Insurance is an essential part of running any business, but knowing what insurance you need isn’t that obvious. 

This is one thing you don’t want to get wrong. 

Here’s why: For almost any business, large or small, one type of insurance will not be enough. Without complete coverage, you still run the same basic risk as having no insurance at all: that an expected incident could lead to financial catastrophe, tanking your business, if not also your personal finances, in the process. 

For example, you don’t want to be in the position of paying for just general liability coverage only to have one of your employees sue over a workplace injury and realize that you also needed workers compensation insurance. 

So what do you need? Below is a list of the common essentials: 

General liability insurance

This is essential for your business. Without it, a customer or someone else from the public could file a claim for a business and risk putting you out of business. The classic example is the case of someone slipping and falling on the steps to your office, in which case general liability insurance would protect you and your assets. As the name suggests, general liability insurance applies to any ‘general’ claims against your business – whether it’s the delivery driver who says a pothole in your lot damaged his truck to the business owner next door who blames your stopped-up toilet for flooding in his offices. There are a lot of different pieces to general liability insurance, so it might help to review this primer before calling your insurance carrier or agent.

Professional liability insurance

 This is not to be confused with general liability insurance, which is for general claims. Professional liability insurance – which may go by different names depending on the business – is specific to your business. For a car window-tinting business it would protect you if a customer claimed you damaged their car, or that the window-tinting work caused an accident. Note that professional liability insurance only protects you in the course of your regular duties. Again, this is a must-have for your business. 

Workers compensation

It’s hard to underestimate the importance of worker’s compensation, which covers medical treatment, rehabilitation expenses, and any other costs related to an injury that occurred at a workplace while doing work. Even if your business doesn’t have the heavy equipment that an auto mechanic might have, your employees are working with multi-ton machines, so it’s prudent to protect your business from accidents. If you’re hesitant to pay for yet more insurance, keep this statistic in mind: the average worker’s compensation claim is $20,000, according to Forbes. Is that something that you could afford to pay for out of pocket? If you are your only employee, this becomes less essential but is still something you should consider as a supplement to your personal health insurance, especially in injury-prone work or if you have subcontractors (see this article for more information). 

Commercial property insurance

 If you own your own building, commercial property insurance is pretty much a no-brainer: it’s your business’ version of homeowners insurance. If you are renting your space, you should consider commercial renter’s insurance. Both types of insurance will protect anything you have of value inside your business – such as supplies and equipment – in the event of a fire or other catastrophe. 

Business interruption insurance

This protects your business in case a major natural disaster forces you to temporarily close your business. It can replace lost business income and also covers disaster-related expenses such as a temporary move, payroll, and other business costs, according to Investopedia. If you’re questioning this one, think about the last time you saw a news report about a major flood inundating some community, or a major forest fire that devastates hundreds of acres of land, or tornado that bulldozed its way through some town. Think about those events and how much it would affect your business if it happened to you. Then consider how business insurance would allow your business to survive even if your physical office location was inaccessible or even obliterated by one of these natural disasters. 

Yes, it may seem a like a lot, but the first two are must-haves for any window-tinting business. The third is too if you have any employees. When it comes to the last two, remember that the more insurance you have, the more coverage you have in case of unexpected events. 

Remember, the above list is just the general standard. You should check with your insurance carrier or independent insurance agent as to what your individual business needs.