Entrepreneurs have an unending number of decisions and headaches in their business’ early days. Insurance may not be top of mind, in fact, it may be an afterthought. That said, you very literally can’t afford not to carry it. Here are the essential policies every business owner must have.

Property

Property insurance covers two critical areas. First, you’re insured if a sign or a door breaks and needs to be replaced. Second, you can avoid being visited by a premises liability lawyer Orlando by protecting yourself against accidents that happen on your property, like the proverbial, dreaded “slips and falls.”

Professional Liability

Let’s say you have an employee who accidentally makes a clerical error that results in an industry-governing body-issued fine. Professional liability insurance will help you not be left writing the check. It’s important to make the distinction, however, that this protection is designed for unintentional mistakes, not deliberate malfeasance.

Product Liability

Product liability is an important tool to protect you from unexpected and unlikely accidents related to defective merchandise. Of course, first and foremost, you don’t want your product to hurt anyone. Should that happen, however, this insurance will at least help compensate them for damages that might have occurred.

Vehicle

Whether you use a single car for your business or own a fleet of automobiles, vehicle insurance is a must-have. Accidents happen on the road, often through no fault of the driver. Carrying collision and liability policies for your vehicles can avoid immense frustration and expense.

Workers Compensation

In some states, business owners are legally required to carry workers compensation insurance. Even if it’s optional, you want to invest in this. If an employee is hurt on the job or files a harassment or discrimination complaint, workers compensation kicks the issue into a whole other bucket that is much easier to deal with.

Home-Based Insurance

A quick note for people running a business out of their home: get home-based business insurance! In the event of your business equipment failing, it may or may not be covered under a standard homeowner’s policy. A home-based business insurance plan will help cover computers, printers, wireless routers, and home office network equipment.

Business Interruption

Finally, business interruption insurance may seem unnecessary, but many circumstances from natural disasters to severe economic downturns might necessitate it. This is one area where you don’t want to be unprepared on the front end, because, by definition, its circumstances are unpredictable.