Business Liability Insurance Options: Customizing Your Policy

Business liability insurance is a critical part of any insurance portfolio, regardless of your industry. Nationwide offers great basic plans that can be easily customized with a wide variety of business liability insurance options to give you the coverage you need. The first steps are to shop, compare plans and weigh the options.

"It's not uncommon for a business owner to purchase a policy from the first company he talks to," says Brenda Miller, Sales Supervisor for Nationwide. "And too often, that quick decision means he didn't discuss the commercial liability insurance options which can leave the company vulnerable."

You can enhance a basic commercial liability insurance policy with additional coverage, known as endorsements, that meet the specific needs of your business. Typical liability insurance endorsements include:

Employment Related Practices Liability Insurance

This insurance covers wrongful termination, wrongful refusal to employ, invasion of privacy, or defamation claims made by your employee against you, the employer.

Directors and Officers (D&O) Liability Insurance

Provides coverage for situations where a poor decision was made by a company’s board of directors or officers resulting in a claim for damage. Coverage can be provided for condominium associations, golf courses, and churches.

Liquor Liability Insurance

Protects you against claims for injury sustained by reason of you selling, serving or furnishing any alcoholic beverage during the course of your business operations.

Hired and Non-Owned Auto Liability Insurance

Provides auto liability coverage for short-term auto rental (hired) or for employees using their personal auto (non-owned) during the course of business.

Professional Liability Insurance

Protects you and your business from potentially catastrophic litigation caused by charges of professional errors, mistakes or failure to perform your professional duties.

Product and Completed Operations Liability Insurance

Provides protection for bodily injury and property damage that occurs away from your premises that are caused by your products or your work. The amount of coverage and the level of risk all depend on the business type.

Fire Legal Liability

Provides coverage for fire damage to a premises you rent or occupy with the landlords permission. You must have been negligent in causing the fire for this coverage to respond.

Errors and Omissions Liability Insurance

Protects you and your company in the event of a negligent act, error or omission. This coverage is similar to Professional Liability however, it applies to vocations where performance, formal study and licensing standards apply but they are not held to the same very high standard of care required by medical and other professional trades. Coverage can be provided to building trade contractors (negligent act), and printers (errors in printed document).

Umbrella Policies

These policies extend coverage over and above your other liability coverage. It’s designed to protect against unusually high losses when the policy limits of one of the underlying policies have been used up.