Electricians are exposed to all kinds of risks. You could accidentally burn down a client’s home because of wrong connections, it’s possible to accidentally electrocute yourself and suffer life-threatening injuries, or you could suffer an illness that keeps you out of work for a long period.
To protect yourself from these situations, it’s important to purchase insurance. The following are five common policies that should cover most of your needs;
- Workers’ compensation
If you employ a few guys to help you run the business and work on projects, you absolutely must purchase workers’ compensation insurance. Also popular as workers’ comp, this policy protects you and your business in case an aggrieved employee sues for damages. Usually, this happens when an employee suffers a life-changing injury at work. If they sue the company and you’re found culpable, your workers’ comp can be used to take care of the medical bills and compensate for lost wages.
- Health Insurance
Both employers and employees need medical insurance. It’s a requirement by the government. In fact, current laws outline steep penalties for employers who don’t provide employees with sufficient medical cover. To avoid these fines while protecting the well-being of your employees, it’s advisable to buy a business policy that covers everyone at the workplace. If you’re the only employee of your company, consider buying an individual cover. Luckily, there are multiple affordable electrician insurance policies for individuals out there.
- Professional liability insurance
A professional liability policy protects you in case of an incident resulting from your professional work. For instance, you could wire a client’s home that eventually caches fire due to problems with the wiring. When this happens, the homeowner will report the situation to the authorities and you’d be held liable for damages. A professional liability policy covers such situations and will pay for all damages.
- General liability insurance
General liability is a bit different from professional liability. For instance, if someone walks into your office, slides due to your slippery floor, and breaks their arm, you’d be held liable for the damages. The same applies if a competitor feels that you’ve infringed on their copyrights. In both situations, you can be taken to court and charged. Professional liability doesn’t cover these incidents; general liability insurance does.
- Commercial property insurance
You should also consider commercial property insurance to protect your investments in case of loss or damage. Think of it this way; a burglar breaks into your premise and makes away with tools worth over $10,000! What do you do? Or, perhaps a raging fire brings down the entire block and consumes all your tools. If you have commercial property insurance, the policy will cover the losses and most likely help you acquire new tools.
There are several other insurance policies in the market that you may consider depending on existing risks. These include commercial auto insurance, life insurance, and business interruption insurance. Whichever way you decide to approach your insurance situation, don’t forget the five policies mentioned above; often, they become the difference between a thriving business and a failed career.