St. Catharines Business Insurance

St. Catharines Business Insurance

St. Catharines is a great place for those who enjoy seeing nature's beauty while being a larger city. It's close to the beauty of Niagara Falls, is filled with enough natural beauty to be nicknamed "The Garden City," and is still within driving distance of the largest cities in the GTA. As the largest city in the Niagara region, it would be a great place to set up a business. Although there is a lot of opportunity in doing so, opening any business comes with a lot more risk than an ordinary job would ever have. Even if you have set up a perfect business plan, are an expert on what you provide, and know precisely what your customers want, unexpected problems can always blindside you. St. Catharines business insurance is designed to protect you from these risks.

What Is St. Catharines Business Insurance?

St. Catharines business insurance is commercial insurance that protects business owners from potential losses outside of their control. While damage control and risk mitigation are certainly things that any business owner takes seriously, even the most cautious entrepreneur can’t lower the odds of an accident to zero. There’s always the chance for a defective product to slip through the cracks and harm a customer. Also, all it takes is one mistake for a situation such as a slip and fall to occur. Maybe a neighbour's building ignites, and the flames spread to yours, damaging it. In these situations,  a business insurance policy can assist.

Who Needs Business Insurance In St. Catharines?

Anyone who owns and runs a business in St. Catharines could use the protection of business insurance. While the majority of business owners do take many solid steps to prevent reasonable threats, and many particularly cautious ones take extra steps to minimize the risk even further, it's impossible to reduce the risk of something terrible happening to zero. Even if you take in only the most qualified employees available to you and give them the best training you reasonably can, it's still very possible that you will face an unfortunate circumstance that, despite not being your fault, places you on the hook for large amounts of money. St. Catharines business insurance would protect you from such cases and thus is recommended to any entrepreneur in the city.

What Does Business Insurance In St. Catharines Cover?

There is no single answer to this. Since every business has different insurance needs, each St. Catharines business insurance policy will be unique. A bricklayer insurance policy, for example, will not be the same as winery insurance. However, there are several different categories of business insurance that you can mix and match to get the type of policy that you want. Some of the most common and versatile protections can be seen below. If you would like to know more about creating a customized St. Catharines business insurance quote, your Morison Insurance Broker would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Commercial General Liability Coverage

Commercial general liability insurance is designed to protect you in the case that your business is the target of legal action launched by a third party. This can happen in cases where your company is seen as legally responsible for bodily injury or property damage. This includes incidents such as potential slip and falls. Having Commercial General Liability coverage as part of your St. Catharines business insurance is imperative.

Commercial Property Insurance

Even in today's ultra-digitized world, the vast majority of businesses operate in a physical location, even if that place is a singular office for the owner to work out of. There are also several types of businesses, such as grocery stores, gyms, and barber shops, that require their location to be physical in order to serve their customers. This property is in danger of being broken into, burned down in a fire, vandalized, and more. Including commercial property insurance in your St. Catharines business insurance policy will help reimburse you in the case of your business's physical location and/or its contents being damaged or lost, such as your business' contents stored on location are stolen.

Professional Liability Insurance

Professional liability insurance, also known as errors & omissions liability insurance, protects those who give out advice in the event they make a miscalculation. This would include situations such as an accountant overlooking a small detail in a client's finances or the general market, a personal trainer who recommends exercises that harm a client, or a graphic designer who accidentally uses a logo similar to a competitor's existing client. Having Professional Liability coverage will cover you in these instances.

Commercial Automobile and Fleet Insurance

There is a solid chance that your business requires the use of a vehicle. Many businesses use vehicles to deliver goods to clients and customers, carry their own equipment, drive their own employees from place to place, and for several other purposes. If you do, you need commercial auto and fleet insurance as part of your St. Catharines business program to properly protect your work vehicles.

You might think that a personal car insurance policy might protect your commercial vehicle. However, this is not true. If a vehicle being used for the business is involved in an accident while being used for the business and it’s rated as a personally used vehicles, your claim could be denied.  If your vehicle is used for business purposes of any kind you will need to ensure it is rated accordingly.

