General liability coverage is often the foundation of business insurance protection. General liability covers claims related to physical damage or injury to a third party. This includes bodily injury, property damage, and personal or advertising injury.

Common events covered by general liability insurance might include:

• Slip and fall accidents resulting in a customer injury
• Claims that your business or employees damaged property
• Advertising injury such as copyright infringement or libel claims

General liability insurance is a necessary coverage for many businesses, regardless of industry. It provides a safety net against common risks that could otherwise lead to significant financial loss.

Your business property is critical for running your business, such as furniture for your office or the tools you need to do your job. Commercial property insurance helps protect your building, equipment, inventory, and furniture against damage or loss due to fire, theft, vandalism, and natural disasters.

Commercial property coverage is available whether you own or lease your business pace and makes it easier to recover quickly and rebuild after and unexpected loss. Common business property coverage includes:

• Repair or replacement costs for buildings and structures
• Protection for office equipment, furniture, and supplies
• Coverage for inventory and materials
• May include business income protection if operations are disrupted due to a covered loss

Like general liability insurance, commercial property coverage is one of the most common types of insurance for businesses of all sizes, locations, and industries.

Professional liability insurance helps protect businesses that provide professional services or offer advice to clients. This type of policy protects against claims of negligence, mistakes, misrepresentation, or failure to deliver promised services. For example, a pharmacist faces a malpractice lawsuit after accidentally bottling the wrong amount of a medication. Professional liability insurance could help the pharmacist cover their legal defense costs, including potential settlement costs.

Even if a lawsuit is unfounded, legal defense costs can be substantial. Professional liability coverage is designed to help cover your legal costs when claims are made against your services or the quality of your work.

Professional liability insurance is especially important for businesses in service and advice-based industries including:

• Medical professionals
• Consultants and business advisors
• Lawyers and accountants
• Architects and engineers
• Marketing and advertising agencies

A Businessowners Policy, or BOP for short, is a type of commercial insurance that's common for small business owners looking for comprehensive coverage. A BOP combines key coverages into one convenient package, usually including general liability insurance and commercial property insurance.

Some businessowners policies also include business interruption insurance to help cover costs if your business must temporarily close due to a covered event. Additionally, many business owners add professional liability protection to their BOP to help protect them from claims made against their work or professional services.

The key benefit of a BOP is the ability to get the coverage you need in an affordable, straightforward package.

Workers compensation coverage helps you cover an employee's expenses if they become ill or injury from job-related activities. For example, an employee slips and falls on ice when loading a vehicle for deliveries. Your workers compensation insurance could help pay for the employee's medical bills and lost wages while they're off work recovering.

This coverage also helps protect business owners from lawsuits or legal claims related to workplace injuries.

Most states require businesses with employees to carry workers compensation insurance. If you're unsure if you need workers compensation coverage, reach out to a PMC Advantage agent in your area. We'd be happy to walk you through your potential workers compensation needs.

Employment practices liability insurance, or EPLI, coverage protects against the cost of lawsuits resulting from current or former employees. EPLI coverage helps safeguard businesses of all sizes from expensive employee lawsuits.

An EPLI policy or endorsement generally helps cover legal expenses and damages associated with claims such as:

• Discrimination
• Sexual harassment
• Wrongful termination
• Retaliation
• Breach of employment contract
• And more

Even businesses with strong human resource policies and training programs could face employment-related claims, making EPLI a proactive investment.

As the world relies more on technology, cyber threats pose a major risk to businesses of all sizes and industries. Cyber liability insurance helps protect against the financial impact of a common cyber claims, such as data breaches, cyberattacks, or accidental cyber security breaches. For instance, cyber liability coverage might help cover the cost of notifying customers of a data breach and monitoring services to ensure their personal information isn't used for criminal purposes.

Generally, a personal auto policy won't adequately cover a vehicle when it's used for business purposes. That means if your business owns, leases, or uses personal vehicles for work, you likely need a commercial auto policy.

Commercial auto coverage works a lot like personal car insurance to help protect your business from the cost of auto accidents, vehicle damage, and liability claims.