The most popular jobs in Massachusetts are in the home construction and healthcare industries, with approximately 108,670 employees. General Electric, TJX companies, National Amusements, The Enterprise, and Stop & Shop are the state’s leading companies.
Many local businesses make sure that they have business insurance MA to prevent financial losses due to unexpected events affecting their employees, establishments, or assets. Business insurance protects from the potential risks involved in the business due to many possible reasons.
According to an Insurance Business America article, every business organization must have cyber insurance to prevent losses from a data breach. If you own a business, you must know what coverages the insurance policies offer. Let’s look at a few of them.
Business Property Coverage
Massachusetts has many small businesses that operate online and have no established property. But the most popular businesses in the state are food truck services, restaurant services, and manufacturing units. If you have assets, machinery, and property or building where your business operates, you must have business property coverage in your insurance.
It provides coverage for the actual building, outdoor fixtures, attached/unattached structures, and permanently installed equipment. The coverage usually includes protection to the property in the event of fire, storm, or theft.
Equipment Breakdown Coverage
The manufacturing units account for 9.39% of the total output in the state, and it employs 6.70% of the workforce. It is necessary to have business insurance in MA to protect against the losses occurring from equipment breakdown.
It covers damages caused by electrical shorts, mechanical breakdowns, motor burnout, or operator error. It also includes coverage against computer breakdown but does not cover software issues. An experienced insurance advisor can guide you with detailed information about the equipment breakdown coverage.
Law and Ordinance Coverage
Many business owners avoid buying commercial properties in Massachusetts to avoid legal hassles. Only 30% of the manufacturing units own business property, and the rest buy it on lease. If in case, the local authorities ask you to demolish a part of your property and rebuild the damaged portion to meet the current building codes, you may incur huge losses.
It is advisable to have business insurance that offers coverage against such losses. It covers demolition, debris removal, and increased cost of construction to meet codes. Not all business insurance policies offer this coverage. Even if they offer, there will be specific exclusions. You must carefully read the terms and conditions beforehand to ensure you are covered under law and ordinance issues.
Medical Payments Coverage
According to Mass.gov, the injury rate for the period 2017-2019 was 3.3% per 100,000 employees in Massachusetts. The rate of fatal accidents has also increased post-2019. Following Workers’ compensation law is mandatory in Massachusetts, but it is recommended to have a business insurance policy covering medical payments.
This covers payments related to the accidental injury at the workplace. It also covers injuries related to your business operations. It is listed in the Commercial General Liability (CGL).
Product Liability Insurance
Product liability insurance is a must if you produce or manufacture a product for the general market. You must get a policy that covers you from the damage that may cause due to some injury to a third party consuming your product. The products could be food items, cosmetics, electronic products, or automotive products.
If you don’t own business insurance covering you in product liability, you may have to pay a large sum from your pocket. In many cases, the compensation amount is hefty, and you may lose a lot of funds to protect the reputation of your product or brand.