If you have commercial insurance it’s vital you understand every term that is listed in your policy. Without that foundation, you may not have a good grasp of your overall coverage.
Provide A Valuable Resource For Reference
Commercial insurance terms can be intimidating and difficult to comprehend. The better you understand insurance terms the more comfortable you’ll feel when reviewing your coverage options. We’re hoping that our definition breakdown below will act as a guide for you moving forward.
A Commercial Insurance Term Guide
Most of the following terms have been adopted by the Insurance Brokers Association of Hamilton’s glossary of terms.
- Business Income Coverage | (sometimes referred to as Business Interruption coverage), is protection against loss of income or profits, in which a business has suffered a property loss or damage from a covered peril, such as a fire, natural disaster, theft or vandalism. Additional Reading Here »
- Business Property | This protects everything kept within your business building(s) i.e. equipment, office supplies, employee desks, stock and more. Please note there are certain types of equipment that may require additional coverage – speak with your insurance broker regarding this.
- Bodily Injury Liability | When your business is legally liable for bodily injury or death caused by owned and most non-owned business vehicles.
- Commercial Auto | This pertains to all vehicles that are used for business use and are owned by the business.
- Commercial Crime Coverage | This coverage protects your business from a variety of crimes committed by an employee, i.e. employee dishonesty, theft, extortion, forgery and computer crimes.
- Deductible | The portion of a loss that you are required to pay before your insurance coverage will step in i.e. if you have a $1,000 deductible and you experience a covered loss totaling $2,000, you would pay the first $1,000 and the insurance company would pay the remaining $1,000.
- Employment Practice Liability | This refers to coverage that surrounds employees and the possible ways a business could be held accountable for wrongful actions arising from the employment process (hiring, terminating, or overall management) and includes wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation, and sexual harassment to name a few.
- General Liability | This coverage protects against a range of potential liability risks and damages (not all) against your business; i.e. bodily injury, property damage, advertising liability, and personal injury. Additional Reading Here »
- Legal Expense Insurance | This covers legal expenses, including disbursements, court costs, witness fees, and adverse costs if a judge orders you to pay the other party’s legal fees. In addition, it provides you with unlimited access to general legal advice for any legal question. Additional Reading Here »
- Owned & Non-Owned Auto | These are the types of commercial vehicle ownership as it relates to the coverage offered.
- Personal Injury | Is injury (other than bodily injury) arising out of false arrest or detention, malicious prosecution, wrongful entry or eviction, libel or slander, or violation of a person's right to privacy committed other than in the course of advertising, publishing, broadcasting or telecasting.
- Professional Liability | This protects against claims related to your professional services, i.e. negligence, malpractice and errors made while performing such services.
It’s important you understand that the above terms are not complete descriptions and are listed for general informational purposes. If you’d like further clarification on anything outlined in your policy please speak with your trusted insurance broker, as they are truly the best resource for your particular commercial insurance policy.
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