Automotive Excellence SUMMER 2025_01_09-22-2025_DIGITAL - Flipbook - Page 10
How to
Purchase
Business
Insurance
BY NICK DICARLO, INTREPID DIRECT INSURANCE
The selection of an insurance
provider for your business is a
very important decision. Not only
is it a significant expense, but the
wrong decision could have extreme consequences as it relates
to the protection of your assets.
Therefore, it is very important to
make an informed decision on
who you select as your business
insurance provider. Some of the
items to consider are:
• Insurance Representative
Are they an agent/broker?
Are they a direct employee
of the insurance carrier?
• Financial Strength of the
insurance company
(A.M. Best rating)
• Are they a specialist in
your industry, or more
of a generalist?
• Do they offer customized
coverage for your industry?
• Do they offer loss
prevention services to
proactively help mitigate
any future claims?
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As a business owner, you have
many exposures to consider.
Those exposures include, but are
not limited to:
• Building
• Contents
• Employee Tools
• Business Income
• Liability
• Garagekeepers
• Umbrella
• Crime
• Business Auto
• Workers’ Compensation
When it comes to your Building
coverage, it is very important to
make sure your insurance provider performs a replacement cost
appraisal on your buildings. This
ensures that they are insured to
value in the event of a total loss,
and also helps make sure you
don’t encounter a coinsurance
penalty in the event of a partial
loss. The insured value of your
building should reflect the replacement cost, rather than the
market value of the building.
When it comes to your Contents,
it is always important to create a
Statement of Values on an annual
basis to be certain that your contents are insured to value.
It is also very important to carry coverage for your Employees’
Tools. If your employees’ tools get
stolen or damaged in a fire or a
windstorm, your employees will
not be able to work and the business will immediately suffer. If you
work with a carrier who specializes in the automotive industry,
they should be able to add this
coverage at the limit you need for
a very low premium amount.
You will also want to make sure
your policy provides adequate
coverage for Business Income
(sometimes referred to as Business Interruption). This provides
coverage for the gross profit and
ongoing expenses should you
need to close as a result of an insured loss.
