Parma Business Insurance

There are nearly 6,000 businesses located in the city of Parma, OH. From the many outlets in the Shoppes at Parma to the family-owned businesses in the Ukrainian and Polish Village commercial districts, each plays an important role in the local economy. Business insurance helps these companies stay profitable in times of trouble.

If you own a company in this Cleveland suburb, a local independent insurance agent can help. These agents can assist you in building an affordable business insurance policy package that provides coverage against each of the risks that threaten your company’s bottom line. 

Set up a one-on-one consultation with an insurance agent in Parma to learn more.

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

Liability lawsuits against businesses frequently result in judgments exceeding $1 million. That is why business liability insurance is so important. This insurance is designed to cover the various expenses related to liability lawsuits such as court costs, legal fees, and financial damages.

Your business insurance policy will include commercial general liability insurance (CGL) as a standard part of its coverage. This insurance is designed to cover against some of the most common liability hazards businesses face. The coverage offered CGL includes, but is not limited to:

• Premises liability insurance: This is designed to cover third-party injuries, injuries, and damage that occurs on your business property.
• Product liability insurance: This is designed to cover third-party injuries, illnesses, and damage that is caused by design flaws or defects in products that your company produces, sells, or promotes.

CGL alone isn’t always enough. Many businesses will need to purchase additional policies in order to be fully covered against all of their liability exposures. Examples of some of the many commercial liability products you may want to consider for your Parma business include:

• Employment practices liability insurance: This is designed to cover your business against accusations of illegal employment practices such as discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wrongful termination.
• Cyber liability insurance: This is designed to cover your liability expenses if criminals install skimmers on your credit card readers or break into your company’s electronic information system and steal stored customer information like financial and personal data.
• Commercial vehicle liability insurance: This is designed to cover your business’s increased liability risks if one of your employees causes a collision while driving a company-owned vehicle.
• Environmental liability insurance: This is designed to cover cleanup costs and damage if an accident at your company leads to the pollution of the land, air, or water by toxic substances used, produced, or sold by your company.
• Liquor liability insurance: This is designed to protect businesses that serve alcoholic beverages if an intoxicated patron goes on to cause injuries or property damage to others. This is important since Ohio’s dram shop laws permit the injured party to sue the business that provided the alcohol.

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

How Does Property Insurance Protect Parma Businesses?

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

Businesses in Parma are most at risk for damage caused by accidental fires, property crimes like theft and embezzlement, and severe weather events like storms, high winds, hail, blizzards, and freezing temperatures. Fortunately, these hazards are all covered by commercial property insurance.

In addition to the standard property coverage included in your business insurance policy, you may also want to consider purchasing supplemental policies such as:

• Commercial flood insurance: This insurance is important because commercial property insurance does not cover against floods. Businesses near waterways like the Cuyahoga River, Big Creek, and Baldwin Creek are most at risk. But when heavy rains fall, flash flooding can occur just about anywhere in this city.
• Inland marine insurance: This insurance is designed to cover your portable business property whenever it is being transported or stored away from your place of business, such as in a warehouse or at a job site.
• Boiler & machinery insurance: This is designed to cover repair costs and business losses related to the mechanical failure of your essential business machinery and equipment.
• Bailees insurance: This is designed to cover your customers’ valuable property whenever it is in your business’s custody, care, or control, such as while you are performing alterations, maintenance, or repair services on it.

Talk to your local insurance agent to learn more about your various business property coverage options.

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

Tornado activity in the Parma area is 1% smaller than the national average. This does not mean that the risk does not exist. For instance, in 1965, an F4 twister touched down less than seven miles from the Parma city center causing several millions of dollars worth of damage to area homes and businesses.

Business owners in this city need to be prepared for major disasters like tornadoes and structure fires.

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

A major disaster can force you to shut down your business for several weeks while repairs are made. Business interruption insurance is designed to provide your company with a continuation of income during such times.

This optional insurance can make it possible for your business to afford to pay regular monthly expenses like bills, loan installments, and employee salaries until your business can safely resume normal operations.

Business interruption insurance isn’t ideal for every business. A local independent insurance agent can help you evaluate whether it is a good fit for your Parma business.

Do Businesses in Parma Need Workers' Compensation Insurance?

The state of Ohio requires all businesses to cover their full- and part-time employees with workers' compensation insurance. There are a few exceptions. For example, you are not required to cover sole proprietors, partners, or corporate officers of family farms, but you can if you want to.

If an employee is injured on the job or comes down with an occupational illness, workers’ compensation insurance can cover the cost of any necessary medical treatments, hospital stays, follow-up care and prescriptions, and can compensate the injured worker for lost wages and other related expenses.

Rates for workers' compensation coverage are based primarily on the number of employees you have and the types of jobs they do. The more dangerous the job, the more coverage will cost. Therefore, a welding engineer at General Motors would cost more to insure than a professor at Bryant & Stratton College.

When it comes to workers’ compensation insurance, Ohio is what is known as a monopolistic state. This means that all policies must be purchased through the state-administered fund. Because private insurers cannot compete in this state, an independent insurance agent will not be able to help you hunt down a policy at a lower price.

What about Employee Benefits for Businesses in Parma?

As a business owner in Parma, you may be thinking about offering your workers an employee benefits package that includes subsidized health insurance and life insurance options.

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

Even though purchasing health insurance for your employees is rather expensive, doing so may come with some money-saving benefits for your business.

For instance, many companies that provide their workers with healthcare coverage qualify for tax incentives. Additionally, human resource professionals have demonstrated that when businesses offer an attractive benefits package, they find it easier to recruit and retain some of the most qualified employees.

There are many different insurance products available to choose from when you are building an employee benefits package. You may therefore find it beneficial to have the guidance of a local insurance professional.

Talk to an independent agent near you for help finding the best and most affordable business health and life insurance policies.

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

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

A local independent agent can help you navigate through your various coverage options as you build your business insurance policy package. Your agent can also ensure that you are getting the coverage you need at a competitive price. Find an insurance agent near you to get started.