What Is Business Insurance?Business insurance helps protect businesses from financial losses caused by risks to their property and income. Covered risks can include things like theft, damage, and lawsuits. Insurance for businesses, also known as commercial insurance, can even cover injured workers’ lost wages and provide access to programs to help them get back to work. Commercial insurance policies also help protect businesses from financial losses resulting from liability claims.
 Do You Need Business Insurance?You may ask yourself, "Why do I need business insurance?"
 
Businesses need business insurance for many reasons. One reason is that in the U.S., most states require certain coverages in order for a business to operate there. This usually includes workers' compensation insurance, unemployment insurance and disability insurance. Insurance for business can also help cover the costs of legal claims made against a business.
 
Without liability insurance, a business that has to pay the costs of a claim or lawsuit out-of-pocket may not have the financial means to survive. Insurance for business can also protect businesses from the financial risks of property loss. The costs of repairing or replacing physical property after fire, theft, vandalism and more could be devastating without a commercial property insurance policy helping cover the costs. Without insurance, companies that incur costs as a result of common business exposures like: property damage; legal claims by third parties; and work-related employee illness and injury, may not be able to afford to stay in business.
 What Business Insurance Do I Need?Most businesses need at least commercial insurance, general liability and business income coverage to help protect their company’s property, income and financial assets. For small businesses, a business owner’s policy can provide all three coverages in a single policy.
 

• Commercial property insurance – Most businesses own a substantial amount of physical property. This property may include one or multiple locations as well as tools, computers, inventory and even accounts receivable. Commercial property insurance can help cover the loss of these assets if they are damaged or destroyed by a covered event.
• General liability insurance – No matter how cautious business owners are, accidents can happen. For example, a customer may accidentally get hurt in a company’s store, or employees may accidentally damage customer property while working on-site. Liability insurance can help protect businesses from the risk of liability claims such as bodily injury, property damage or even advertising mistakes.
• Business income insurance – Businesses rely on many types of property to function and generate income. If a business owner must suspend operations due to a covered loss like a fire or theft, business income insurance can help replace income lost as a result. This can help them continue to meet obligations like payroll and rent.

Depending on your industry and the nature of your operation, you can customize coverage to help address unique risks by choosing from a broad variety of additional commercial coverages. Beyond the standard coverages, Casablanca Insurance also offers many other types of insurance for businesses – each designed to help protect businesses against a specific exposure they face.
 
Get a fast & free business insurance quote today.
 Types of Business InsuranceThe types of business insurance coverages that most businesses start with include general liability (GL), commercial property, and business income insurance. Workers’ compensation insurance is usually needed if you have employees. General liability helps cover the costs if your business is responsible for damages to a third party, property insurance helps cover costs of damage to your premises and other physical assets. Business income insurance helps replace lost income if your business is forced to shut down due to a covered loss and Workers’ Comp helps cover employees who suffer a work related injury or illness.
 
Your business is unique and deserves an insurance solution appropriate to the specific risks you face. That’s why The Casablanca Insurance offers a wide range of commercial insurance coverages so you can customize your insurance with the right combination of policies and endorsements to address your unique needs. Some popular coverages include:
 

• Data breach insurance – Most businesses are at risk of data breaches. Data breach coverage can help cover the costs of responding to and managing a data breach. With data breach coverage from Casablanca Insurance, businesses can even access support services to assist them in creating policies and best practices that help prevent breaches from happening in the first place.
• Workers' compensation insurance – In the event that an employee suffers from a workplace injury or illness, workers’ compensation insurance from Casablanca Insurance can help pay for the associated medical expenses as well as compensate the employee for lost wages while they are recovering from a work related injury or illness. If you have employees, many states require this coverage.

The cost of a typical California policy has risen by 6.3 percent in the past year — the nation’s No. 2 jump — part of the five-year rise totaling 44 percent and No. 7 among the states.

Will it make you feel any better if you knew that this typical insurance bill — $1,713 for a 30-year-old male driving a 2013 Honda Civic — is only the ninth-highest in the nation, according to a study by The Zebra online insurance tracker? (Most expensive: Michigan, at $2,610. Cheapest? North Carolina, at $865!)
Look, auto insurance rates are up across the nation. The typical $1,427 policy grew by 2 percent in 2017 and is up 20 percent from 2011.

And there’s a pretty good reason for it. Insurance Companies are trying to fill a financial hole they created, in good part, by not charging enough previously. Industry tracker A.M. Best estimates U.S. Insurance Companies lost $36 billion in the past two years on all Auto, Home, and/or Commercial Insurance Policies.
No, this isn’t totally corporate greed. Insurance Companies’ desires to make a profit insuring people is part of the logic behind the rate hikes. The industry is getting financially hammered by a growing number of accidents creating record losses for many Insurance Companies.

