Pennsylvania Commercial Insurance Guide: How to Know How Much Liability Coverage You Need

When you are looking for commercial insurance in Pennsylvania, you will need liability insurance to protect you from financial risks and accidents. Commercial liability insurance will cover medical expenses and legal costs if you are found to be liable for an accident or civil or personal injury.

At Options Insurance Agency, knowing how much to get is half the battle. We help Hershey, PA business owners determine the right amount of liability coverage for their business needs.

Learn more about how to get the right amount of coverage.

Business Details Matter

It is impossible to predict an accident, that is why they are called accidents. There are still ways to determine your liability coverage. Your business details matter.

The kind of business you have and how big it is will be the two most important details when determining your liability. If you are making a nice profit, you stand to lose that if a liability arises.

Where your business is located, and the number of employees you have will also matter. The level of experience that your employees have also plays a role in determining your liability coverage.

In a nutshell, the amount of risk that you assume by opening and running your business will determine the amount of liability coverage that you need.

Additional Commercial Insurance Options

When you run a business, you may have risks beyond what your general liability coverage can offer. There are additional commercial insurance options in Pennsylvania that can help you have the most thorough coverage. Professional liability coverage, directors’ and officers’ insurance, and errors and omissions insurance are a few.

You may also want to invest in cybersecurity insurance and other forms of commercial insurance that will protect your business assets.

Get a Quote

When you have a business, you want the doors to stay open. At Options Insurance Agency, we can help Hershey PA business owners with the options needed to get the right amount of liability coverage. Call us for a quote today.

Why you need commercial insurance for your home business

In Hershey, PA, like many other places in the United States, home businesses are a popular option. 50% of small businesses are home-based and if you consider those with no employees, that rises to 60%. The reason is obvious, not having to pay for a business location is a big saving. At Options Insurance Agency, we have been serving local customers since 2006 and as independent agents, we can offer more choices and better rates. We focus on educating our clients about the insurance options available to them. 

Property insurance

Home property insurance is designed to cover your home and contents. It is not designed to cover business equipment, raw materials and inventory for a home business. While you might get very limited coverage from your home insurance, it is not the amount of coverage that your home business needs and deserves. 

Liability coverage

Your home has liability coverage as part of your home insurance policy. This is personal liability and will not extend to your business customers or to vendors or employees who might decide to sue you. Without commercial liability insurance, you run the risk of losing your business. Your home liability insurance is not going to extend to your business. 

Commercial auto insurance

When you are using your personal vehicle for business, it is most likely that your auto insurance won’t cover you if you have an accident. Commercial auto insurance is what you need and it is always a good idea to keep your business finances separate from your personal finances. 

Workers compensation

In Pennsylvania, if you have one or more employees, full or part-time, including family members, you must have workers’ compensation insurance. Home businesses are not exempt from having this important coverage. 

For more information about commercial insurance in Hershey, PA contact Options Insurance Agency. 

Will commercial insurance protect people in Pennsylvania?

As you are looking for a place to grow and run a business, Hershey, PA is a good spot to consider. There are a lot of benefits that come with being a business owner in this community including local support for small businesses and having access to a strong local economy. Those that would run a business in this part of the state need to get insurance for their company. Commercial insurance can protect business owners in several ways.

Liability Protection

One way you can be protected with a commercial insurance plan is by receiving liability protection. Accidents can always happen that could result in damages to another party. If your business happens to cause an accident that results in damages, you can be held liable. As these costs can be significant based on the situation, having commercial insurance is always helpful. This coverage will offer quality liability protection that can continue to support your organization. 

Protect Business Investments

Your commercial insurance plan can also protect investments made by your business. A business will need to continue to invest in itself to acquire assets and fuel future growth. As you and your business will rely on the assets it acquires, you will want to know that you are keeping proper insurance in place. A commercial insurance plan will protect these assets for your company. 

A commercial insurance plan will always offer valuable coverage that makes it well worth the investment. As you are shopping for a new plan in Hershey, PA, consulting with the professionals with the Options Insurance Agency will be helpful. The team with Options Insurance Agency can help you assess all of your options and understand the value of this coverage. This can help ensure you pick a plan that provides great coverage for your business. 

When is someone required to have home insurance?

The Hershey, PA area continues to be a good place to own a home. Those that are in this area will benefit from a strong economy and local amenities that keep demand for housing high. If you are going to purchase real estate when you are here, you will need to have insurance for your home. There are some situations when having home insurance is a requirement.

When Located in an Association

A common situation when someone will be required to have a home insurance plan is when they are located in a home association. If you have bought a home in an association, the organization will likely have home insurance standards that all owners need to meet. Most associations will even require you to provide evidence of coverage on an annual basis. 

