Contract Negotiation Services Insurance – What Kind and at What Cost

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, contract negotiation services insurance must be near the top of the list because you can’t always know exactly what could happen in the future.

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With the protection provided by general insurance and all the other types 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 contract negotiation services enterprise, you must consider how much financial risk you are taking on.

Business Insurance for contract negotiation services

If your contract negotiation services business runs without proper insurance, you are taking an enormous chance not just of losing some money but of a complete 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 startup businesses to explain 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 contract negotiation services business?

What this means, for any contract negotiation services 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 contract negotiation services business is not sheltered 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 privilege of the jury to award whatever amount they deem appropriate, even sometimes giving a plaintiff more than they have claimed.

When you are running your contract negotiation services operations, you can’t avoid responsibility for the outcomes of your actions.

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

What does contract negotiation services insurance protect you from?

For your contract negotiation services business, the most important types of insurance are designed to cover the risks to your business from accidents, from unexpected events, and from mistakes.

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

In the next few paragraphs, we will outline the most important points any contract negotiation services business owner should consider when negotiating the insurance needed.

The main types of insurance for your contract negotiation services businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any contract negotiation services business is dealing directly with members of the public, and that means you always have the danger that some accident can happen to them themselves or else something of theirs can be ruined.

In such a case, they can demand compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your contract negotiation services business insures you against claims coming from injury to clients or damage to their property.

It protects your contract negotiation services business from the claims themselves and also to any associated 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 require proper liability insurance.

The normal level of general liability insurance for your contract negotiation services 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 contract negotiation services insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your contract negotiation services business

In the event where a client alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your contract negotiation services business for them, you can quickly be involved in a court case.

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

Every small contract negotiation services 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 contract negotiation services insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your contract negotiation 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 recommendation 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 liable for results caused by products claimed to be defective.

To cover yourself against any possible lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for contract negotiation services

Only you can determine exactly how much insurance you need.

Best advice is to consult with experienced insurance agents, brokers or company representatives for help.

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your contract negotiation services business

Beware! – almost all 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 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 guarantee the value of any vehicle in case of accident, malicious damage, fire, or theft.

As well, in case of any accident, the truck itself, the content and any legal bills, medical expenses, and property damage is covered if your van is involved in an accident.

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

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

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your contract negotiation services business needs unique and costly equipment, you can appreciate 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 unpredicted acts.

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

Unless you can afford to immediately replace such specialized gear quickly out of your own pocket, you must have full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy any equipment needed to keep your contract negotiation services business running.

It is impossible to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s essentially dependent on how much you have invested in your contract negotiation services business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any contract negotiation services business that owns or rents space in a building should have a commercial property insurance policy.

If you own the property, 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 natural occurrences like fire and storms, and against criminal damages like theft and vandalism.

If your contract negotiation services business operates in areas of high risk, like Texas or North 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 contract negotiation services business premises, there is a need for more additional cover than in warmer climes.

Although 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 contract negotiation services insurance section below to give some idea of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your contract negotiation services business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your contract negotiation services business

Is your contract negotiation services business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business seasonal?

Using short-term insurance makes good sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for contract negotiation 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 reduced premiums but still having identical risk cover.

The essential feature of short-term insurance is that you pay for 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 better 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 contract negotiation 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 incorporating 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 often the right choice for small and medium-sized contract negotiation services businesses, such as yours.

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

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

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

The usual business that is allowed to take a BOP policy must have less than one hundred employees, and under five million dollars in annual sales.

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

Workers Compensation insurance for your contract negotiation services business employees

In many states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your contract negotiation 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 include 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 required to pay penalties levied by the states.

Some states, such as North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming only allow 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 rates 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 contract negotiation 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 insurance representative what’s relevant for your business.

The list below is of annual premiums we have collected for the main types of insurance your contract negotiation services businesses needs.

Types of insurance Price range
Equipment insurance $495 – $1010
General liability insurance $660 – $1055
Commercial insurance $825 – $2265
Commercial vehicle insurance $1835 – $2710
Public liability insurance $345 – $605
Product liability insurance $280 – $640

Cost of insurance for your contract negotiation services operations depends on many different factors.

We have calculated these figures for small freelance contract negotiation services businesses.

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

The location and size and type of your contract negotiation 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.

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

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

FAQ

What is small business insurance for contract negotiation services operations?

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

Does my contract negotiation services business have to have insurance?

Some of the types of insurance are not mandatory for you to run 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 contract negotiation services business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides coverage 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 contract negotiation services insurance.

How much will contract negotiation services business insurance cost?

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

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

You can search for more information insurance for contract negotiation services, in the search box below, and follow the relevant links.

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