Billing Services insurance – what kind and at what cost

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, Billing Services insurance must be high on the list because you can’t always know exactly what is going to happen in the future.

Need General Liability Insurance for Your Billing Services Business?
Get Your Free Quote

With the protection provided by general insurance 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 Billing Services enterprise, you must consider how much financial risk you are taking on.

If your Billing Services business runs without proper insurance, you are taking an enormous chance not just of losing some money but of a final 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. 

Billing Services Insurance

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

The question is, can you afford to NOT have insurance for your Billing Services business?

What this means, for any Billing Services business owner, is that if some company 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 Billing Services business is not sheltered 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 Texas, there are specific monetary levels that limit the amount a court can award in any case against the state.

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

When you are running your Billing Services operations, you can’t escape responsibility for the consequences of your actions.

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

What does Billing Services insurance protect you from?

For your Billing Services business, the most important types of insurance are intended 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 Billing Services business owner should know when negotiating the insurance needed.

The main types of insurance for your Billing Services businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any Billing Services business is dealing directly with other people, and that means you always have the danger that some accident can happen to them personally or else something of theirs can be ruined.

In such a case, they can sue you for compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your Billing Services business protects you against claims coming from injury to clients or damage to their property.

It protects your Billing Services business from the claims themselves and in addition to any associated court costs and legal fees of the lawsuits.

In many cases, it can also help you to qualify for extra business from city and state organizations, where contracts demand proper liability insurance.

The normal level of general liability insurance for your Billing Services business would be with a cap 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 Billing Services insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your Billing Services business

In the event where a client alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your Billing Services business for them, you can quickly be involved in a monetary claim.

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

Almost all small Billing Services business should have enough professional liability insurance to cover a single claim of $25,000, with annual cover of $50,000.

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

Product liability insurance

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

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

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

To cover yourself against any possible lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for Billing Services

Only you can determine exactly how much insurance you need.

Best advice is to contact experienced insurance agents, brokers or company representatives for support.

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your Billing Services business

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

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

Commercial van 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 insured if your van is involved in a crash.

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

The necessary value of the insurance is worked-out for the depreciated value of the vehicle, and your intended level of cover of contents. 

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your Billing Services business needs specialized and expensive equipment, you know how much it can cost to replace it in case of any damage, loss, or theft.

The gear may be subject to malicious damage, deliberate fire, theft, other such unforeseen acts.

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

Unless you can afford to immediately replace such specialized gear quickly out of your own pocket, you need full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy whatever needed to keep your Billing Services business running.

It is hard to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s really dependent on how much you have invested in your Billing Services business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any Billing Services business that owns or rents space in a building needs a commercial property insurance policy.

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

Your physical building location must carry insurance coverage for the value of the premises and contents against accidental occurrences like fire and storms, and against man-made damages like theft and vandalism.

If your Billing Services business deals in areas of high risk, like California or South Carolina, extra coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

In other states like Washington, where unlimited cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of Billing Services 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 Billing Services insurance section below to give some estimate of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your Billing Services business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your Billing Services business

Is your Billing Services business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business fluctuating?

Using short-term insurance makes perfect sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for Billing Services – 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 identical risk cover.

The essential feature of short-term insurance is that you buy the cover for a defined period – a designated 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 higher business activity, get the existing cover improved.

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

Business Owners Policy BOP for your Billing Services business

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

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

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

It is mostly the right choice for small and medium-sized Billing Services businesses, such as yours.

There are some limits that will rule whether BOP is suitable for your own business.

BOPs cannot cover your professional liability or commercial vehicle cover.

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

The usual business that is eligible for a BOP policy must have no more than one hundred employees, and maximum five million dollars in annual sales.

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

Workers Compensation insurance for your Billing Services business employees

In almost all states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your Billing Services business has one or more employees.

Workers compensation insurance covers the operation against any costs that arise if any hired hand 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 laws in this regard can leave you as the employer obliged 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 companies.

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

However, you must see the relevant authorities in your state.

Average costs of these types of insurance

Although every Billing Services insurance level is unique, there are enough examples of usual 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 gathered for the main types of insurance your Billing Services businesses needs.

Types of insurance Price range
Equipment insurance $384 – $1395
Public liability insurance $372 – $519
Commercial vehicle insurance $1553 – $3382
General liability insurance $771 – $1237
Commercial insurance $1161 – $2473
Product liability insurance $265 – $626

Cost of insurance for your Billing Services operations depends on many different factors.

We have reckoned these figures for small self-employed Billing Services businesses.

In larger states like New York, premiums are generally about 20%-30% higher than national averages, while in smaller states like New Mexico, they can be about 20%-30% less.

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

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

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

Another useful source of information is the local Better Business Bureau in your town.

FAQ

What is small business insurance for Billing Services operations?

This is a wide term used to describe standard insurance policies designed to protect Billing Services business owners from risks like bodily injury, property damage, claims of negligence.

Does my Billing Services business have to have insurance?

Some of the forms of insurance are not mandatory for you to open 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 Billing Services business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides insurance against lawsuits or claims filed by a client 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 Billing Services insurance.

How much will Billing Services business insurance cost?

As well as the size of the business, several other factors, such as location and claims history, are used to determine your policy’s cost.

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

Was this helpful? Share it!
SBCoverage.com