
Charlene Gize, a broker from AWI Insurance, provided a very informative presentation on this topic at a recent TAN meeting. AWI’s motto, “Insurance Tailored to your Individual Needs” is an important one, as each one of us as small business owners will have different requirements for insurance. However, insurance coverage can be confusing, and there are a lot of scenarios to consider.
As an example, if you are a small business owner who uses your vehicle to deliver products to customers, you will need different coverage than the small business owner who only uses their vehicle to drive to client appointments. After a fender bender or a serious accident is not the time to find out that you have the wrong policy.
Another scenario Charlene told us to consider involves Canada’s new Anti-Spam legislation (CASL). As of July 1, 2014, small business owners need to be aware of what they can and cannot do in terms of contacting clients and/or potential clients. This applies to everything from e-mails to tweeting, and with costs ranging in the millions of dollars, having the right kind of coverage in your business insurance as it relates to anti-spam is extremely important.
Do you run your business out of your home? If you do, crucial coverage would be CGL (Commercial General Liability) insurance. Included in this policy is liability for negligence, bodily injury to clients and business owned property, and with the norm of clients suing for $2-5 million for slip and falls, it is obvious to see that you wouldn’t want to pay for this out of your own pocket.
The bottom line is that as a Business Owner we have the responsibility of figuring out ALL possible worst case scenarios (granted that may not include a Zombie apocalypse but you never know…) and what you can or cannot afford to cover. A qualified insurance broker can do this effectively and efficiently and can easily help you determine if you need to augment your current policy.
What is the next step if you find yourself wondering if you have the right policy and/or a sufficient amount of coverage? AWI Insurance has a useful checklist and FAQ’s page for small business owners; or you could make an appointment to discuss your insurance needs with your broker or with Charlene.
With her wealth of insurance knowledge for small business owners at your disposal, Charlene can be contacted anytime at cgize@awinsurance.ca
She would be more than happy set up an appointment with you to make sure that your coverage is appropriate and zombie proof !