When Taking Out a Mortgage

You should also get home insurance to comply with mortgage lender requirements. A mortgage lender will provide a loan that is used to purchase a home and will take your property as collateral until the loan is paid off. Due to this, a mortgage lender will want you to have the proper insurance to ensure the home is covered and protected. They will often require that you escrow payments for insurance as it will ensure there is not a coverage lapse. 

There continue to be plenty of situations when having home insurance is a requirement. When you are looking to properly insure your home in the Hershey, PA area, speaking with Options Insurance Agency is a good idea. There are many factors to consider as you are looking for home insurance and Options Insurance Agency can make the decision-making process easier for you. This can help ensure you remain appropriately covered and in compliance with requirements. 

Commercial insurance options for small businesses

Commercial insurance options for small businesses

You have already risked more than enough starting a small business. That means you need to protect it at all costs. As a small business owner in Hershey, PA, the best way to protect your investment is by buying insurance. You also need to know which coverages are more important for your business and which ones to ignore. Here are a few options to choose from.

Business liability insurance

Every business requires liability coverage. You are likely to get sued by third parties whether you deal with clients directly or indirectly. From unsatisfied customers to accidents you’re not in control of, there are thousands of reasons why another party may file a lawsuit against you. This insurance helps cover the legal fees and what you are found liable for.

Property insurance

You will need property insurance to protect your business environment and its contents. Think about fire, theft, and other accidents that could lead to financial losses. At Options Insurance Agency, we recommend choosing a comprehensive plan to cover the property used in the business up to specific limits. This may include computers, furniture, technology, and inventory.

Workers’ compensation

Whether you have one employee or a hundred, you need workers’ compensation to protect your employees. It is a mandatory policy in Pennsylvania that pays for medical bills and income benefits for employees who get injured while working at your company.

Commercial umbrella insurance

If you run a business that is at risk of getting involved in lawsuits, you may need commercial umbrella insurance to protect you from accidents that go beyond the liability covered in other policies. Major cases can harm your business financially and even lead to a close down.

There exist many insurance coverages for businesses, and you don’t need all of them. If you are in Hershey, PA, our insurance professionals at Options Insurance Agency can work with you and determine which coverages match your business needs.

Cyber Liability Insurance: What is it?

Running a business is inherently risky for people being injured while at the office to property damage, but one of the risks that is often overlooked is technology. Cyber attacks are becoming more frequent and while many assume that only large companies are targeted for data breaches and hacks, that is simply not true. Any company that stores sensitive customer or company data such as intellectual property, trade secrets, credit cards, social security numbers, and bank account information is at a higher risk of being attacked. 

While using data encryption tools and other software solutions is one defense mechanism against cyber threat actors, it only takes one hacker to be able to infiltrate your network. Consequently, cyber liability insurance provides a safeguard by offering financial protection and other benefits to business owners in the event that you suffer a cyberattack. In short, cyber liability insurance helps cover the following:

  • Regulatory fines from local and federal authorities
  • Legal services
  • Lost income from an outage
  • Lawsuits from customers or employees related to privacy and data breaches
  • The expense associated with notifying customers about a data breach or hack
  • Assistance in paying for identity protection monitoring for impacted customers or employees

The cost of cyber liability insurance varies greatly depending on the number of customers that you are storing sensitive data on, the type of information being stored, total revenue for the business, and any previously filed claims.

When it comes to finding a commercial insurance policy for your business gives the team at Options Insurance Agency in Hershey, PA a call. Our talented team of insurance professionals will work tirelessly to customize a policy that meets all the needs of your business. 

Is Commercial Insurance Just for Liability?

It’s great that you’re running a business in Hershey, PA. It can be one of the best experiences of your life. While you’re doing everything you can to make the business succeed, you’re going to have to spend some time learning about insurance. Do you have commercial insurance? Do you only need it for liability? Options Insurance Agency has some fast and easy answers to your biggest questions.

The Short Answer Is No

There is a commercial policy for every type of coverage business can need. Commercial property insurance can be used to protect your location from damage and theft. Commercial auto insurance can help with repairs or replacement in the event of an auto accident. Worker’s compensation insurance is extremely important, and it is classified as a commercial policy. It certainly would not be considered liability insurance. It’s important to make sure you explore all of your insurance options when you’re running a business.

Liability Is Still Important

While commercial insurance can cover many situations that don’t involve liability, liability insurance is often one of the most important aspects of coverage for a business. A business can be liable for errors or omissions in contracts, personal injury, property damage, data, and plenty more. Liability coverage protects you from lawsuits related to these problems, so it is vital that your business has adequate protection.

