New York City Business Insurance

There are more than one million businesses located in New York City. The city that never sleeps is a great place for those with the entrepreneurial spirit to set up shop. If you are among the hundreds of thousands of business owners in the Big Apple, you can benefit from the protections offered by a comprehensive business insurance policy package.

Independent insurance agents in New York City make it easy to find the best policies to cover your commercial enterprise. These agents work for you, not for a particular insurance company, so they can shop around to find great policies that offer the coverage your business needs at the most affordable prices.

Find an insurance agent near you to learn more.

Why Do Businesses in New York City Need Liability Insurance?

Liability lawsuits brought against businesses often result in judgments exceeding $1 million. That is why liability insurance is so important for businesses of all sizes. It is designed to cover expenses related to liability lawsuits such as court costs, legal defense fees, and financial damages.

All business insurance policies include commercial general liability insurance (CGL) as a standard part of their coverage. This insurance is designed to cover some of the most common liability hazards businesses are likely to face. The coverage offered by CGL includes:

• Premises liability insurance: This can cover third-party injuries, injuries, and damage that occur due to accidents on your business property
• Product liability insurance: This can cover third-party injuries, illnesses, and damage that are caused by products your company produces, sells or promotes.
• Advertising liability insurance: This can cover against accusations of illegal marking practices such as copyright infringement, deceptive pricing, and false advertising.

CGL insurance by itself isn’t enough to fully cover most businesses against all of their liability exposures. Purchasing additional liability products may therefore be necessary. Some supplemental policies you may want to consider for your business include:

• Cyber liability insurance: Cybercriminals grow more sophisticated every year. If your company’s computer system is hacked and these criminals steal sensitive data like your customers’ credit card details, Social Security numbers, or personal information, your business can be on the hook for providing those affected with restitution and credit monitoring services. Cyber liability insurance covers these costs.
• Liquor liability insurance: New York City is filled with bars, nightclubs, and restaurants. If your business serves alcoholic beverages and provides drinks to a visibly intoxicated patron, you can be held liable for any injuries or property damage that person goes on to cause while under the influence. Liquor liability insurance can cover your company’s financial responsibilities.
• Employment practices liability insurance: Your business can one day face the wrath of a disgruntled employee or may inadvertently hire a predatory manager. If your company finds itself accused of illegal employment practices such as discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or wrongful termination, this insurance can cover your legal defense and financial damages.
• Professional liability insurance: People in professional positions sometimes make errors in judgment or fail to act in a timely manner, and this can cost their clients. This insurance is designed to cover these individuals so that if they are sued for damages caused by a professional error, they will be fully covered.

Talk to a local independent insurance agent to learn more about these and any other commercial liability insurance products that may be right for your New York City business.

How Does Property Insurance Protect New York City Businesses?

Commercial property insurance is designed to cover loss or damage to your company-owned assets, including computers, office furniture, supplies, merchandise, display cases, and tools. This coverage is a standard part of every business insurance policy.

Businesses in New York City are most at risk for damage caused by accidental fires, property crimes, and severe weather events like storms, strong winds, heavy snows, and freezing temperatures. Fortunately, these hazards are all covered by commercial property insurance.

In addition to your standard property coverage, you may also want to consider purchasing supplemental policies such as:

• Flood insurance: If your business is located on a ground or below-ground level floor, this insurance may be a good idea because commercial property insurance does not cover against flood damage. Your insurance agent can help you secure an affordable policy through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
• Inland marine insurance: This can cover your business’s portable property whenever it is in transit or is being stored off-site, such as in a warehouse or at a job site.
• Boiler & machinery insurance: This can cover repair costs and business losses related to mechanical malfunctions of your essential business equipment and machinery.
• Bailee's insurance: This can cover valuable property belonging to your customers whenever it is in your business’s custody, care, or control, such as while you are performing alterations, maintenance, or repair services on it.

A local independent insurance agent can help you be certain that all your company’s valuable assets are appropriately covered.

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Is Business Interruption Insurance a Good Idea in New York City?

If a major disaster like an accidental fire or a particularly severe storm affects your business, property damage isn’t the only thing you will need to worry about. If the destruction is very bad, your company may need to remain closed for several weeks while repairs are made.

Business interruption insurance is designed to provide your company with a continuation of income during such times.

Disasters in New York

• Number of federally declared disasters in NY since 1953: 101
• Most common reasons for declared disasters: Severe storms, floods, and heavy snows
• Average number of tornadoes in NY per year: 9.6

This optional insurance enables your business to continue paying regular expenses like rent payments, monthly bills, loan installments, and employee salaries without sustaining a large financial loss despite being unable to generate revenue. This coverage can continue until you are able to resume normal operations.

Business interruption insurance is not right for every business. A local independent insurance agent can help you determine whether it is a good fit for your New York City business.

Do Businesses in New York City Need Worker's Compensation Insurance?

If an employee is injured on the job or is stricken with an occupational illness, worker's compensation insurance can cover the cost of any necessary medical treatment, follow-up care, and prescriptions. It can also provide the injured worker with disability pay while recuperating.

With few exceptions, the state of New York requires all businesses to cover their employees with worker's compensation insurance.

Rates for worker's compensation coverage are based on your company’s overall payroll, the number of employees you have, and the types of jobs they do. The more dangerous the job, the more coverage will cost. A window washer who spends the day high above the ground on scaffolding would cost more to insure than a commodities trader on Wall Street.

Worker's compensation insurance is required, but paying too much for it is not. Let a local independent agent help you compare policies and quotes from a few competing providers who specialize in covering businesses like yours.

What about Employee Benefits for Businesses in New York City?

New York City has some of the best hospitals and medical facilities in the country. However, this will not do your employees any good if they do not have access to affordable healthcare coverage. The cost of medical treatment is just too high for many to afford to pay out of pocket.

With this in mind, you may be considering making your company more attractive to highly qualified workers by offering an employee benefits package that includes perks such as a 401(k) plan, paid vacation and sick time, life insurance, and, of course, the all-important gift of subsidized health insurance.

There are several different health insurance products available, including HMOs, PPOs, and managed care plans, as well as policies with different-sized deductibles, copays, and coverage limits. This can make it difficult to decide which make the best choices.

You may therefore find it beneficial to have guidance and advice from a local insurance professional. Your agent can help you find great coverage at a competitive price.

Why Work with an Independent Insurance Agent in New York, New York?

The wide range of insurance products and options that are available to you, as a business owner, makes it possible for you to fully customize your business insurance to meet your company’s specific coverage needs. This can make shopping for coverage confusing. Independent insurance agents make it easy.

An independent agent in New York City can help you navigate through your many choices as you build your business insurance policy package. That way, you can be sure you are purchasing appropriate coverage and that you are getting it at a highly competitive price.

Set up a one-on-one consultation with an insurance agent near you to learn more and to start comparing customized quotes for business insurance.