When starting a new business, attaining the necessary insurance coverage is one of the first things you should do. Even if you’ve prepared a solid business plan and taken numerous steps to minimise the risks, you can never prepare for the unexpected.
Sometimes mistakes happen. Whether it’s an employee getting hurt or your business unintentionally causing damage to a client’s property, these incidents can come out of nowhere, and if you don’t have the right insurance in place, there’s every chance you won’t be able to deal with them.
According to a recent study, for instance, nearly 40% of small business owners were hit by a lawsuit in 2024, with only a quarter of those businesses using professional help due to a lack of finances.
With lawsuits becoming more common in the business landscape, it’s your job to adequately protect your company, putting the steps in now to prepare for them.
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General Liability Insurance
The best way to do this is through general liability insurance, a business insurance coverage that works to protect your company from risks like bodily injury, property damage, and legal claims related to your business operations. This type of insurance is essential for businesses of all sizes. Not only does it provide financial protection for potential accidents, it gives you the peace of mind that your business is safeguarded against unforeseen liabilities.
What Does General Liability Insurance Cover?
In terms of what it covers, there are a range of risks that general liability insurance can protect against. The first is bodily injury. If a customer, client, or visitor to your property gets injured due to your operations, this coverage can help pay for the rising medical expenses, legal fees, and potential settlements that are made between the injured party and your business.
As well as this, general liability insurance protects against property damage. If your business accidentally damages someone else’s property – whether at your location or a client’s site – this insurance type will cover repair or replacement costs, as well as, again, any associated legal fees.
Narrowing in on legal fees, this is one of the most important insurance types for any kind of legal cost or settlement. If your business is sued – whether that’s for property damage or any other covered claims – general liability insurance will help to cover everything from the attorney fees, the court costs, and any settlements or judgements against your business.
Even if the lawsuit is unfounded, the cost of legal defence can be significant. And this type of coverage gives you the space and finances to protect your company.
Why Your Business Needs General Liability Insurance
You might be wondering exactly what could happen in your line of work that is so bad that you face a lawsuit. But it’s important to remember that any business could get sued. If you have employees, a place of residence – heck, if you have customers, you can get sued.
This is the way the business landscape is at the moment, and no matter how careful you are, if someone feels they were wronged, or if an accident occurs that causes injury, you may quickly find yourself in a legal battle.
With legal defence costs and settlements adding up quickly, general liability insurance can ensure your business doesn’t become financially vulnerable, giving you the confidence to fight back and keep your business afloat.
With accidents in mind, this is something else that cannot be avoided. Even if you put all the necessary precautions in place, a customer could slip and fall on your premises, or an employee might accidentally hurt themselves on the job. These types of incidents can lead to expensive medical bills and repair costs, so again, it’s better to be safe than sorry and make sure you have the best insurance to cover them.
At least then you’ll have peace of mind and the mental freedom to focus on growing and running your business, without constantly having to worry about the “what ifs”.