Distribution Clerk insurance – cost and types of policies

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

Need General Liability Insurance for Your Distribution Clerk Business?
Get Your Free Quote

With the protection provided by insurance against accidents 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 Distribution Clerk enterprise, you must consider how much financial risk you are taking on.

Business Insurance for Distribution Clerk

If your Distribution Clerk business runs without proper insurance, you are taking a giant 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. 

In this article, we are giving very general guidelines for small businesses to outline 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 Distribution Clerk business?

What this means, for any Distribution Clerk business owner, is that if some person 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 Distribution Clerk business is not protected 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 person more than they have claimed.

When you are running your Distribution Clerk 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 alone.

What does Distribution Clerk insurance protect you from?

For your Distribution Clerk business, the most important sorts of insurance are intended to cover the risks to your business from accidents, from unexpected events, and from mistakes.

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

In the next few paragraphs, we will describe the most important points any Distribution Clerk business owner should know when negotiating the insurance needed.

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

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any Distribution Clerk business is dealing directly with members of the public, and that means you generally 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 require compensation.

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

It protects your Distribution Clerk business from the claims themselves and as well to any resulting 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 require proper liability insurance.

The usual level of general liability insurance for your Distribution Clerk 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 Distribution Clerk insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your Distribution Clerk business

In the event where a buyer alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your Distribution Clerk business for them, you can quickly have to fight a law suit.

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

Almost all small Distribution Clerk 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 Distribution Clerk insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your Distribution Clerk 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 what they received didn’t meet your description of function, or that your guidance 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 liable for damages caused by products claimed to be defective.

To cover yourself against any likely lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for Distribution Clerk

Only you can know 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 Distribution Clerk business

Take care! – 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 proper 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 guarantee the value of any vehicle in case of accident, malicious damage, fire, or theft.

Also, in case of any accident, the car itself, the content and any legal bills, medical expenses, and property damage is covered if your van is involved in a crash.

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

The required 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 Distribution Clerk business needs specialized and expensive 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 unpredicted acts.

As well, 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 must have full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy everything needed to keep your Distribution Clerk business running.

It is hard to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s essentially dependent on how much you have invested in your Distribution Clerk business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

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

If you own the property, you probably have a substantial capital investment, along with a big liability if there’s a mortgage.

Any physical building location needs to carry insurance coverage for the value of the premises and contents against unexpected occurrences like fire and storms, and against criminal damages like theft and vandalism.

If your Distribution Clerk business operates in areas of high risk, like Florida or North Carolina, additional 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 Distribution Clerk business premises, there is a need for more additional 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 Distribution Clerk insurance section below to give some estimate of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your Distribution Clerk business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your Distribution Clerk business

Is your Distribution Clerk 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 Distribution Clerk – are special policies where you can cover a designated 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 the same risk cover.

The important feature of short-term insurance is that you purchase the cover for a defined period – a nominated 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 Distribution Clerk 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 shield you if any claims of injury or property damage are made.

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

There are some limits that will dictate 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 dictate whether you are permitted 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 turnover.

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 Distribution Clerk business employees

In most states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your Distribution Clerk business has one or more employees.

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

The benefits provide for 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 having 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 cannot get your workers compensation obligations from private insurance providers.

Workers compensation rates 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 Distribution Clerk insurance level is unique, there are enough examples of standard quotes from insurance companies for us to give rough 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 researched for the main types of insurance your Distribution Clerk businesses needs.

Types of insurance Price range
Commercial vehicle insurance $1565 – $2615
General liability insurance $690 – $1195
Product liability insurance $275 – $515
Commercial insurance $825 – $2360
Public liability insurance $335 – $560
Equipment insurance $320 – $1065

Cost of insurance for your Distribution Clerk operations depends on many different factors.

We have calculated these figures for small independent Distribution Clerk businesses.

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

The location and size and type of your Distribution Clerk 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.

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

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

FAQ

What is small business insurance for Distribution Clerk operations?

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

Does my Distribution Clerk 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.

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

What does a small Distribution Clerk business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides coverage against lawsuits or claims filed by a client 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 recommended policies for Distribution Clerk insurance.

How much will Distribution Clerk business insurance cost?

On top of the size of the business, certain 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.

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

Was this helpful? Share it!
SBCoverage.com