Racine Business Insurance
Find the best insurance products to cover your small business
Racine businesses are the heart of this close-knit Wisconsin community. They provide necessary services and goods while keeping the local economy healthy. During hard times, business insurance can help these important companies stay afloat and rebuild.
Building the ideal insurance package can be complicated, but with help from a Racine independent insurance agent, you'll have the information you need to make the best possible choices about insurance for your business.
Why Do Businesses in Racine, Wisconsin, Need Liability Insurance?
Business liability insurance is the backbone of a well-designed commercial insurance package. It covers a company's court costs, financial damages, and legal fees if it is sued for a covered event.
You have a lot of choices when it comes to specific commercial liability policies. Here are some popular options that your agent may recommend:
- Premises liability insurance: This covers illness, third-party injury, and property damage that happens because of a covered accident on your property.
- Product liability insurance: This covers illness, third-party injury, and property damage caused by defective products that your business promotes, produces or sells.
- Employment practices liability insurance: This covers lawsuits resulting from accusations of harassment, breach of contract, and other illegal employment practices.
- Cyber liability insurance: This covers financial liabilities and losses if hackers get a hold of your customers' private information through your computer system.
- Pollution liability insurance: This covers damage and cleanup costs if your business is involved in an accident that pollutes the water, air, or ground.
- Commercial vehicle liability insurance: This is required by Wisconsin law if your business operates and/or owns vehicles for business use.
Your Racine agent can help you understand these options. They'll also point out any other additional policies you should consider adding to your commercial insurance.
What Insurance Products Cover Your Racine Business Property?
Businesses in Racine, WI, are statistically most likely to have property losses due to severe storms and flooding. Commercial property insurance provides coverage for storm damage, but it doesn't cover flood damage. Commercial property insurance is standard on all business insurance policies. It covers things owned by your business, like supplies, merchandise, inventory, furniture, and computers.
Your agent may also urge you to consider specialized property insurance:
- Inland marine insurance: This covers business property that's portable while it's in transit or stored offsite.
- Boiler & machinery insurance: This covers repair or replacement of a broken furnace or other machinery.
- Bailee's insurance: This covers customer-owned property while it's in the care of your business.
Since commercial property insurance does not cover flood damage, Racine businesses may want to consider adding a commercial flood insurance policy. Flash flooding can happen anywhere, and commercial insurance doesn't cover flood damage, even if it's the result of a covered event.
Why Is Business Interruption Insurance a Good Idea in Racine, WI?
Major disasters like weather events and structure fires can mean you'll need to close your business temporarily while making necessary repairs. If the damage is severe, you could remain closed for an extended period of time.
There were 54 federally declared disasters in Wisconsin between 1953 and 2018. Most of them were due to severe storms, floods, and tornadoes.
Closing your business for weeks at a time could be financially devastating. Business interruption insurance provides continued income so you can keep paying your regular bills, stay up to date on your loans, and pay your employees until you get back to business as usual. Talk to your local insurance agent to learn more.
Do Businesses in Racine Need Workers’ Compensation Insurance?
As a business owner in Racine, you must provide a healthy and safe workplace for your employees. Even so, it's important to have the right workers' compensation insurance in place in case of an accident.
Your business is legally responsible for an employee's financial losses if they are injured or become ill on the job. Workers' compensation is required in Wisconsin, and it provides this type of coverage.
All employers in the state of Wisconsin are required by law to cover their full-time and part-time employees with workers’ compensation insurance under these circumstances:
- They have three or more employees on the payroll
- They pay one or more employee more than $500 in gross wages during any calendar quarter for work done at locations inside the state of Wisconsin
- They are farming, and employ six or more workers during one day for any 20 days per calendar year.
Your workers' compensation rates are based on the likelihood that your employees could be injured while working. Your agent can help you choose an insurance company that specializes in the type of insurance you need most.
What about Insurance Products for Employee Benefits Packages?
You'll need a great benefits package to attract and retain the best employees. Healthcare costs are higher than ever, and employees depend on their employer for meaningful health insurance premium subsidies.
There are many choices when it comes to life insurance and health insurance. It can be difficult to wade through your options. Your independent insurance agent can help you understand which policies may serve your company and your employees best.
Why Work with an Independent Insurance Agent in Racine, WI?
When you work with a Racine independent insurance agent, you'll get the personalized one-on-one service you need to make informed decisions about your company's insurance. It isn't easy to design the perfect insurance plan, but with help from your agent, you can start the process right away.
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts
https://www.fema.gov/data-visualization/disaster-declarations-states-and-counties
http://www.naic.org/prod_serv/AUT-PB-14.pdf
https://www.nfib.com/content/legal-compliance/legal/workers-compensation-laws-WI-by-WI-comparison-57181
https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/benefits/pages/alter-benefits-attract-retain.aspx
https://dwd.wisconsin.gov/dwd/publications/wc/WKC_13328_p.htm#:~:text=Under%20the%20Worker's%20Compensation%20Act,upon%20employing%20a%20third%20person.
http://www.city-data.com