5 Types of Insurance Coverage Online Businesses Need

If you run an online business, you might assume the typical business necessities - including insurance - don’t apply to you. But it turns out that you need business insurance just as much as any other business owner. Take a look at the main insurance coverage types that your online business will benefit from.

General Liability

This is considered the most basic coverage option for business owners. One of the most required coverages for any business that wants to operate online. That’s because it pays for the medical bills of any third party who is injured as an outcome of your operations. Even though you won’t have customers coming to your business on a regular basis like brick-and-mortar businesses do, you might still have a customer or delivery person who comes by occasionally. General Liability also covers the liability arising out of your products, regardless if its bodily injury or property damage caused to your customer.

Business Owner’s Policy

Whether you operate your business out of your home or in a small office, you should get a business owner’s policy. This business insurance coverage will pay for repairs if the space where you do business is damaged, whether by vandalism, extreme weather, or other incidents. In addition, if you are robbed and lose inventory or business equipment as a result, your business owner’s policy will pay to replace it.

Professional Liability

Another type of business insurance you need is professional liability coverage, which is also called errors & omissions (E&O). This can protect you if someone accuses you of making a mistake when offering your professional business services. For example, if you are an IT service company or are a Website Designer and offer your services over the web and you’re supposed to code a website for a client, but the code doesn’t work and delays the site’s launch, you could be sued for the amount of money the delay has cost your client. But if you have professional liability coverage, your policy will pay for the damages so you don’t have to.

Cybercrime Liability

The more dependent people become on technology, the more rampant cybercrime seems to be. And no matter how carefully you protect your company’s online presence, there’s always a chance of cybercriminals attacking it. Whether they expose your customers’ private information or steal company secrets, you could end up losing a lot of money. This is why you need cybercrime coverage when you get business insurance, especially as an online company with a major internet presence.

Workers’ Compensation

Many online businesses have employees, despite not having a physical address. Whether you have several employees who work at a warehouse with your inventory, or just employ a few people to help you run your business, you need workers’ compensation. Not only will it protect your employees, but it will also protect your online business overall. For instance, if an employee drops a box of inventory on his or her foot, workers’ compensation can pay for any medical bills that follow. It will also pay to cover their income if they need to take time off work.

As you can see, even online businesses need certain types of coverage in order to protect customers, employees, and owners. Fortunately, many insurance companies that insure traditional businesses also offer coverage for online businesses, just make sure to clarify that the policy is intended for online businesses and that it meets the specific needs of your individual business.