What Type of Insurance for Businesses Do You Really Need?

Running a successful business involves making constant decisions that can have major long-term consequences. From picking a business name and location to selecting pricing and suppliers, a business’s success can hinge on the basic choices the business owner makes. When it comes to insurance for business, choosing the perfect portfolio for your needs can feel like a bit of a test. To avoid your business getting left in the lurch at the worst possible time, you need to make sure that you know your Business Car Insurance from your Liability Insurance — and how Budget Insurance can meet all your insurance needs in a perfectly tailored package.

Insurance for business today: what you should know

Nobody ever said starting a business was easy. If it were simple, everyone would be doing it. Enterprises in South Africa have to deal with the impact of issues that range from interest rate and inflation fluctuations to compliance and scaling challenges. Here are some other factors that face South African businesses that you may not have considered.

Infrastructural challenges

South Africa’s infrastructure can impact everything from how your business gets from A to B to how well you can operate without power. For example, power outages show no sign of going away for good. Not being able to predict when and for how long you might lose power could have you falling behind on your commitments or keep you from honouring them in the first place.

The poor state of many of our roads can also damage your company vehicles, escalating transport costs. Insurance for businesses can help you secure a Plan B for situations like these, or at least offer you a way to recoup unavoidable losses.

Scope of protection

No two businesses are alike, and what your business needs in terms of insurance is unlikely to be exactly what other businesses may require. This is important to understand as it’s likely that you’ll need more than Liability Insurance or Business Car Insurance to protect your business. The risk you face can take many forms. For example, if you operate online, cybercrime can be a concern. You might also operate in the public eye, which means that you could require professional reputation management in the event of negative publicity. Having the right insurance for your business means every aspect of your company gets protected.

Legal issues

A common misconception people have concerning Business Insurance is that you will only need legal protection if you knowingly and intentionally break the law.  The reality is that it’s much easier to accidentally break the law than you think by not submitting the correct form on time. You can also be held responsible for the acts of an employee, and in some cases, an employee, customer or supplier could even take legal action against you. It’s critical to understand that in these cases, you will still need to navigate the issue with costly legal representation, even if the dispute outcomes are in your favour.

3 Types of insurance for businesses that you definitely need

It can be challenging to envision what type of Business Insurance you might need. Here are three Business Insurance types that you might not have considered.

1. Building Insurance

Making the leap from operating out of your spare bedroom to  owning a business property, like a factory, is going to be one of the more expensive business decisions you make. Make sure you can retain your ability to operate by investing in insurance to protect the property you operate on. This will ensure that the building remains safe and comfortable to work in and that you can make any urgent repairs or replacements needed. Quick reaction time and insurance can ensure a speedy recovery following an incident like a building fire or flood damage. 

2. Business Car Insurance

Having a dedicated company vehicle saves you from worrying about an employee driving your personal car over long distances. All it takes is one accident to hold up critical business deliveries and disappoint customers. The costs associated with car repair can also be extensive and specialised, which is why Business Car Insurance coverage is essential. 

Imagine the following scenario: Terence is a business owner who started making stick ice cream in his kitchen. He eventually scaled up his business and now operates a factory and delivers ice cream around the city. Terence has branded his delivery truck and modified it so that it can support refrigeration and keep his ice creams cool all day on the road. Having insurance means that should his truck get damaged in an accident, he will be able to restore it to full functionality and appearance so that it can start operating again. 

3. Liability Insurance

All customer-facing businesses can experience some measure of risk. A simple accident that nobody could have foreseen or prevented can result in a third-party legal claim for damages or injury. In many cases, it may be cheaper for your business’s reputation to honour a claim and resolve the issue as amicably as possible.

Consider Lundy, who operates a nail salon. One day, a social media influencer visits the salon for a pedicure, but ends up hurting her back after the chair breaks with her in it. The influencer lodges a claim against the salon for losses from being unable to work due to the injury. Although nobody could have predicted that the chair would break, the salon is liable, and Lundy honours the claim — something she can afford to do thanks to Liability Insurance.

Get a Business Insurance quote

Running a business comes with many challenges, but it can also be rewarding in ways you never anticipated. To make sure that you get to enjoy the fruits of your labour, we strongly recommend contacting the Budget Insurance team for a Business Insurance quote. Ensure your business is protected from whatever the future throws at it - get in touch today.