Make Insurance Part of Your 2021 Business Strategy – Part 2
Welcome back! In our last blog post we began to discuss some ways you should include insurance in your 2021 Business Strategy. We discussed covering your plan for both product or service changes and business growth, as well as protecting your current and planned assets. In this second part of the series, we’ll consider two other pertinent areas where business insurance should be included in your plans.
What are your Human Resources plans for 2021?
2020 impacted the organizational structure of many businesses. Your workforce may have been among those that changed dramatically. Many industries are still downsizing as a result of COVID-19, while others are actively expanding their staff to respond to the increased demand the pandemic imposed on their products or services. Despite where you fall on this spectrum, caring for your employees should they get sick or injured on the job is essential.
Worker’s Compensation insurance is designed to:
1) Care for employees when they get injured
2) Provide for them while they are unable to work
3) Help them return to work quickly
If you’re increasing your staff, you will need to notify your agent and carrier to ensure your new employees are accounted for in your Worker’s Compensation policy. Failure to do so can cost you an extremely high premium payment post-audit. Alternatively, if your payroll is decreasing, it is important to inform your carrier so you’re not overpaying throughout the year.
Maybe you don’t have employees- you work solely with 1099 Contractors. If this is the case, it is still a good idea to protect them, and ultimately your business. You can do this by simply requiring them to carry either Worker’s Compensation or Occupational Accident insurance, as a term of their contractual agreement with your company. These coverages, while different, would be beneficial for both parties in the case of an on-the-job sickness or an accident.
What will you do if disaster strikes?
I’m guessing business owners are contemplating how they’ll respond should disaster strike this year, more than any other previous year… #2020TaughtUs. Let’s face it- after last year’s struggles, we all want to be better prepared for the worst. Many of the types of coverages we’ve discussed so far could and would be applicable for many disasters you may face, but there are still others to consider.
One such consideration is regarding your Cyber Liability. With more companies moving to work from home settings and using virtual tools, just about everyone’s exposure to cyber attacks has increased. If you have a website, accept credit card payments, store confidential client information electronically or simply utilize computers or mobile devices (as we all do), you have cyber exposure. Cyber Liability insurance responds to data breaches, computer hacks, funds authorization fraud, and several other data loss and misuse exposures. It can cover the cost to defend, negotiate or pay ransoms, and provide for your loss of income or extra expenses created due to a data breach. This is one coverage that every business should make a part of their business strategy- especially in 2021.
A critical part of creating an annual business strategy is developing a plan to make the things you want to achieve (your goals) happen. Developing a plan to avoid and recover from the things you don’t want to happen is equally important. The correct business insurance does just that. If you haven’t already made business insurance a part of your strategy, do so now!
We sincerely hope these blog posts have helped you get started. We’re also available to review your specific situation and plans for the year, and to provide guidance on the appropriate coverages to meet your business needs. Just give us a call to get started: (770) 726-8700.
Best wishes for a successful, profitable, and safe 2021!