Here are the Six Reasons why Californian’s Insurance Rates will be going up:
1. You’re working! Congrats on the new gig. But more jobs, more commuting, more chances for accidents.
2. You’re thrifty! Cheaper gasoline (remember when it was $4 plus) makes driving more affordable. So do all those super-efficient “green” vehicles. Again, more driving.
3. You’re distracted! If it isn’t the latte or burger juices spilling … it’s your smartphone or the high-tech displays that are taking your eyes off the road. Even more chances for accidents.
4. You’re buying fancy cars! All those new gadgets supposedly make you safer. Unfortunately, they’re also pricier to fix when your extra driving leads to extra accidents.
5. You’re costlier to fix! Car crashes mean your auto insurer picks up the tab for medical bills. And if you haven’t heard, it’s more expensive to be cured … much more expensive.
6. You’re paying for climate change! You know all those unusual natural disasters? Fires in California, hurricanes, snow and floods elsewhere? Guess who eventually pays to replace all those vehicles?

And The Zebra’s report shows how much your mistakes will cost you in average premium increases: A ticket for not wearing a seatbelt ups your policy cost by 4 percent; speeding (6-to-20 miles per hour over the limit), a 21 percent hike; at-fault accident, a 40 percent hike; caught driving-under-the-influence, a 77 percent hike; and guilty of hit-and-run, an 85 percent hike.

I don’t want to sound too much like a dad, but please be safe out there. Not just for your life but for your wallet too.
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Collectively, safer driving would save all of us from the upcoming insurance increases.

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Health insurance may have once been an optional form of financial protection, but today’s costs make insurance practically mandatory. With the average American spending $10,000 a year on medical expenses, a monthly premium for health insurance is far more affordable than out-of-pocket payments. However, it’s far too easy for a job loss or divorce to leave you with no health insurance and no idea of where to get it. It’s true that there’s an open enrollment period at the end of each year for the following year, but you’re not out of luck just because you happen to lose your coverage at the wrong time. One of the major parts of the last health care reform bill established pathways to getting insurance regardless of when or why you need it. The path to finding affordable health insurance as soon as possible requires different actions depending on why you lost your former coverage. Determine the cause, and then take the following actions at your earliest convenience to avoid a costly gap in coverage.

Lost Due to Losing Your Job
Loss of a job that offers health insurance as a benefit is the single most common reason people find themselves with an interruption in coverage. Even if you know you’re going to be laid off, it’s easy to forget about insurance while you’re dealing with other more pressing issues. Most people in this situation need short term health insurance to bridge the gap until they find another position with its own benefits package. Each employer follows the enrollment process as well, so getting a job outside of the enrollment period for health insurance means you may have to wait up to a year before your new employer’s policy covers you.
Regardless of whether you are fired, laid off, or quit voluntarily, your last day of employment is also the last date of your health insurance coverage through that employer unless your employer has a contract stating otherwise. Even if you paid a month’s premium just the day before, this may leave you immediately without coverage in the case of on-the-spot firing. All employees who previously had an employer’s insurance can sign up for COBRA coverage. This is a federally operated program to continue coverage seamlessly until you can find your own policy or another job. However, you are responsible for paying the entire premium yourself with this coverage. You can stay on COBRA for up to 18 months to give yourself time to find a self-paid plan through the health marketplace or for your new benefits to kick in.

Lost Due to Divorce
The end of a relationship also means the end of insurance coverage if you were on a spouse’s plan. You’re entitled to keep any policies held separately in your name, but joint insurance is legally mandated to be dissolved after a divorce. Even if you stay friends with your ex-spouse, they can’t legally have you on their insurance policies any longer.
COBRA comes to the rescue again in these situations. If you wish to stay on the same policy, you can pay for it through COBRA for up to 36 months. You can also talk to your employer about transitioning onto their plan if you previously turned it down, or enroll through the marketplace. Divorce is one of the many major life changes that qualify you to use the marketplace outside of the usual enrollment period, so take advantage of that allowance to shop around.

Lost Due to Cancellation
It’s very rare, but sometimes insurance companies cancel their services to an entire state. This is known as cancellation and it has to come at the end of a 12 month agreement after a 90 day written notice. The insurance company must offer to sign you up for any of their other plans offered in your state, and you also have the right to check the marketplace for new policies from any insurer at that time. Very few people experience this kind of cancellation, but it is expected to increase in the next few years due to uncertainties in health insurance regulations.

Online insurance shopping is great, but it doesn’t compare to working with an experienced insurance broker. We can help you with both types of insurance shopping here at Casablanca Insurance. Contact Casablanca Insurance by dialing 909-766-0049 to schedule an appointment and compare insurance rates and get more information.