Buyers and Purchasing Agents insurance – what kind and at what cost

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, Buyers and Purchasing Agents insurance must be high on the list because you can’t always know exactly what can happen in the future.

With the protection provided by general insurance and all the other sorts of insurance we will tell you about, you can protect your business and yourself in case something unwanted happens.

Like any business owner, for your Buyers and Purchasing Agents enterprise, you must consider how much financial danger you are taking on.

If your Buyers and Purchasing Agents 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 consequences of their actions. 

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 we can, a rough guide to how much you can expect to pay.

The question is, can you afford to NOT have insurance for your Buyers and Purchasing Agents business?

What this means, for any Buyers and Purchasing Agents business owner, is that if some customer claims that your business caused them some physical or economic damage, a court can award damages far beyond the total size of your business.

Your Buyers and Purchasing Agents business is not harbored by laws in the same way as states are, where laws 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 judge 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 plaintiff more than they have sued for.

When you are running your Buyers and Purchasing Agents operations, you can’t escape responsibility for the outcomes 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 as an individual.

What does Buyers and Purchasing Agents insurance protect you from?

For your Buyers and Purchasing Agents business, the most important types of insurance are intended to cover the risks to your business from accidents, from unexpected events, and from mistakes.

In addition there are some official kinds of insurance that various states require.

In the next few paragraphs, we will outline the most important points any Buyers and Purchasing Agents business owner should remember when negotiating the insurance needed.

The main categories of insurance for your Buyers and Purchasing Agents businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any Buyers and Purchasing Agents business is dealing directly with other people, and that means you usually 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 Buyers and Purchasing Agents business protects you against claims coming from injury to clients or damage to their property.

It protects your Buyers and Purchasing Agents business from the claims themselves and as well to any follow-on 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 insist on proper liability insurance.

The usual level of general liability insurance for your Buyers and Purchasing Agents business would be with a boundary 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 Buyers and Purchasing Agents insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your Buyers and Purchasing Agents business

In the event where a client alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your Buyers and Purchasing Agents business for them, you can quickly have to fight a court case.

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 Buyers and Purchasing Agents business should have enough professional liability insurance to cover an individual claim of $25,000, with annual cover of $50,000.

See the table in the cost of Buyers and Purchasing Agents insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your Buyers and Purchasing Agents 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 you delivered didn’t meet your description of function, or that your recommendation was basically incorrect.

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

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

To cover yourself against any possible lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for Buyers and Purchasing Agents

Only you can determine exactly how much insurance you need.

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

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your Buyers and Purchasing Agents business

Beware! – most policies for private vehicle insurance do not cover any happening like theft or accidental damage when the van 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 designated commercial vehicle insurance package.

Commercial truck policies cover 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 car is involved in a crash.

Most states, other than Virginia and New Hampshire, insist on 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 Buyers and Purchasing Agents business needs specialized and costly equipment, you can appreciate 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 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 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 Buyers and Purchasing Agents business running.

It is difficult to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s essentially dependent on how much you have invested in your Buyers and Purchasing Agents business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any Buyers and Purchasing Agents business that owns or rents space in a building needs a commercial property insurance policy.

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

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

If your Buyers and Purchasing Agents business works in areas of high risk, like Florida or South Carolina, additional coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

In other states like Rhode Island, where intense cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of Buyers and Purchasing Agents business premises, there is a need for more extra cover than in warmer climes.

Whereas the level of cover depends mainly 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 Buyers and Purchasing Agents insurance section below to give some idea of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your Buyers and Purchasing Agents business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your Buyers and Purchasing Agents business

Is your Buyers and Purchasing Agents business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business fluctuating?

Using short-term insurance makes good sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for Buyers and Purchasing Agents – are special policies where you can cover a specific period when you want to be covered.

By only paying for that period of cover, you will save by having lower premiums but still having adequate risk cover.

The key 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 larger 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 Buyers and Purchasing Agents business

You have the option to combine most 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 amalgamating these coverages into one insurance policy, which can save you money.

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

It is often the right choice for small and medium-sized Buyers and Purchasing Agents businesses, such as yours.

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

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

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

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

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

Workers Compensation insurance for your Buyers and Purchasing Agents business employees

In many states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your Buyers and Purchasing Agents business has one or more employees.

Workers compensation insurance covers the business 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 obliged to pay penalties levied by the states.

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

In these states, you may not obtain 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 Buyers and Purchasing Agents 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 a broker what’s relevant for your business.

The list below is of annual premiums we have researched for the main types of insurance your Buyers and Purchasing Agents businesses needs.

Cost of insurance for your Buyers and Purchasing Agents operations depends on many different factors.

We have estimated these figures for small independent Buyers and Purchasing Agents businesses.

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

The location and size and type of your Buyers and Purchasing Agents 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.

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

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

FAQ

What is small business insurance for Buyers and Purchasing Agents operations?

This is a general term used to describe basic insurance policies designed to protect Buyers and Purchasing Agents business owners from risks like bodily injury, property damage, claims of negligence.

Does my Buyers and Purchasing Agents business have to have insurance?

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

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

What does a small Buyers and Purchasing Agents business insurance policy cover?

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

The exact cover will vary based on your own operations.

See the table in the costing section above for average prices of the most common policies for Buyers and Purchasing Agents insurance.

How much will Buyers and Purchasing Agents business insurance cost?

As well as the size of the business, some 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.

Related Industries:

Gold Buyers insurance – cost and types of policies Vacation Rental Agents insurance – what kind and at what cost Apartment Agents insurance – cost and types of policies Purchasing Analyst insurance – what kind and at what cost Purchasing Assistant insurance – what kind and at what cost Purchasing Managers insurance – cost and types of policies Purchasing Administrator Insurance – Cost and Types Of Policies Director Of Purchasing insurance – cost and coverage Purchasing Coordinator insurance – cost and coverage Purchasing Director insurance – cost and types of policies Purchasing Specialist insurance – cost and types of policies