Assistant Bookkeeper insurance – cost and types of policies

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, Assistant Bookkeeper insurance must be included in the list because you can’t always know exactly what can happen in the future.

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With the protection provided by insurance against accidents and all the other kinds of insurance we will tell you about, you can protect your business and yourself in case something unexpected happens.

Like any business owner, for your Assistant Bookkeeper enterprise, you must consider how much financial liability you are taking on.

Business Insurance for Assistant Bookkeeper

If your Assistant Bookkeeper business runs without proper insurance, you are taking a tremendous chance not just of losing some money but of a total wipe-out.

This is because the laws in every state are very strict in enforcing liability on the owners of businesses for the results of their actions. 

In this article, we are giving very general guidelines for small businesses to highlight what the main kinds of insurance that you need are, and where available, a rough guide to how much you can expect to pay.

The question is, can you afford to NOT have insurance for your Assistant Bookkeeper business?

What this means, for any Assistant Bookkeeper business owner, is that if some person claims that your work caused them some physical or economic damage, a court can award damages far beyond the total size of your business.

Your Assistant Bookkeeper business is not harbored by laws in the same way as states are, where edicts can place a “cap” on the maximum level of liability.

In some states, like New Jersey, there are specific monetary levels that limit the amount a judge can award in any case against the state.

In a court case, it’s purely the privilege of the jury to award whatever amount they deem appropriate, even sometimes giving a plaintiff more than they have sort.

When you are running your Assistant Bookkeeper operations, you can’t escape responsibility for the outcomes of your actions.

Even more importantly, unless you have spent up-front the money necessary to have your business running as a corporation, all of that liability belongs to you as a person.

What does Assistant Bookkeeper insurance protect you from?

For your Assistant Bookkeeper business, the most important sorts of insurance are designed to cover the risks to your business from accidents, from unexpected events, and from mistakes.

As well there are some legal kinds of insurance that various states require.

In the next few paragraphs, we will explain the most important points any Assistant Bookkeeper business owner should remember when negotiating the insurance needed.

The main categories of insurance for your Assistant Bookkeeper businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any Assistant Bookkeeper business is dealing directly with members of the public, and that means you usually have the danger that some accident can happen to them bodily or else something of theirs can be ruined.

In such a case, they can require compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your Assistant Bookkeeper business protects you against claims coming from injury to customers or damage to their property.

It protects your Assistant Bookkeeper business from the claims themselves and also to any follow-on court costs and legal fees of the lawsuits.

In many cases, it should help you to qualify for extra business from city and state organizations, where contracts insist on proper liability insurance.

The average level of general liability insurance for your Assistant Bookkeeper business would be with a upper limit of $1 million for a single submission and a total of $2 million for the whole year.

See the table in the costing section below for average prices of general liability insurance for your Assistant Bookkeeper insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your Assistant Bookkeeper business

In the event where a client alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your Assistant Bookkeeper business for them, you can quickly be involved in a law suit.

Even if the matter against you is judged in your favor, the cost of defense can be large, and the impact on your reputation can be damaging.

Most small Assistant Bookkeeper business should have enough professional liability insurance to cover a once-off claim of $25,000, with annual cover of $50,000.

See the table in the cost of Assistant Bookkeeper insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your Assistant Bookkeeper operations.

Product liability insurance

Whatever goods you sell or advice you give about the goods, you are running a risk that customers may claim that what they received didn’t meet your description of function, or that your advice was basically incorrect.

You need to know the explicit laws of product liability in your own state.

For example, in California, all businesses in the supply chain can be held responsible for results caused by products claimed to be defective.

To cover yourself against any likely lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for Assistant Bookkeeper

Only you can estimate exactly how much insurance you should get.

Best advice is to talk to experienced insurance agents, brokers or company representatives for guidance.

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your Assistant Bookkeeper business

Beware! – most policies for private vehicle insurance do not cover any happening like theft or accidental damage when the vehicle is being used for business purposes.

The best way to make sure that your vehicle is insured for both its own value, and the valuable contents, is by taking out a direct commercial vehicle insurance package.

Commercial truck policies insure the value of any vehicle in case of accident, malicious damage, fire, or theft.

In addition, in case of any accident, the truck itself, the content and any legal bills, medical expenses, and property damage is guaranteed if your van is involved in a collision.

Most states, other than Virginia and New Hampshire, require this type of insurance.

The necessary value of the insurance depends on the depreciated value of the vehicle, and your intended level of cover of contents. 

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your Assistant Bookkeeper business needs specialized and costly equipment, you will realize how much it can cost to replace it in case of any damage, loss, or theft.

The tools may be subject to malicious damage, deliberate fire, theft, other such unpredicted acts.

Also, acts of nature like lightning strikes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other highly damaging natural events can wipe-out your whole business in one stroke.

Unless you can afford to immediately replace such unique gear quickly out of your own pocket, you should have full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy whatever needed to keep your Assistant Bookkeeper business running.

It is impossible to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s really dependent on how much you have invested in your Assistant Bookkeeper business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any Assistant Bookkeeper business that owns or rents space in a building must have a commercial property insurance policy.

