault. This policy is not for truckers or commercial garages. They have special liabilities and must secure special policies that deal with their different needs. Businesses that have a fleet of vehicles will of course have different needs than a business with one or two, and their policies will reflect these differences.

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I just signed a 3-year lease to open my business. Why does my insurance agent want to see my lease?

Whether the business lease is for a building or for equipment, the agent needs to determine who is responsible for insuring the leased items - you or the lessor. For leased buildings or building space, there are other factors to be considered, such as who is responsible for plate glass coverage and whether your landlord requires tenants to carry minimum amounts of liability insurance, and the extent of a hold harmless agreement. These and other situations covered in the lease affect the amount and kinds of insurance you need.

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My business requires that I store gasoline on the premises. Do I have to have special insurance?

Yes, if your business transports, stores or uses toxic materials, you are required by law to have a special environmental liability policy. If these materials should be discharged accidentally into the water or leak onto the ground due to a covered peril like fire, the cost of extracting the pollutant from the business premises is covered up to the dollar amount set forth in the property section of your policy.

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I run a dry-cleaning business. What happens if fire destroys many of my customers' clothes that were stored in the building?

The standard businessowners policy contains coverage for loss due to fire, including coverage for property of others the insured business was repairing, storing, or otherwise servicing in order to earn money. The coverage only applies, however, if the business is legally liable. Thus, if lightning causes the fire, the business is not responsible because lightning is out of the control of the business owner. There are other policies, called Bailee's policies, that provide even broader coverage for your customers' possessions. A Bailee's policy is often useful to help maintain good customer relations.

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