Hardwood Floors December 2017/January 2018

BUSINESS BEST PRACTICES

By Bree Urech-Boyle

FINANCE

BUSINESS INSURANCE What do you need?

from all business risks. e example they used was a business that inadvertently breaks intellectual property laws or is sued by an employee. Another signi cant point in the article is that o en a client will request evidence of your certi cate of general liability before doing business with you. is is especially true in our industry where workers are entering homes to work on client’s oors. e client wants to see it to feel be er about their liability in case something goes wrong in addition to the wood ooring professional needing coverage for protection. I have heard many stories from the best of the best in our industry. Bad things happen to good people all the time. Good people that are working hard, mastering their cra , and have all the best intentions. Don’t assume taking the high road will protect you. Our broker also provided a bulleted list of basic coverage you may consider purchasing. e list is broken down into two categories, property and casualty insurance, and health and related insurance.

work you put into building your business. Not many small businesses could survive litigation that can easily span hundreds of thousands of dollars. e next question generally is, “what kind of business insurance do I need?” Insurance coverage is o en something you don’t know is adequate or not until you need it. How do you know if it’s adequate? One great place to start is with a good insurance broker, someone you trust to be straight with you while looking out for the needs (both now and in the future) of your business. If you own your business, the broker could also understand you personally and know how to cover those needs as well. To add value to this article, I reached out to the insurance broker for the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA). Our broker rst called a ention to an article on the U.S. Small Business Administration’s website, sba.gov. e article, “What Kind of Business Insurance Do You Need?” is a short and easy read that includes several helpful nuggets of information including the fact that forming a Limited Liability Company (LLC) will not protect you personally

To prepare myself to write this article, in addition to slightly more serious research, I spent a few minutes scrolling through business insurance cartoons on the internet. One included a mustached man that was speaking to a woman si ing at a computer. He asks, “What happens when we have a re…I mean IF we have a re?!” Another included two men si ing at a desk, one presumably the agent with a paper in his hand speaking to the other. He says, “I think you misunderstood. e million dollar umbrella policy only covers you for claims involving an umbrella.” A favorite was a pig si ing at a table looking distraught talking with his agent. e agent says, “Your policy does cover wind damage, but not from hu ng and pu ng.” On a spectrum of silly to cruel, they were nearly all negative regarding the insurance industry. Like many jokes, there is some truth to them, but they are mostly exaggerated. In reality, there are many reasons that business insurance is a good idea. ey may include regulatory requirements, entities at high-risk (think doctors), and situations where an insurable situation could destroy the hard

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