If you run an online marketplace (think of Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Wish, Alibaba, Etsy, Google Express, etc.), liability insurance may be one of your most important purchases. As an entrepreneur, you need to ensure that any mishap with your product or service is covered by insurance rather than coming out of your pocket. What if someone gets injured or sick using your product? What if the eCommerce platform you use to sell your products requires you to buy a liability insurance policy like how Amazon does? And what is liability insurance, anyway?
Liability insurance can protect your business and your finances against claims from injuries or damages. If you’re an eCommerce business, it’s something you need. What’s the cheapest way to get general liability insurance?
What Is General Liability Insurance?
Also known as general commercial liability (CGL) insurance, general liability insurance is coverage that protects you from claims including bodily injury, property damage, personal injury, and more. If your business is sued, general liability insurance can cover the costs of legal fees and any settlements or judgments awarded.
General liability insurance can protect you in situations that are beyond your control, so it’s crucial to ensure you have enough coverage to support your business. However, this coverage can get expensive, and the price will continue to rise as your business grows.
To get the cheapest general liability insurance, you need to know what kind of policy best suits your company’s needs. You’ll also want to learn how to save money on the cost of that policy over time by ensuring it has the right amount of coverage and limits. Here’s how to get the cheapest general liability insurance.
Different Types of Liability Insurance for Businesses
In addition to general liability insurance, there are other types of liability insurance, such as employer liability insurance, professional liability insurance, and D&O liability insurance. Let’s discuss each type:
D&O Liability Insurance
Directors and officers of a corporation are often responsible for critical management decisions. Directors and Officers Insurance protects company employees if any of the directors or officers make an error, fail to act, or are negligent in their duties. This coverage protects the other firm members as a result.
Employer Liability Insurance
Workplace injuries can occur in a variety of workplace environments. An employee can be injured in any workplace, even if no hazardous or manual tasks are involved. As a result, employers must maintain workers’ compensation funds through employer liability insurance. If an employee is injured while working under your supervision, you may have to reimburse them for any resulting expenses. Employer liability insurance covers situations like these.
Professional Liability
Professional Liability insurance protects professionals from negligence claims and claims based on torts. “Professionals” can refer to accountants, doctors, and lawyers. This insurance protects practicing professionals from liability claims and covers things not included in general liability insurance.
Why Do eCommerce Sellers Need Liability Insurance?
While running an e-commerce business might mitigate some of the risks that traditional brick-and-mortar businesses face, like slip-and-fall accidents or physical damage to storefronts, online retailers are not entirely risk-free.
General liability insurance is therefore needed to help online stores cover financial losses and damage caused by their operations.
Risks associated with e-commerce businesses include:
- Injuries or property damage caused by defective products.
- Personal or advertisement injuries.
- Customer property damages.
What Does Liability Insurance Cover for eCommerce Businesses?
As with any insurance, the coverage that a plan provides depends on the coverage level and the insurer. General liability insurance coverage is broadly divided into four categories. Small and medium-sized online retailers usually take out general liability insurance to protect themselves from third-party claims. Here are some of the things that general liability insurance typically covers:
- Bodily injury
- Property damage
- Advertisement liability
- Product-related liability
Bodily Injury
If your business gets a lot of foot traffic, it may be worthwhile getting bodily injury coverage. Many fast food joints display a “caution – wet floor” sign prominently. As a result, if a customer falls on a wet floor and gets injured, the establishment might not be held liable for the injury.
Property Damage
People aren’t always the ones hurt in a liability claim; property may also be damaged. If you own a construction business, you could accidentally damage the property. You’d be held liable and sued regardless of what caused the damage. You’d be wise to take out a coverage plan that covers property damage.
Advertising Liability
Say your product makes it big. People may talk about it or share facts related to your brand, or you may promote it through marketing and advertising campaigns. If you say anything about another company or brand that could affect their business, you may be sued for libel or slander. Insurance can protect you from personal injury liability.
Product Liability
Say a customer accidentally gets injured by a product you sell on Amazon. Since Amazon won’t cover the damage, you now face a liability claim on your own. Product liability insurance will cover all legal and medical costs of injuries caused by a defect in the product. If you’re an Amazon seller, you’re required to purchase liability insurance and list Amazon as a protected party in your policy.
Other Insurance Options for eCommerce Businesses
A general liability policy is most critical for e-commerce businesses, but additional coverage may be beneficial for others.
Here are some of the types of business insurance online retailers might consider, along with the typical coverage they offer.
Cybersecurity Insurance
This type of insurance provides coverage for hacks, ransomware attacks, and data breaches can cause major financial losses. Cybersecurity insurance covers the cost of notifying your customers, investigating the incident, and providing credit monitoring services if your e-commerce website is hacked and your customers’ credit card information is released. It can also cover costs such as risk assessments in case of future incidents, or legal fees or settlements in the event that a third party sues your company due to a cyber attack.
Inland Marine Insurance
eCommerce businesses often rely on third-party service providers to get their products to customers. This arrangement can be a risk, as the business may not have control over the security of their products while they’re in transit.
Inland marine insurance is a type of coverage that protects your business property while it’s in transit or while it’s stored at a third-party location. It covers damage that results from theft, vandalism, as well as certain hazards and weather events.
If you’re receiving a delivery of computers for your online electronics store — and during the process, the delivery van is broken into and several boxes of computers are stolen — this policy would help cover the costs to replace them.
Business Interruption Insurance
If your business is based online, you know the risk of losing your income and operating expenses is real.
If a fire destroys your warehouse where you ship your store’s online orders, this policy would cover the income you’re losing as you rebuild, as well as the essential expenses you need to pay until you’re up and running again.
Business Property Insurance
f you run an online jewelry store and an electrical fire destroys all of the supplies stored in your office, this policy would help cover the costs to replace your inventory.
Business property insurance covers financial losses that occur due to damage or destruction of business property. This includes inventory and other physical assets. It also covers financial losses if your property is damaged due to certain weather events, hazards and accidents.
How Do You Find the Cheapest General Liability Insurance?
When it comes to choosing liability insurance, the last thing you need is to be overwhelmed by your options. Take the guesswork out of finding the cheapest liability coverage with an insurance comparison platform like Spott. Spott is an online platform that lets you find the best insurance deals for your business. We make the process easy by assessing the risk for you.
You just enter a few pieces of information about your business, like the type of business you own and how many employees work for you. With a simple click, Spott will generate the best insurance quote from top providers. If you have any questions, you can always speak to a real person who can help you through the entire process.
Use Spott to find the best liability insurance for your business. You’ll rest assured knowing you’ve gotten the cheapest liability insurance coverage without the hassle. We help you navigate the process because we speak insurance and we understand insurance. Spott will get you the best deal based on your unique needs as an eCommerce seller.
Lawsuits can happen to any business, and they can be devastating whether the claims are legitimate or not. Don’t let anyone put you on the stand or jeopardize your business! Get your quote for the cheapest liability insurance at Spott and protect yourself!
When it comes to covering your business against potential lawsuits and claims, you may not be sure how much insurance you need and what kind. Professional liability insurance protects your business in case of a claim or lawsuit. If you have employees or work with customers, you need to ensure you have the right type of liability insurance to protect your business. Insurance providers offer a wide range of policies with different benefits and coverage levels, so choosing the right kind for your business is essential. For the cheapest liability insurance, go with Spott. Start today to save up to 30% on your liability insurance.
