Tullahoma Business Insurance
(How to custom build a business policy package that's right for your business.)
Once chiefly a manufacturing town, the city of Tullahoma, TN now includes educational services, health care, and accommodation & food services among its top industries. Business owners of all types in this city can protect the investments they have made in their companies by purchasing a comprehensive business insurance policy package.
Local independent insurance agents make shopping for business coverage easy. These agents are available to help you identify your company’s specific risks and find the right insurance products to cover them. Find an insurance agent in Tullahoma to get more information and to start comparing customized business insurance quotes.
What Kinds of Liability Coverage Can Your Tullahoma Business Insurance Provide?
We live in a litigious society, so lawsuits aren’t uncommon. If your business ends up on the wrong end of a liability lawsuit, having the right insurance coverage is crucial for protecting your company’s finances. Business liability insurance is designed to absorb expenses like court costs, legal defense fees, and financial damages if your company is sued for a covered event.
All business insurance policies include, at a minimum, commercial general liability insurance (CGL). It covers third-party injuries, illnesses, and damage whether they are caused by an accident on your business property (premises liability insurance) or because of a defect in a product your company produces, sells or promotes (product liability insurance).
In many cases, companies have liability risks that go well beyond what CGL can cover. An independent insurance agent can help you identify any other liability exposures your business may have and can recommend the right liability coverage products to protect against them. Examples of some of the many commercial liability insurance policies available to you include:
- Employment practices liability insurance: This covers businesses against accusations of illegal business practices such as discrimination, harassment, breach of contract, and wrongful termination.
- Cyber liability insurance: This covers businesses in the event that criminals place skimmers on credit card readers or hackers break into your company’s computer system and steal sensitive data like financial and personal information. This insurance can pay for resultant damages and provide restitution to those who were affected.
- Pollution liability insurance: This covers businesses that use or produce toxic substances. It can pay for clean-up costs and damages if an accident or disaster leads to these substances polluting the environment, including the land, air or water.
- Commercial vehicle liability insurance: This is required if your business owns and operates vehicles. It can cover your increased liability exposures in the event that one of your drivers causes an accident.
Talk to your insurance agent to learn more about these and other liability products that may be a good fit for your Tullahoma business.
What Kinds of Property Does Tullahoma Business Insurance Cover?
Commercial property insurance is designed to cover the cost of repairing or replacing your company’s property if it is damaged or destroyed by a covered event. This insurance can cover nearly all of your business assets, including merchandise, inventory, furniture, tools, machinery, computers, and more. Businesses in Tullahoma are most likely to experience property damage caused by severe weather events like tornadoes, severe storms, hail and sometimes even winter storms with ice and heavy snow. Fortunately, these hazards are covered by your commercial property insurance.
One hazard that is not covered by your commercial property insurance, however, is flood damage. This is a very real risk in Tullahoma, particularly for businesses located near Rock Creek and Bobo Creek. Of course, when heavy rains fall, flash flooding can occur just about anywhere in this city. Commercial flood insurance policies are available through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and provide an affordable way to get coverage against this expensive hazard. Adding flood insurance to your commercial insurance policy package can further protect your business assets.
Talk to a local insurance agent to learn more about covering your business property.
Why Purchase Business Interruption Insurance?
Damage to your business-owned property isn’t the only expensive risk your business faces during a catastrophic event. Major damage caused by disasters like fires and tornadoes can potentially cause your businesses to remain closed for several weeks while repairs are made.
Disasters in Tennessee
- Number of federally declared disasters in TN since 1953: 83
- Most common reason for declared disasters: Severe Storms
- Average number of tornadoes in TN per year: 36
Without an ongoing stream of revenue, many small businesses would be forced into bankruptcy. Business interruption insurance protects against this risk by providing a continuation of income during the times that your company is forced to temporarily close because of damage caused by a covered event. When your company is covered by business interruption insurance, you can afford to continue to pay regular expenses like loan payments and employee salaries until your business can once again resume normal operations.
Do All Tullahoma Businesses Need Workers’ Compensation Insurance?
In Tennessee, all employers in the construction and coal mining industries are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance. For other businesses in this state, this coverage is mandatory only if you have at least five employees. It is not necessary to buy coverage for sole proprietors, partners, or LLC members, though you can if you want to.
Workers’ compensation insurance is designed to cover medical treatment, lost wages, and other related expenses if your workers are hurt or suffer an occupational illness due to exposure to toxic substances in the workplace. This insurance can also pay out survivor benefits to family members in the unfortunate event that a workplace injury proves fatal. Costs for workers’ compensation insurance are based primarily on the types of jobs your workers do. The more dangerous the job, the higher the cost for coverage. It costs much more to insure a roofer than to cover a cashier in a clothing store.
An independent insurance agent can help you compare rates from a variety of reliable insurance companies that specialize in covering businesses likes yours. Or, with approval, your company can opt to self-insure.
What about Purchasing Insurance Benefits for Your Employees?
Healthcare coverage in the United States is expensive. However, subsidizing it for your employees can have money-saving benefits for your company. Studies by human resources experts have shown that workers who have access to health care tend to use fewer sick days. Also, offering an attractive benefits package helps businesses recruit and retain the most qualified employees.
- Annual amount spent on healthcare coverage by TN businesses: $808 million
- Average annual cost of health care in TN: $5,198/person or $15,214/family
If you're looking for health insurance and life insurance products to include in your employee benefits package, you'll find that there are many different policy types and options available for your consideration. You may therefore find it beneficial to have the guidance and advice of an experienced insurance professional when you're deciding which policies to purchase.
Talk to a local independent insurance agent for help when you're shopping for employee benefits insurance products.
Why Work with an Independent Insurance Agent in Tullahoma, TN?
Business insurance needs can vary significantly from one company to the next. The risks at a local coffee shop are very different from those at a metal fabrication plant. That's why there's no such thing as a one-size-fits-all business insurance plan. With a wide variety of products and options at your disposal, you can fully customize your coverage.
Independent insurance agents can help you choose the right policies and options to meet your company’s specific coverage needs. Because they don't work for a particular insurance company, these agents can shop around to find the best business insurance policies at the most competitive prices. Contact an insurance agent in Tullahoma to learn more.
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts
https://www.fema.gov/disasters
http://www.naic.org/prod_serv/AUT-PB-14.pdf
https://www.nfib.com/content/legal-compliance/legal/workers-compensation-laws-state-by-state-comparison-57181
https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/benefits/pages/alter-benefits-attract-retain.aspx
https://www.business.org/hr/benefits/top-reasons-to-offer-employee-benefits
http://www.city-data.com