Understanding business insurance coverages

Whether it's a fire, tornado, hurricane, or some other disaster, you'll want to make sure your building, machinery, and other important items can be repaired or replaced. That's where commercial property coverage comes in.

Commercial property insurance helps cover the buildings or structures you identify, along with any completed additions to those buildings or structures. It can also apply to the equipment contained in buildings or greenhouses—including boilers, generators, coolers, benching systems, irrigation equipment, heat retention curtain systems, and environmental control computers. Here's a closer look at some of what can be covered under a commercial property insurance policy:

• Buildings and greenhouses: Your buildings and real estate are important to your business and its success. If they're damaged or destroyed by a covered property loss, insurance can help cover the cost to repair and rebuild.

• Crops, stock, and inventory: Your crop is your livelihood. Help protect your future after storm damage, natural disasters, or a breakdown in a climate-controlled building. You can even help protect your future income if you can't plant your next crop due to damage.

• Equipment breakdown protection: When equipment breaks down, it can mean weeks of lost productivity. This coverage can help reduce your costs and get you back in production sooner.

• Business income: Unexpected property damage can shut down operations, leading to lost income on top of repair or replacement costs. This coverage can help keep your business going as you recover from property damage.

Helping customers is what your business is all about. But what happens if one of them is injured at your business, or your work causes damage to their property? General liability insurance can help protect your business from some of the costs associated with those risks.

A general liability insurance policy covers losses to non-employees caused by your services, business operations, or employees. It also covers losses due to negligence that harms someone else or their property.

General liability coverage applies to several risks, including:

• Bodily injury to others for which you are legally responsible

• Property damage to property of others for which you are legally responsible

• Property damage caused by your product or your work, products, or completed work

Coverage options include product liability and cyber liability, as well as:

• Property damage coverage: If your business often requires you to be on-site at a customer's property, odds are the work you do comes with some hazards and risks. You'll want coverage for property damage you're legally responsible for.

• Chemical application coverage: It's likely your horticultural business includes applying pesticides, herbicides, and other chemicals. You can help protect your business from risks like chemical drift, accidents while transporting chemicals, or damage caused when spraying your property or a customer's.

• Product protection coverage: Once your product leaves your business, it's out of your control. From allergies to accidental ingestion or a defect in design, general liability insurance helps cover you and your assets if someone is injured or something is damaged by your product.

While it's important to do everything you can to protect your customers' safety and property, you should also consider the need to protect your employees—especially in the horticultural industry. There's always at least some level of risk when workers use implements and tools, work with soil and water, or lift heavy or bulky plants or supplies. If you have employees who perform these tasks or other similar work, you'll want to consider workers' compensation insurance.

It's important to note that workers' compensation insurance is required in most states, depending on the number of employees you have.

This insurance helps pay for medical expenses and lost wages when a worker is injured in the scope of their employment, including:

• Injuries

• Illnesses

• Disabilities

• Death

These are just the three of the main coverages you'll want to consider for your business. There are still more coverages that cover a range of risks from protecting your vehicle fleet, to professional liability protection and providing umbrella coverage that picks up where your standard liability policy coverage ends.

For more than 130 years, Hortica has been solely dedicated to providing customized insurance for greenhouse growers, nurseries, garden centers, and florists. We deliver personalized and comprehensive solutions that help keep horticultural and floral operations in business.

Remember, we can also help you manage your risks and avoid needless accidents. Talk with a Hortica representative for more information on how we can help your business.