General liability insurance

This policy provides coverage for customer injuries, customer property damage, and lawsuits related to both. It's usually the first policy small business owners purchase because they often need it to sign commercial leases and client contracts.

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Almost every business needs some form of general liability insurance coverage (also known as commercial general liability insurance) to protect company assets and sign important contracts. General liability can help small businesses pay for unexpected lawsuit costs, sign deals with new clients, rent commercial space, and avoid bankruptcy. This policy also reassures clients that you'll be able to compensate them if you damage their property or injure someone with your work. Most small businesses get a policy shortly after they are founded

Businesses that purchase a policy typically:

• Have a location that is open to the public.

• Interact with people on a job site.

• Handle client property.

• Rent business space.

• Sell products to customers.

• Advertise or market their services.

• Use social media and have an internet presence.

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Workers' Compensation Insurance can pay for three things when an employee is injured at work: medical bills, recovery costs, and partial missed wages. If an employee dies, Workers' Comp can cover funeral costs and benefits to the worker's family. Depending on state laws and contract requirements, you may need this policy to cover employees, contractors, freelancers, or even yourself.

Workers' Comp (formerly "workman's comp") emerged from a "grand bargain" between business owners and workers. Business owners were tired of being sued by injured workers. Workers were tired of being injured.

So Workers' Comp Insurance was designed to help pay for work injuries and illnesses without the complications of a lawsuit. This Liability Insurance policy can help your business do three things:

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Professional Liability Insurance (also called Errors & Omissions Insurance) as the policy for people who make a living off their expertise. Whereas General Liability Insurance covers mishaps that can happen to any business owner, Professional Liability Insurance addresses the unique lawsuits experts may face.

The two policies complement each other to provide a broad spectrum of coverage for small businesses. (More on their relationship here: "General Liability Insurance Vs. Professional Liability Insurance.")

Who counts as an expert? Doctors, lawyers, IT consultants, architects, engineers, and others.

If your business relies on your expertise, you're expected to have extensive training in your field. Your work must meet standards set by your state, industry, or client contracts. Fail to meet these standards, and you could wind up in court.

Professional Liability Insurance can help pay for lawsuits when clients accuse your business of:

• Work mistakes.

• Undelivered services.

• Negligent services.

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Cyber Liability Insurance helps businesses survive data breaches and cyber attacks by paying for recovery expenses. When cybercriminals infiltrate a network, hold data hostage, or acquire sensitive data, the company they steal from can be held liable for the incident. That's where Cyber Insurance comes in. It can often pay for customer notification, credit monitoring, legal fees, and fines after a business experiences a breach.

• Without Cyber Liability Insurance coverage, these costs can be overwhelming. A Report from Internet security firm Kaspersky Labs claims the average cost of a small business data breach is $86,500. And while many small-business owners think they're not targets for hackers, the opposite is actually true. According To Property Casualty 360, 62 percent of all cyber attacks hit small- and mid-sized businesses.

• Why are cybercriminals attracted to small businesses? First, they like to go where the money is, and many small-business owners…

• Accept credit cards.

• Store customer information.

• Conduct business online or in the cloud.

• On top of that, small-business owners are less likely to have a strong defense against hackers.

• If these things are true for your business, you could face a data breach and all the costs that go with it. But with Cyber Liability coverage, you have the funds to recover, rebuild, and restore your customers' faith.

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