How To Lower Your Business Insurance Costs
Paying premiums for commercial insurance can add up, especially over years or decades in business. When you think about the problem, you should focus on the things that business insurance carriers care about. Here are four items you can handle that will reduce your costs.
Employee Training
A sizeable chunk of insurance claims boil down to some version of someone did something wrong and something was damaged or someone was hurt. Make sure your employees are properly trained to handle equipment, systems, and processes. Train them to understand what to do when things go wrong so they can mitigate the risks as quickly as possible. Improving responses to bad situations can mean the difference between filing a claim for a couple of thousand dollars of equipment or paying out hundreds of thousands of dollars in an injury suit when a customer gets hurt. That's going to show up in your premiums.
Secure Your Company
It's easy to lean on the belief that your business is located in a safe area and that security isn't a big deal. Even if crime never becomes a problem, security is a bigger issue that covers things like fire suppression systems, workplace safety, customer safety, and even information security. This means having systems in place to protect your property, employees, and customers.
Evaluate Your Commercial Insurance Policies Every Year
Another area where businesses can get lax is just cruising along happily with their existing insurance policies. It might feel like one less thing to worry about, but it's wise to evaluate your policy with fresh eyes every year. You may have equipment that's no longer even at your location, for example, but it's still on your policy and being paid for. Do the evaluation around the same time you handle some other annual task, such as taxes or reports, to ensure that it gets done.
Take Advantage of Bundles
If possible, try to bundle as many insurance policies as possible to get discounts. A business that has a couple of company cars, for example, should be bundling its auto coverage with other policies, such as commercial liability, premises liability, and workers' compensation policies.
If you already have several insurance policies with one company and don't feel like you're getting a sufficient discount, don't be afraid to directly ask for a better discount. If you are still not happy with the offered discount, it can't hurt to shop around.
To learn more about commercial insurance, contact an insurance agent in your area.