Managing Insurance Costs for Small Businesses: Tips and Tricks

Small businesses need to do a lot with so little, but it’s the passion and dedication that can see you through to success. That being said, there’s no passion in the world that can help if you’ve suddenly lost your store to a fire or become bankrupt due to a lawsuit. Going bankrupt can kill even a successful business, and if you don’t have insurance, that bankruptcy risk is much higher. You could be flourishing, and then a lawsuit comes your way and suddenly the pay-out you owe costs you everything. You may not even have done anything woefully negligent. Perhaps there was a storm, and someone slipped outside your store before you even had a chance to get there and salt it, for example. 

At the end of the day, it’s just not worth it to run your business without insurance. You may be able to get away with it while you operate out of your home, but once you have a store and employees and are making enough money to turn your business from a side hustle to a full-time endeavor, you’ll want insurance. This can be a big cost but don’t worry. These top tips and tricks will help you better manage the costs: 

Work Out What Coverage You Need and What You Don’t

There are many insurance policies out there, and chances are, you won’t need all of them. There are some essential business insurance policies you’ll need, like general liability, property, and cyber insurance, but from there, it’s up to what you need. If you operate a fleet of vehicles, you’ll need different insurance options than those that operate out of one location. Some industries demand you have worker’s compensation; others don’t need it. Know what you need and what you don’t. 

Bundle Insurance to Get Deals

Technically you can have insurance through multiple companies. In some cases, this may be the cheapest way to go. More often than not, however, there are bundle deals. You can get small business insurance, for example, that includes property, cyber, and general liability insurance.

Use Insurance Brokers to Find the Best Policies

When it comes to getting business insurance, don’t go directly to the insurance providers. There are many options, and you can’t be expected to know them all or be able to easily compare your options. Going through an insurance broker, particularly if you can have direct conversations with a specialist to describe your business needs, is how you’ll get the best short list of options for your company. 

Mitigate Risk to Avoid Using Insurance 

Like all insurance policies, using your insurance makes premiums and rates go up. That’s why it’s critical that you do everything you can to avoid using it by implementing robust safety features, getting regularly audited by a third party to ensure your property is safe and accessible, going through sensitivity training, and so on. Doing your best to keep your workers, customers, property, and equipment safe will mean less risk and, in turn, make it less likely you’ll even need to go through your insurance.