subject: Why You Should Insure Your Business [print this page] Selecting the right kind of insurance for small business is quite a task for a the business owner. You need to evaluate needs of your business and employees before choosing one of the numerous business insurance covers from various providers. Most small and medium entrepreneurs in Kenya do not see the need to have business insurance until disaster strikes. You need to protect your business in case of a fire or natural disaster, robbery accident at the work place or even medial cover for you and employees. With the help of professional brokers or consultants and the internet, you can assess the available insurance covers available for small businesses and corporate companies to get the best match to your needs. Despite the assumptions by some SMEs, insurance cover is affordable and readily available even for micro businesses.
Currently, various insurance service providers have different packages targeted at small business owners. To know what types of insurance policy you need, you need to assess:-
Business location. Is the premises a rented commercial building or own building?
Size of the company- how many employees do you have
Type of products you offer are they tangible products or services?
Employment habits how often do you hire, what kind of employment (permanent, contract, permanent, etc)
Benefits e.g., employee benefits plans
Do you have company vehicles or do you hire?
Who handles the company cash?
If your business premise is leased space, you may consider insurance policy that covers your property. You need fire and legal liability insurance that can protect you should there be a fire that damages your property.
For SMEs with several employees, you need to cover for business liability and interruption as well as workers compensation. The workers compensation is meant to protect them in case of any work related accidents.
SMEs that offer services need professional liability cover that provides financial protection against claims of negligence errors or wrongful deeds while performing your duties.
Regardless of the industry you are in, you are prone to embezzlement, fraud and theft. Therefore you need to have crime insurance. For companies where employees handle large amounts of money, they may use fidelity bonds type of business insurance that protects an employer against losses.
SMEs that provide company cars to their employees definitely need to have automobile insurance when using the car for business. Employees using their own cars for business purposes also need non-owned auto insurance policy covered.
There are other essentials you need to factor in when choosing the best insurance covers for your business. In Kenya today there are various insurance providers providing different insurance packages so you need to evaluate which package suits you best. Several insurance covers from diverse providers may look similar but you need to carefully assess the offering and claims in the insurance policy.