If you own the building, you certainly have a substantial capital investment, as well as a big liability if there’s a mortgage.

Every physical building location must carry insurance coverage for the value of the premises and contents against natural occurrences like fire and storms, and against deliberate damages like theft and vandalism.

If your Assistant Bookkeeper business operates in areas of high risk, like Texas or South Carolina, extra coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

In other states like Rhode Island, where extreme cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of Assistant Bookkeeper business premises, there is a need for more additional cover than in warmer climes.

Because the level of cover depends completely on the value of the property, it’s not possible to say what cover your need, but we have been able in the table in the cost of Assistant Bookkeeper insurance section below to give some idea of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your Assistant Bookkeeper business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your Assistant Bookkeeper business

Is your Assistant Bookkeeper business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business seasonal?

Using short-term insurance makes perfect sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for Assistant Bookkeeper – are special policies where you can cover a nominated period when you want to be covered.

By only paying for that period of cover, you will save by having less premiums but still having the same risk cover.

The essential feature of short-term insurance is that you purchase the cover for a defined period – a specific date, or a week or month starting on a specific date, for example for 30 days beginning on the specified date.

When you are expecting periods of better business activity, get the existing cover raised.

Talk to your insurance agent, broker or the company’s representatives to see what options you have.

Business Owners Policy BOP for your Assistant Bookkeeper business

You have the chance to combine a few of the important kinds of small business insurance in one policy that is known as the business owner’s policy – BOP.

A BOP merges commercial property and public liability insurance by packaging these coverages into one insurance policy, which can save you money.

BOP insurance will shield you if any claims of injury or property damage are made.

It is frequently the right choice for small and medium-sized Assistant Bookkeeper businesses, such as yours.

There are two limits that will determine whether BOP is suitable for your own business.

BOPs will not cover your professional liability or commercial vehicle cover.

Also, the size of your business will rule whether you are eligible to take out BOP cover.

The typical business that can take out a BOP policy must have fewer than one hundred employees, and maximum five million dollars in annual revenue.

Plus, you must separately take out the required worker’s compensation, health and disability insurance as determined for your state.

Workers Compensation insurance for your Assistant Bookkeeper business employees

In many states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your Assistant Bookkeeper business has one or more employees.

Workers compensation insurance covers the operation against any costs that arise if a worker experiences an injury or becomes sick as a result of work.

The benefits cover medical expenses, death benefits, lost wages, and vocational rehabilitation.

Failure to meet a state’s regulations in this regard can leave you as the employer required to pay penalties levied by the states.

Some states, such as North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming only authorize coverage from the government-run monopoly state funds.

In these states, you can’t take out your workers compensation obligations from private insurance providers.

Workers compensation premiums are worked out based on the employee’s pay, and usually come out at around $1.00 per $100 per month.

However, you must refer to the relevant authorities in your state.

Average costs of these types of insurance

Although every Assistant Bookkeeper insurance requirement is unique, there are enough examples of standard quotes from insurance companies for us to give approximate guidelines, including what are the cheapest rates offered.

Of course, you should always check with an agent what’s relevant for your business.

The list below is of annual premiums we have researched for the main types of insurance your Assistant Bookkeeper businesses needs.

Types of insurance Price range
Commercial vehicle insurance $1600 – $3065
Equipment insurance $410 – $1050
Product liability insurance $320 – $745
Commercial insurance $1195 – $2500
General liability insurance $610 – $1085
Public liability insurance $290 – $625

Cost of insurance for your Assistant Bookkeeper operations depends on many different factors.

We have reckoned these figures for small self-employed Assistant Bookkeeper businesses.

In larger states like California, premiums are generally about 20%-30% higher than national averages, whereas in smaller states like Utah, they will be about 20%-30% less.

The location and size and type of your Assistant Bookkeeper business can have a big effect on the cost of different policies.

You should talk to professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

As well you can let the internet do the work for you by enquiring about insurance companies near where your business is located.

Another good source of information is the local Better Business Bureau in your suburb.

FAQ

What is small business insurance for Assistant Bookkeeper operations?

This is an umbrella term used to describe common insurance policies designed to protect Assistant Bookkeeper business owners from risks like bodily injury, property damage, claims of negligence.

Does my Assistant Bookkeeper business have to have insurance?

Some of the forms of insurance are not mandatory for you to run your business, but they can protect you from risks in your business operations.

Several other forms are required by state law, such as workers compensation and vehicle insurance.

What does a small Assistant Bookkeeper business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides insurance against lawsuits or claims filed by a customer for bodily injury, property damage, or negligence.

The precise cover will vary based on your own operations.

See the table in the costing section above for average prices of the recommended policies for Assistant Bookkeeper insurance.

How much will Assistant Bookkeeper business insurance cost?

In addition to the size of the business, certain other factors, such as location and claims history, are used to determine your policy’s cost.

You should consult with professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

You can search for more information insurance for Assistant Bookkeeper, in the search box below, and follow the relevant links.

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