Business Interruption Insurance

As much as every entrepreneur wants to work on their business as often as they can, there are points where doing so is not possible. If their place of business is temporarily unable to function, any business will be damaged, and their income will be lost. This could happen due to damage to a company's headquarters, but it can also be brought about in other ways. In the majority of these cases, a shutdown business will also need to continue to pay many of its ongoing costs, putting it in the red. Business interruption insurance is designed to combat this, and help a company in this situation pull through.

Business interruption insurance will cover a company's lost income based on its shutdown being an insured peril under the policy, meaning that if your business has to temporarily close its doors, you will still be able to recover.

Equipment Breakdown Insurance

Equipment breakdown coverage is, as the name suggests, designed to protect a business in a situation where its equipment suddenly stops functioning. This could refer to any one of a wide range of important devices. HVAC systems, expensive computer equipment, equipment needed to heat or cool food, and more. 

If you have Equipment Breakdown insurance, and your company's equipment is no longer functional, your insurance provider could cover the costs of the replacement or repair of the equipment, allowing you to save large amounts of money. It is, however, important to note that Equipment Breakdown insurance will not reimburse you for equipment that breaks due to poor maintenance, as it is designed to protect against sudden and accidental losses.

Other Coverages

There are several other types of St. Catharines business insurance designed to provide coverage for a business in applicable situations. They include the following:

• Commercial umbrella liability insurance increases your Liability limit and can cover both your property and your automobiles in case your standard plan does not provide enough to cover an entire claim.
• Commercial cyber insurance protects your business against cybercrime if you are attacked.
• Legal expense coverage can provide access to external lawyers and other legal aid.

Please note that there is a wide variety of other policies designed to provide peace of mind. If you would like to know more about coverage that can protect you in various situations, speak with your expert insurance Broker at Morison Insurance.

Is St. Catharines Business Insurance Necessary For Home-Based Businesses?

A home insurance policy won't cover personal property when it's used for business purposes. That is why home-based business insurance is so helpful.

How Much Does Business Insurance Cost In St. Catharines?

Since every business is different, each St. Catharines business insurance quote will be different. Each business faces different risks, and each insurance company weighs and prioritizes these risks differently, meaning that you will almost certainly get different quotes from different companies. However, certain factors will play a role in determining your St. Catharines business insurance quote that can be used to help estimate the risks. Some of these factors are as follows:

• The size and location of your business The number of employees that you have
• Any risk mitigation taken
• Claims history
• The level of coverage desired 
• Any risks associated with the industry that the business is in

Please note that these are not the only factors that impact your St. Catherine's business insurance quote. If you would like to know more things that could potentially make an impact, your Morison Insurance broker will be happy to let you know.

How Can I Lower The Cost Of Business Insurance?

With all of the factors impacting what your St. Catharine's business insurance quote will be, many potential business owners would like to lower their quotes to more affordable rates. Luckily, there are enough factors under your control to do so if you wish. Each of the following are ways that you could get a more competitive quote:

• Increase your deductible
• Implement additional workplace safety steps to lower the risk of an accident
• Avoid making claims on small incidents to keep your claims history clean

Please note that these are not the only ways to get more competitive rates on your St. Catharines business insurance quote. If you would like to know more ways to save money on insurance, it is best that you speak with your Morison Insurance Broker.

Where Can I Get A St. Catharines Business Insurance Quote?

You can get a St. Catharines business insurance quote from Morison Insurance. Morison Insurance is a 5-star insurance brokerage with a range of insurance options and a dedicated team of Brokers who will work hard to get you the best insurance coverage you deserve. We can get you St. Catharines business insurance or something else in our broad array of personal and business insurance coverages. We are a family-owned and operated insurance brokerage with over a century of serving the people of Ontario with the best insurance coverage possible. Call us at 1-800-463-8074 or fill out the contact form below to get started and get the best insurance coverage possible.

This content is written by our Morison Insurance team. It is provided for general information only. Insurance needs differ from person to person, and this article is therefore not a substitute for professional advice about your individual insurance needs which can be obtained by speaking to one of our brokers.