Businesses need to grow. If they don’t they will shrink and die. Okay, perhaps that’s a little melodramatic, but the fact remains that businesses do need a certain amount of growth to sustain them and to maintain a competitive edge. They need growth so they don’t risk losing existing and potential customers, so they can boost their earnings, give their employees raises (and thus not lose them to a better company), and keep up with the competition. In short, the success of a business depends on its growth. This holds true as much for SMBs as it does for large businesses.
And while small businesses have different constraints and obstacles to their growth than do large businesses, growth for all businesses generally has the same requirements. Among other things, growth requires talented human capital, products or services with a strong market demand, operational efficiencies, experienced leadership, sound decision making, strategic thinking, a fluid marketing plan, and let’s not forget, generous doses of luck.
And then, of course, they must protect that growth.
Protecting your small business’ growth
Protecting business growth can take different forms. For example, patents protect businesses from having their inventions stolen, terms and conditions protect businesses from uncertainty and misunderstandings with customers, antimalware solutions protect businesses from malware attacks and data breaches, and business insurance protects them from potential risks. Sometimes those risks are small, but sometimes they’re large enough to shut down a business. Even small businesses have big risks. That’s what insurance is for. Insurance protects businesses from the unforeseen costs of running a business such as accidents, fire, natural disasters, cyber threats, lawsuits and more.
But what kind of insurance does a small business need to protect that growth?
Fortunately, there are many different types of business insurance available that can protect businesses, and as a business grows, it will no doubt need to add, change, and update the type of insurance it requires. Nevertheless, there are some essential types of insurance that every small business should have from the get-go to protect its growth. They are listed and briefly described below:
– General liability – to protect your business against loss as a result of bodily injury, lawsuits, libel or slander, medical expenses, and property damage.
– Product liability – to protect your business against financial loss resulting from products that caused bodily injury.
– Professional liability – to protect your business against financial loss due to errors, malpractice, negligence or improperly rendered professional services.
– Commercial property insurance – to protect your business against damage to or loss of property caused by fire, storms, vandalism, earthquakes, riots, etc.
– Cyber insurance – to protect your businesses against the financial losses incurred by a data breach such as the cost of notifying customers, data recovery costs, legal fees, fines and more.
A little detour
There are two other insurances, not listed above, that are not necessarily important for business growth but are required by law in the US. These include workers’ compensation insurance, which provides employees that have been injured on the job with wage replacements and medical benefits, and unemployment insurance, which pays unemployed workers benefits during their job search. While the requirements differ from state to state, all businesses with employees must have both of these types of insurance.
Lastly, if you work out of your home, before you assume that your business will be covered by your homeowner’s policy, check with your insurance agent. Most homeowner’s insurance policies have a business exclusion that denies business coverage.
Don’t jeopardize your business’ growth
So your business is not only surviving, it’s growing. You’ve upgraded to larger offices, hired new people, are selling more and even new products, have seen an increase in profits, and are experiencing other telltale signs of business growth. Excellent! You’re doing all the right things to make your business grow. Now you need to ensure that that growth isn’t jeopardized by protecting it with the right business insurance. At the end of the day, the success of your business depends on its growth and the success of that growth depends on its security.
