Running a small business in Northwest Ohio involves risks that may be difficult to absorb without disrupting the company’s operations or finances. A fire, customer injury, vehicle accident, equipment breakdown, cyber incident, or allegation of professional negligence could create expenses that extend well beyond the immediate damage.
The right insurance program depends on what your business does, where it operates, whether it has employees, what property it owns, and the services it provides. This checklist can help you identify exposures to discuss with a licensed insurance advisor.
Begin With the Risks Your Business Cannot Absorb
Before selecting policies and limits, consider which losses your business could not comfortably pay on its own.
Ask questions such as:
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What would happen if a customer were injured on the premises?
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Could the business replace its building, inventory, tools, or equipment after a major loss?
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How long could the company pay its continuing expenses if operations stopped?
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Do employees drive company-owned or personal vehicles for work?
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Does the business provide advice, designs, recommendations, or professional services?
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What sensitive customer, employee, or payment information does the business store?
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Does the company rely on specialized machinery, utilities, suppliers, or one key location?
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Do leases or customer contracts require specific insurance?
These questions provide a better starting point than assuming every small business needs the same coverage.
Explore Short Agency Insurance’s available business insurance options for additional coverage information.
General Liability Insurance
General liability insurance commonly addresses certain third-party claims involving bodily injury, property damage, and personal or advertising injury.
Examples may include:
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A customer slipping and being injured at your business
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An employee accidentally damaging a customer’s property
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A claim arising from completed work
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Certain claims involving advertising or reputational injury
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Legal defense expenses for a potentially covered lawsuit
Coverage depends on the policy and circumstances. General liability does not cover every lawsuit, professional mistake, employee injury, auto accident, or intentional act.
Review who should be included as an insured and whether a lease or customer contract requires additional-insured status, a certificate of insurance, or specific limits. Contract requirements do not automatically change what the policy covers.
Learn more about general liability insurance and the types of claims it may address.
Commercial Property Insurance
Commercial property insurance may protect buildings and business personal property against covered causes of loss. The property that needs to be insured depends partly on whether the business owns or leases its location.
Property to review may include:
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Buildings and permanently installed fixtures
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Inventory and finished products
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Furniture and office equipment
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Computers and communication systems
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Machinery, tools, and production equipment
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Tenant improvements and betterments
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Outdoor signs, fencing, and other exterior property
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Property temporarily away from the premises
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Property belonging to customers or others
Confirm that every insured location is listed and that the limits reflect current values. Ask whether property is valued at replacement cost or actual cash value and whether coinsurance, deductibles, seasonal inventory, or property-off-premises provisions apply.
Flood, sewer backup, equipment breakdown, wear and tear, and utility interruption are not necessarily covered by standard commercial property insurance. Some exposures may require separate coverage or an endorsement.
Additional information is available on our commercial property insurance page.
Business Income and Extra Expense Coverage
Repairing a damaged building does not replace the revenue lost while a company is unable to operate.
Business income coverage may help replace certain lost income and continuing expenses when operations are suspended because of covered physical damage. Extra expense coverage may help pay certain additional costs incurred to continue operating or shorten the interruption.
Depending on the policy, expenses may include:
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Temporary workspace
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Equipment rental
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Moving costs
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Expedited shipping
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Additional labor
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Temporary technology or communication services
This coverage generally requires a qualifying covered loss and is subject to limits, waiting periods, restoration periods, exclusions, and other policy conditions. It does not cover every shutdown or decline in revenue.
When selecting a limit, use accurate revenue, payroll, and expense information. Consider how long repairs, permitting, equipment replacement, or relocation could realistically take.
Professional Liability Insurance
Businesses that provide professional advice or services may have exposures that are not covered by general liability insurance. Professional liability insurance—often called errors and omissions insurance—may address certain claims alleging negligence, mistakes, omissions, or a failure to perform professional services as expected.
Businesses that might consider this coverage include:
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Consultants
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Accountants and bookkeepers
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Technology firms
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Designers and engineers
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Real estate professionals
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Insurance agencies
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Marketing firms
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Healthcare and other professional-service providers
Professional liability policies can differ significantly. Review the definition of professional services, exclusions, retroactive date, claim-reporting requirements, and whether the policy is written on a claims-made basis.
Do not assume a general liability policy covers allegations arising from professional advice or services.
Business Auto and Hired or Non-Owned Auto
A personal auto policy may not adequately address a vehicle used for business. If the company owns, leases, or regularly uses vehicles, review whether business auto insurance is appropriate.
Consider:
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Vehicles titled to the business
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Delivery or service vehicles
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Employees driving between customer locations
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Employees using personal vehicles for business errands
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Vehicles rented for business purposes
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Trailers and permanently attached equipment
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Drivers who have been hired or removed
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Where vehicles are stored and how far they travel
Hired and non-owned auto liability coverage may address certain liability exposures involving rented vehicles or employee-owned vehicles used for company business. It does not necessarily provide physical damage coverage for the employee’s vehicle or every type of business use.
