As someone running a business, whether you have employees or you work alone as an individual, protecting yourself and your work is the most important thing to do. At ISU Armac, our insurance options, including general liability insurance, will help keep you and your business safe.
Can You Get General Liability Insurance as an Individual?
If you are looking for ways to protect yourself and your business, then general liability insurance is something that you’re going to want to consider. Businesses can benefit greatly from this type of insurance, especially if something unexpected happens in your workplace.
This type of insurance is an integral part of protecting yourself, your clients, and your business. But while it’s important to have if you run a business with employees, you might be wondering if it’s something that could be useful if you’re an individual or an independent contractor? Can it still benefit you? The answer is yes, and there are plenty of ways it can do that. Let’s get to know a little bit more about this kind of insurance, and the ways it can protect you.
What Is General Liability Insurance?
When you have your own business, whether it’s something that requires employees or something that you’re running on your own, there are lots of things that can go wrong. The good news is that many of these things you can plan for. The bad news is that sometimes life has unexpected things in store for you.
The fact of the matter is that you can’t plan for everything! Accidents happen, and these accidents could result in a serious strain on your business. General liability insurance, or GLI, is an essential way to keep your safe in the event that an accident happens.
What Does GLI Cover?
When you get GLI, you and your business will be covered for a variety of issues. These issues can also vary from state to state. Broadly speaking, there are a few issues that GLI will provide coverage for.
Product Liability.
If you sell or manufacture a product that unintentionally harms someone or causes property damage, then the person who purchased your product may demand compensation for these damages.
If something like this happens, GLI will provide you with product liability insurance. This will help you cover the costs of damages and other legal expenses if something goes wrong with your product.
Bodily Injury
Bodily injury can come in many forms and can be caused by a wide range of things. If something related to your business causes someone else bodily injury and you and your business are at fault, then the injured person can seek out compensation.
If a customer or client has been injured in this manner, then GLI will help you cover any costs associated with fixing the issue.
Tenant Liability
Your business may require that you operate out of a facility separate from your home. In these cases, you may need to rent out space where your operating procedures can take place. While you may do your best to keep things clean and running smoothly, there are some things that you may not be able to account for.
If any part of your business results in damages to the space you’re renting out, you’ll be responsible for the damages. GLI will help you cover the cost of these damages.
Advertising Injury
This may be a surprising possibility, but injury or damages resulting from advertising are very real possibilities and something you need to protect yourself from. Some examples of injury caused by advertising include libel, slander, piracy, defamation, and violation of privacy.
If your advertising causes harm to another person or business, then that could put you at risk for some costly legal fees. If you are accused of anything libel, slander, or false advertising, then GLI can help you cover the fees needed to combat this.
How Does GLI Help Individuals?
Regardless of whether you have a multi-employee business or you are a freelancer working for yourself, running any kind of business comes with a certain level of risk. As an independent worker or contractor, you have the same level of risk that anyone else running a small business has. If something happens that results in injury or damages, then you’ll be responsible for paying out of pocket if you’re not covered by insurance. That can put a serious dent in your finances.
That said, different individuals performing different jobs will have varying levels of risk. The same is true for any business owner. For example, if you are an independent contractor that works as a carpenter, then you would have different risks than someone who works as a hairstylist. However, GLI would cover the risks of both types of work.
How Much Will GLI Cost Me As an Individual?
When it comes to getting any type of insurance, one of the biggest questions and concerns is how much it’s going to cost you. Just like any type of insurance, the amount that you pay for your GLI is going to depend on several factors. Your GLI will cost you a different amount than someone else’s.
Some of the things that will contribute to how much you pay for your insurance include the following factors:
• The number of years you’ve been in business
• The type of business you run
• Your business experience
• Your annual revenue
• Your history or claims
What Business Should Have GLI?
It doesn’t matter whether your business requires multiple employees to run or if you work for yourself. If you run a business, regardless of its size, then you should have GLI. All businesses are at risk for accidents, and therefore at risk for significant financial and legal issues.
However, there are some types of businesses that are more at risk for certain issues than others. So, even though all businesses should have GLI, if your business falls within the following categories, you are definitely going to want GLI to protect you.
You Work with Clients or Customers
If you are spending time working one-on-one with customers and clients, then that can carry a high level of risk.
If a client or customer is injured or experiences damages related to your business, then having GLI to cover the costs of these damages and get any legal help you might need will be crucial.
Your Location Is Accessible to the General Public
The more people there are that enter your business, the more chances there are for accidents to happen, and therefore the more at risk you are for injuries and damages. The general public can be especially unpredictable, which increases the chances of something happening at your business.
If your business is accessible to the general public, then you are going to want to make sure you have GLI even if you are an independent worker.
You Manage Client-Owned Property or Assets
There are many cases where your business might be in charge of managing assets or property that are owned by your clients. When you take on these assets, you are responsible for keeping them safe.
But accidents do happen, and sometimes life has things in store that we can’t anticipate. For cases like these, GLI will help cover the costs if any of your clients’ assets or properties are damaged because of your business.
You Rent Property
If your business requires that you rent out property outside of your home, then it’s important that you are properly insured. Even if you are as careful as possible when you work, there is still the risk that something could go wrong and the property you are renting gets damaged.
If you are renting commercial space, then you’ll want GLI to protect you in case anything ever goes wrong.
Other Types of Insurance
GLI is essential if you are looking for overall protection for your business, whether you’re a small business owner or you work as an individual.
If you are an individual or independent contractor, then you may want to consider looking into these types of insurance as well:
Business Auto Insurance
If your business requires that you drive, then you might want to consider getting business auto insurance. Essentially any vehicle that your business uses can be covered under a business auto insurance plan.
These plans can cover a range of different things, including injury or personal damage that could be caused by an accident.
Cyber Liability Insurance
If your business requires the use of computers, then you could be at risk for a cyber-attack. These attacks can be devasting and expensive to fix.
Cyber liability insurance is a specialized insurance product that we offer that will help you cover the costs of expenses and damages related to this type of attack.
When it comes to any type of business, having insurance is important. Even if you’re an individual, general liability insurance is something important to consider having. Get in touch with us today at ISU Armac to learn more about how our insurance can protect you.