The best way to ensure that you’re safe and ready to face all of these challenges is to deeply explore your options. The easiest way to do that is to have a conversation with your representative at Options Insurance Agency. They can get to know your business and your overall liabilities. They can also help you navigate the most common issues for businesses in Hershey, PA. When you’re done, you can have insurance that you trust to protect your business and free your efforts to run it to the best of your ability.

Do You Need Commercial Insurance for Your Pennsylvania Business?

Your business is not only a substantial financial investment. It’s a considerable investment of yourself, your time, and your passion. You will want to protect it in any way possible, which includes obtaining a commercial insurance policy. In Pennsylvania, there are specific laws that require commercial business insurance to keep you, your property, and your employees protected.

Pennsylvania law requires that all employees are covered by Worker’s Compensation insurance. This includes employees that are full-time, part-time, or seasonal. This policy will cover medical bills for any injuries or illnesses they sustain at work.

You must also have commercial auto insurance on all business-owned vehicles if your business is located in Pennsylvania. Commercial auto insurance requirements include having a policy for bodily injury liability with at least $15,000 worth of coverage per person or $30,000 per accident and property damage liability of $5,000 per accident. You can also add a policy of $5,000 for medical benefits.

A business owner’s insurance policy may be the best way to go since it covers general liability, such as customer injury or damage to a customer’s property due to a product or service you offer or while the person is visiting your business location. This policy also covers your building, equipment, and inventory from damage or loss from events, such as tornadoes, fires, hail storms, and vandalism. A business owner’s insurance policy also includes the required policies under Pennsylvania law. So, in other words, it’s everything you need all rolled into one policy.

To determine the best commercial policy for your Pennsylvania-based business, you will want to contact a trusted insurance agent who has the knowledge and experience it takes to provide you with the best options that are available to you and your beloved business.

In the Hershey, PA area, contact the trusted commercial business insurance agents at Options Insurance Agency for an appointment to discuss your options. Our team in Hershey, PA will be happy to get you started with a quote.

Commercial Insurance Helps Businesses Recover Quickly When Disasters Strike

When you established your business, you based it around a great new product or a service that would improve customers’ lives. Over time and with hard work, you developed your vision into reality. Now, it is time to protect it with commercial insurance. One way that commercial insurance protects your business is that it will allow it to recover quickly if a disaster strikes. Our agents at Options Insurance Agency, serving Hellertown and Hershey, PA, can help you get the coverage that your business needs.

To get the coverage that you need to protect your business during a disaster, your agent will recommend the combination of several policies. Property insurance covers any buildings that the company owns. Even further, it includes the contents of the premises, such as inventory, materials, and equipment. Liability protection protects the company should some be injured by its products or services or at an onsite location. To safeguard employees injured at work, there is a worker’s compensation policy. Additional coverage can be added if you need commercial auto insurance or professional liability coverage. To further protect your business from disasters, some owners invest in business continuity coverage. This provides financial protection if a business is temporarily unable to operate. Flood insurance is also available. 

Our team at Options Insurance Agency in the Hershey, PA area can recommend the types of commercial insurance that your business needs. They get to know your business so that they suggest the best coverage to protect your business financially. You’ve put your heart and soul into growing your business and bringing new ideas into the marketplace. Don’t let your business be at risk from disaster. There are many options to keep it growing even if a catastrophe strikes. Call or come by today to discover your options! 

How the Businessowners Policy Can Protect Your Small Business

If you have a small business in Hershey, PA or nearby, you know how important it is to protect your company from liability issues and more. This is entirely possible when you have a business owner’s policy (BOP). A quality insurance company like Options Insurance Agency can help you set this up.

How a BOP Protects Your Business

When you have a business, there’s always going to be a risk of liability. With a BOP, you’ll have coverage for your business’s financial and physical assets.

You’ll have protection for all of your property and liability risks rolled into one package. They are ideal for small and mid-sized businesses and provide you with broad coverage. It combines commercial property insurance with general liability insurance for your convenience. Sometimes, you can get Business Interruption Insurance included in this.

The most significant benefit of doing it this way (besides simplifying something that’s usually quite complex) is that you will save money over having to purchase each policy separately.

  • Property Damage: Your policy will cover any damages resulting from unexpected events at your property. This includes burst pipes that cause damage to your inventory.
  • Bodily Injury/Medical Expenses: Slip-and-falls are covered under this, as well as any other instances of customers or employees getting injured while on your business property or from conducting typical work tasks, not through their own fault.
  • Lost Income: Business Owners Insurance also will cover some lost income, like if you have to stop business operations for a while. This usually is for up to a period of 12 months. It covers things like rent payments, relocation to a temporary location, and employee payroll.

A few classes of individuals qualify for BOP. This includes suppliers, parties to a work contract, employees, and the business itself.

If you’d like to learn more about Business Owners Insurance, reach out to Options Insurance Agency, serving the greater Hershey, PA area.