Like every aspect of running your business, you want to keep your business insurance coverage within your company’s budget. But what if your company’s profit margins have shrunk in the last few months or years? What should you do?
A commercial policy protects you and your business from potentially devastating risks. So it’s important to maintain this coverage but it’s also important for that coverage to be affordable. Fortunately, there are ways to save on your commercial insurance costs and still get a comprehensive policy that covers all the bases.
What do you need?
If your business has slowed down in the current economic climate then now is a good time to review your current business insurance policy and determine if you still need all that’s offered in your current policy. An easy way to do this is to call and talk to your independent insurance broker. As an industry expert, your insurance advisor can help you determine what’s integral to keeping your business protected and ways you can cut back and save.
For instance, you may want to consider the difference between packaged policies and basic coverage with add-ons. On the whole packaged policies are typically cheaper given what they offer and there’s nothing wrong with a package policy as long as it meets your needs. But getting full coverage may no longer be a requirement given the slow-down in your industry. This is when you and your insurance advisor should price out basic commercial policies and the extra cost of add-on coverage. Quite often a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work for cost-effective business insurance.
Ways to Save
While talking to your insurance broker consider asking what coverage reductions could be found now that your business is storing equipment or because your company vehicles are no longer in use. Your broker may also find ways to reduce your liability coverage but still keep you protected which can further lower your annual insurance premiums. Just don’t cancel or remove liability coverage altogether because even though your business may be experiencing a slowdown you still need liability coverage for your completed work and ongoing operations.
Another option is to raise your deductible. The deductible is the portion you pay before your insurance provider steps in and pays the rest. By raising the deductible on your insurance policy you increase the proportion of risk you’re willing to take on and providers reward this by giving you lower premiums.
