Mentor Business Insurance

There are more than 5,000 businesses in Mentor, OH. From small companies run out of people’s homes to the many outlets in the Great Lakes Mall, every business in this city plays an important role in the local economy. Business insurance helps these companies stay profitable when disasters strike.

Independent insurance agents make finding the right business insurance easy. These experienced professionals can help you build an affordable policy package that is designed to provide coverage against all the potential risks your company faces. Contact an insurance agent near you to learn more.

Why Do Businesses in Mentor, Ohio, Need Liability Insurance?

There are many reasons why a customer, vendor, or employee may file a liability lawsuit against your company, and the costs associated with these lawsuits can be overwhelming. That is why liability insurance is such an important part of every commercial insurance policy.

Business liability insurance can cover the various expenses related to liability lawsuits, including court costs, legal defense fees, lost wages, and financial damages.

All business insurance policies include commercial general liability insurance (CGL). CGL covers against many of the most common liability risks faced by businesses. Two of its main coverage components are:

• Premises liability insurance: This can cover third-party injuries, injuries, and damage that occurs because of accidents on your business property.
• Product liability insurance: This can cover third-party injuries, illnesses, and damage that occurs because of design flaws or defects in products your company produces, sells, or promotes.

Most businesses will need additional liability policies in order to be fully covered against all of their exposures. Some of the policies an independent insurance agent in Mentor may recommend include:

• Cyber liability insurance: This can cover your liability expenses if criminals install skimmers on your credit card readers or hack into your company’s computer system and steal customer data like credit card information, social security numbers, or personal details.
• Employment practices liability insurance (EPLI): This can cover your business against lawsuits related to accusations of illegal employment practices such as harassment, breach of contract, discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination.
• Liquor liability insurance: This can cover businesses that serve alcoholic beverages. This is necessary because if an intoxicated patron causes injuries or property damage to others, Ohio’s dram shop laws enable the injured party to sue the business that provided the alcohol.
• Professional liability insurance: Also referred to as errors & omissions insurance, this can cover individuals in professional positions if negligence, errors in judgment, or other professional mistakes lead to third-party financial losses, injuries, or damage.
• Commercial vehicle liability insurance: This can cover your company’s increased liability risks if one of your drivers causes an accident while operating a company-owned car, truck, van, or bus. It is required by state law if your business owns and operates any vehicles.

A local independent insurance agent can help you determine whether these or any other commercial liability products are appropriate for your particular business.

How Does Property Insurance Protect Mentor Businesses?

Commercial property insurance is another important part of every business insurance policy package. It is designed to cover loss or damage to your company’s assets including things like office furnishings, supplies, merchandise, inventory, computers, outdoor signs, tools, and more.

Businesses in Mentor are most at risk for damage caused by accidental fires, property crimes like theft and embezzlement, and severe weather events like storms, hail, wind, and heavy snows. These risks are all covered by commercial property insurance.

Be aware, however, that commercial property insurance excludes coverage against floods. When heavy rains fall in the area, waterways like Marsh Creek, Heisley Creek, and Ward Brook can overflow their banks, drainage systems can become overwhelmed, and flash flooding can occur throughout the city.

In order for your business to be covered against this risk, you will need to include commercial flood insurance in your business insurance policy package. A local independent insurance agent can help you secure an affordable flood insurance policy through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

You may also want to consider adding other supplemental policies such as:

• Inland marine insurance: This can cover your company’s portable assets whenever they are in transit or are being stored off-site. 
• Boiler & machinery insurance: This can cover financial losses related to the failure of your essential business equipment.
• Bailees insurance: This can cover your customers’ expensive property whenever it is in your business’s custody, care, or control.

Talk to a local independent insurance agent to learn more about these and other business property coverage options.

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Is Business Interruption Insurance a Good Idea in Mentor, OH?

Would your business be able to handle the financial repercussions if it were destroyed in a structure fire or a tornado? Sure, your commercial property insurance could cover the cost replace damaged property, but what about the weeks or months you will need to stay closed to rebuild?

Disasters in Ohio

• Number of federally declared disasters in OH since 1953: 59
• Most common reasons for declared disasters: Severe storms, floods, and tornadoes
• Average number of tornadoes in OH per year: 19.2

Business interruption insurance is designed to provide your company with a continuation of income if your business is forced to remain closed for an extended time due to damage caused by a covered event.

This insurance enables your company to have the funds necessary to cover regular monthly expenses like rent, loan installments, and employee salaries until you are able to resume normal operations. Most policies will provide this coverage for up to twelve months.

Business interruption insurance isn’t ideal for all companies.  A local independent insurance agent can help you evaluate whether this optional coverage is a good fit for your Mentor business.

Do Businesses in Mentor Need Workers' Compensation Insurance?

Workers compensation insurance is designed to cover the cost of medical treatments, follow-up care, prescriptions, disability pay, and other expenses related to work-related injuries and occupational illnesses.

The state of Ohio requires all businesses that have at least one employee to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Exceptions are made for:

• Sole proprietors
• Partners
• LLCs acting as a sole proprietor or partnership
• Corporate officers of family farms
• Individuals incorporated as a corporation with no employees

Rates for workers' compensation coverage are based mainly on the types of jobs your employees do and how dangerous the work is. Therefore, a worker at an automotive company would cost far more to insure than a cashier at a department store.

When it comes to workers’ compensation insurance, Ohio is what is called a “monopolistic state.” This means that coverage can only be purchased through Ohio’s state-administered fund.

Your local insurance agent can help you get the coverage you need to include in your business insurance policy package. However, because there is no competition in this state, your agent cannot shop around for the most competitive rate.

What about Employee Benefits for Businesses in Mentor?

As a business owner in Mentor, you may be considering offering subsidized health insurance and life insurance as part of your company’s employee benefits package.

• Approximate annual amount spent on healthcare coverage by OH businesses: $2 billion
• Average annual cost of health care in OH: $5,886/person or $15,955/family

There is no getting around the fact that health insurance is expensive. However, many small businesses that provide this coverage to their employees can qualify for tax deductions, and there are other cost-saving benefits as well.

For instance, resource professionals have shown that businesses that offer competitive benefits packages can more easily recruit and retain the best employees. They have also demonstrated that workers who have access to healthcare coverage use fewer sick days than those who do not.

There are several different health and life insurance policy types available for you to choose from. You may therefore find it beneficial to have the guidance of a local insurance professional when you are looking for the best plan.

An independent insurance agent can help you find great coverage at a competitive price.

Why Work with an Independent Insurance Agent in Mentor, OH?

Every company has specific insurance coverage needs, and these can vary significantly from one business to the next. That is why when it comes to business insurance, there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all policy.

As a business owner, you can fully customize your commercial insurance coverage. A local independent agent can help you navigate through your many options and can explain the ins-and-outs of the various policies that are available to you.

Consult an insurance agent in Mentor to get more information and to start comparing customized quotes for business insurance policies that are a good fit for your company.