Are You Covered? Insurance Examples For Your Business

As a business owner or manager, you know your business better than anyone, but do you know if you will be covered when the unexpected happens? If not, there is no need to worry. That is what we are here for!

Insurance is something consumers pay for, hoping they will never have to use it. At Acuity, we want to make our customers whole again, as if that unfortunate event never happened. To put this in perspective, we are going to go through some examples of potential events that could happen and highlight if you would be covered if it happened at your business.

Example 1

After you are closed and gone for the day, the compressor on your walk-in cooler malfunctions, and the temperature in the cooler reaches 50 degrees overnight. When you arrive the next morning and find it, you realize you will need to dispose of a significant amount of perishable food. 

• What is covered? With equipment breakdown coverage, the costs to repair your cooler are covered. Acuity’s equipment breakdown coverage has a $50,000 sub-limit for spoilage coverage. Is that enough to cover the cost of replacing the food that had to be thrown out? What is the total value of perishable food in your freezer? Do you need a higher food spoilage limit or broadened coverage?

Example 2

A customer is walking through the parking lot to your store. On her way, she trips on a crack in the pavement. Medical payments coverage is available to cover injuries from a trip and fall like this. However, the customer was wearing an expensive diamond ring that was damaged in her fall. 

• What is covered? General liability medical payments should be enough to cover this injury. If the injuries are more severe, your liability bodily injury would cover the customer's physical injuries as tripping on a crack in your parking lot makes your business legally liable. Is the cost to replace or repair her diamond ring covered? Your general liability policy would come to the rescue, covering property damage to the customer's property that your business is liable for.

Example 3

An employee files a lawsuit against your restaurant for wrongful termination. The employee was terminated weeks ago for consistent tardiness. The employee claims the schedule was changed after he copied down his hours. You investigate the matter and find out the manager you have creating the schedule really does not like this employee. While the manager tells you he did not change the schedule, you really cannot be sure. 

• What is covered? Employment practices liability coverage is key here, but these situations can escalate quickly. Will your insurance carrier’s claim representative be there to let you know how to handle the situation or get you legal representation to help right away?

You need insurance coverage in case of a loss, but insurance should be more than that. At Acuity, we believe in being a business partner. From our knowledgeable independent agents making sure you have the insurance coverage you need for your business, to our helpful loss control experts there to help you with safety inspections and training, and our industry consultants that can help you with everything from business basics to challenges, we are here for you.