Confirm which drivers and vehicles are covered and whether the policy addresses the business’s actual operations.
Workers’ Compensation and Employment-Related Requirements
Ohio private employers regularly employing one or more employees generally have workers’ compensation obligations, although definitions, exceptions, ownership arrangements, and worker classifications can affect the requirement.
Workers’ compensation may provide eligible employees with benefits related to occupational injuries or illnesses. It should not be treated as interchangeable with general liability, health insurance, or disability insurance.
Because employee and independent-contractor classifications can be complicated, business owners should confirm their obligations with the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation or an appropriate professional. The Ohio Revised Code contains additional information concerning private employers and workers’ compensation reporting.
Businesses should also review whether they need:
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Employment practices liability insurance
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Employee benefits liability
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Crime or employee dishonesty coverage
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Fiduciary liability
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State-required unemployment coverage
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Coverage for employees temporarily working outside Ohio
Cyber Insurance
Businesses of almost every size use email, electronic payment systems, cloud storage, customer databases, or connected equipment. Cyber insurance may address some of the costs arising from a covered cyber incident.
Depending on the policy, coverage may include:
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Data-breach response expenses
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Customer notification
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Cyber extortion or ransomware
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Data restoration
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Business interruption
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Network-security or privacy liability
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Regulatory investigation expenses
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Payment-fraud or social-engineering losses
These coverages are not automatically included in every cyber policy. Security controls, reporting requirements, sublimits, waiting periods, exclusions, and policy definitions can significantly affect coverage.
Cyber insurance should supplement—not replace—strong passwords, multifactor authentication, backups, employee training, software updates, and payment-verification procedures.
Equipment Breakdown Coverage
Commercial property insurance commonly addresses damage caused by covered external events, such as fire or wind. Equipment breakdown coverage may address certain sudden mechanical, electrical, or pressure-system failures.
Examples can involve:
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Electrical panels and transformers
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Heating and cooling systems
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Refrigeration equipment
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Boilers and pressure vessels
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Production machinery
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Computer-controlled equipment
Equipment breakdown does not function as a maintenance contract. Wear and tear, gradual deterioration, corrosion, and failure to properly maintain equipment may be excluded.
Ask whether coverage includes damage to the equipment itself, damage to other property, spoilage, business income, or extra expense.
Industry-Specific Coverage
A contractor, restaurant, salon, rental-property owner, professional office, manufacturer, and retail store do not face identical risks. Your insurance program should reflect how the business actually operates.
Industry-specific considerations may include:
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Contractors equipment and installation coverage
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Inland marine insurance
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Liquor liability
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Product liability
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Pollution or environmental liability
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Garage liability or garagekeepers coverage
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Bailee coverage for customer property
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Builders risk
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Commercial umbrella insurance
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Directors and officers liability
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Key person life insurance
Tell your advisor about every significant product, service, location, and business activity. An activity that is not accurately described to the insurer may create an unexpected coverage issue.
Could a Business Owner’s Policy Be an Option?
A business owner’s policy, commonly called a BOP, generally combines certain commercial property, general liability, and business income coverages in one package.
A BOP may simplify insurance for eligible small and midsized businesses, but it does not automatically include every coverage discussed in this checklist. Commercial auto, workers’ compensation, professional liability, cyber, employment practices liability, and industry-specific protection may need to be purchased separately or added by endorsement.
Eligibility depends on factors such as the business’s industry, size, revenue, property, location, and operations.
Learn more about a business owner’s policy and whether this type of package may be available for your company.
Annual Small Business Insurance Review Checklist
Review your insurance at least annually and whenever the business changes significantly.
Notify your insurance advisor when you:
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Add or close a location
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Purchase or lease equipment
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Renovate a building
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Add products or services
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Hire employees
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Increase payroll or revenue
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Purchase or sell vehicles
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Begin delivering products
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Sign a major lease or customer contract
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Store more inventory
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Expand into another state
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Begin accepting online payments
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Change the legal entity or ownership
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Perform work outside the activities originally reported
Bring current property values, equipment lists, driver information, payroll, revenue, contracts, leases, and operational descriptions to the review.
Build an Insurance Program Around Your Business
There is no single small-business insurance package that is appropriate for every company. Coverage should reflect the business’s property, employees, vehicles, services, contracts, technology, and ability to absorb a loss.
Short Agency Insurance works with business owners in Archbold and throughout Northwest Ohio. If your company is new, growing, or changing, we can help you review available insurance options and identify questions to consider.
To begin the conversation, request a business insurance quote.
Coverage descriptions are general and are not a statement of coverage. Actual coverage is determined by the applicable policy language, endorsements, exclusions, limits, deductibles, and circumstances of each claim. Legal and regulatory requirements should be confirmed with the appropriate government agency or qualified professional
