Kitchener is recognized for its tech industries, higher education, and multicultural events, including the largest Oktoberfest celebration outside Germany. This is an excellent place to put down roots, whether you’re starting a family or starting up a business enterprise, and if it’s the latter, it’s important to invest in the right business insurance. Kitchener business owners are subject to the same risks that business owners everywhere face, and having protection against financial setbacks is a key part of ensuring your business success.
Get the peace of mind that comes with knowing you won’t have to pay out of pocket to repair your commercial property or replace equipment following a disaster, or for the costs of litigation and settlement if you are sued for allegedly causing harm to a third party with comprehensive business insurance. Kitchener insurance brokers at Morison Insurance have the skill and experience to help you compare quotes from multiple insurance companies and get the coverage you need for your business to thrive.
Kitchener commercial or business insurance is a package of coverage that is designed to address the needs of business owners in general and your unique insurance requirements in particular. These coverages tend to fall into one of two categories: property insurance and liability insurance.
If your business location and the equipment, stock and inventory inside are damaged or destroyed by an insured peril, the property portion of your Kitchener business insurance will provide you with the funds necessary to rebuild, repair or replace what was lost, up to your coverage limits. On the other hand, if you have legal action brought against you because you or an employee allegedly caused harm, the cost of defending yourself in court can be covered, up to your liability limits, by the liability coverage on your business insurance in Kitchener.
There is a wide range of insurance coverage available for commercial businesses in Kitchener, Ontario. When you speak with a qualified Morison Insurance broker, you can feel confident that we will tailor your coverage to suit your individual insurance needs. That will include standard coverage such as commercial general liability and commercial property insurance, but you will likely also need additional types of Kitchener business insurance that pertain to your industry, location and business practices.
Commercial general liability (CGL) insurance serves as a crucial shield for businesses against liability risks, including claims related to bodily injury and property damage involving third parties. This insurance varies by industry and effectively addresses general liability concerns. Even if you are incredibly careful in how you run your business, you are still at risk of costly lawsuits stemming from allegations that you or an employee have done something to cause harm or damage to a third party. Because liability lawsuits can be astronomically expensive, securing commercial general liability insurance is essential for business owners in every industry, as it helps mitigate out-of-pocket expenses associated with potentially overwhelming legal costs. This includes fees for legal mediation, court proceedings, attorney representation, and if you are found liable, the costs of settlement.
Also known as errors and omissions insurance (E&O), professional liability insurance is essential for anyone who provides professional advice and services, from a marketing consultant to a personal fitness trainer, because it offers financial support for lawsuits arising from allegations of misconduct, poor professional advice, negligence, failure to deliver goods as promised, professional misconduct and breach of contract.
It’s no secret that lawsuits are very expensive and cause a huge amount of stress, financial and otherwise. Paying for your own legal defence and court-ordered settlement is often not even possible without the protection against financial ruin that is provided by the right business insurance. Kitchener professionals can rely on the licensed insurance brokers at Morison Insurance to recommend professional liability insurance coverage and other insurance solutions that fit their needs to a tee.
No matter what type of business you run, you likely have a dedicated space to carry out your work—whether it’s a large commercial facility or a room in your own house. Like any other type of property, your commercial space is vulnerable to damage or destruction from a wide variety of risks, including fire, natural disasters, floods, theft, vandalism and much more. If the worst happens and your business property is rendered unusable, the commercial property insurance portion of your business insurance in Kitchener will help you avoid financial loss by providing you with insurance compensation for rebuilding, repairing or replacing your commercial building and everything contained within.
While commercial property insurance exists to help you handle the cost of repairing and replacing your commercial assets following a disaster, the process of rebuilding after something like a fire doesn’t happen overnight. While the restoration is underway, you’ll still have expenses to deal with at a time when you’re unable to generate revenue, and that’s why it’s important to have business interruption coverage as part of your business insurance. Kitchener business owners can file a claim to receive compensation for loss of income, employee wages, lease payments and more from their business interruption insurance provider.
If you manufacture goods or fabricate parts, product liability insurance is a necessary addition to your business insurance in Kitchener. From baking cookies to machining vehicle components and beyond, manufacturing your own products opens you up to potential litigation for harm caused by your products. Product liability covers the cost of lawsuits for allegations that your product caused third-party property damage or third-party bodily injury due to design flaws, manufacturing defects or marketing errors, which could include incorrect labelling. If you manufacture an edible product, for example, and fail to label it with allergens, you could be forced to file a product liability claim on your Kitchener business insurance.
Canadian businesses are not required by the government to have business insurance, and of course, that applies to Kitchener as well. There are some exceptions—commercial auto insurance is required for anyone using a vehicle for commercial purposes, and some professionals are required by their associations to have professional liability coverage. But for the most part, it’s not mandatory.
That doesn’t mean you will be able to operate your business successfully without the right business insurance. Kitchener business owners sometimes consider going without commercial insurance to save a little money, but it ends up costing a lot more in the long run. First, there’s the fact that most business owners simply don’t have the extra funds available to deal with extreme expenses, such as the cost of restoring a property after a fire or the cost of being sued and found liable in court. Second, if you operate a business without insurance and then decide to get Kitchener business insurance later on, you may find that some insurance companies will refuse to insure your business or will charge a higher rate than they would have if you had insurance in place from the start.
The third consideration is that some parties will refuse to do business with you if you don’t have the right types and amounts of business insurance. Kitchener leasing companies will typically require you to have commercial property coverage before they will lease a commercial space to you, for example, and other parties that are above or below you on the supply chain may not be willing to partner with you if you don’t have Kitchener business insurance, forcing you to walk away from lucrative contracts that will be snapped up by your competitors.
At Morison Insurance, we are the local insurance experts helping business owners in the Kitchener community. Our commercial line brokers specialize in finding the best business insurance coverage. An important part of that is giving you the ability to compare multiple quotes from Canada’s leading insurance providers so you can get exactly the coverage you need to address your risk exposures.
Give us a call at 1-800-463-8074 to get started on a commercial insurance quote today. Our team has extensive knowledge of the insurance products available to you, and we know which questions to ask to determine the best possible package of Kitchener business insurance for your commercial enterprise.