Graduate Teaching Assistants insurance – what kind and at what cost

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, Graduate Teaching Assistants insurance must be high on the list because you can’t always know exactly what can happen in the future.

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With the protection provided by liability 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 Graduate Teaching Assistants enterprise, you must consider how much financial danger you are taking on.

If your Graduate Teaching Assistants 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 upshots of their actions. 

Graduate Teaching Assistants Insurance

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

The question is, can you afford to NOT have insurance for your Graduate Teaching Assistants business?

What this means, for any Graduate Teaching Assistants 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 Graduate Teaching Assistants 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 Montana, 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 claimant more than they have sort.

When you are running your Graduate Teaching Assistants operations, you can’t escape responsibility for the consequences of your actions.

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

What does Graduate Teaching Assistants insurance protect you from?

For your Graduate Teaching Assistants 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 mandatory kinds of insurance that various states require.

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

The main headings of insurance for your Graduate Teaching Assistants businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any Graduate Teaching Assistants 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 spoiled.

In such a case, they can demand compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your Graduate Teaching Assistants business covers you against claims coming from injury to visitors or damage to their property.

It protects your Graduate Teaching Assistants 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 Graduate Teaching Assistants 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 Graduate Teaching Assistants insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your Graduate Teaching Assistants business

In the event where a customer alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your Graduate Teaching Assistants business for them, you can quickly have to fight a court case.

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

Every small Graduate Teaching Assistants 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 Graduate Teaching Assistants insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your Graduate Teaching Assistants 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 understand the particular laws of product liability in your own state.

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

To cover yourself against any following lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for Graduate Teaching Assistants

Only you can estimate exactly how much insurance you need.

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

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your Graduate Teaching Assistants business

Beware! – practically all policies for private vehicle insurance do not cover any event 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 van policies insure the value of any vehicle in case of accident, malicious damage, fire, or theft.

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

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

The required value of the insurance is calculated on the depreciated value of the vehicle, and your declared level of cover of contents. 

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your Graduate Teaching Assistants business needs specialized and dedicated equipment, you can appreciate how much it can cost to replace it in case of any damage, loss, or theft.

The equipment 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 destroy your whole business in one stroke.

Unless you can afford to immediately replace such specific 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 Graduate Teaching Assistants 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 Graduate Teaching Assistants business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any Graduate Teaching Assistants business that owns or rents space in a building should have a commercial property insurance policy.

If you own the building, you probably have a substantial capital investment, along with 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 natural occurrences like fire and storms, and against criminal damages like theft and vandalism.

If your Graduate Teaching Assistants business operates in areas of high risk, like California or Georgia, supplementary coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

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

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your Graduate Teaching Assistants business

Is your Graduate Teaching Assistants business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business variable?

Using short-term insurance makes perfect sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for Graduate Teaching Assistants – 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 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 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 Graduate Teaching Assistants business

You have the choice 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 merges commercial property and public liability insurance by amalgamating 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 often the right choice for small and medium-sized Graduate Teaching Assistants businesses, such as yours.

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

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

Also, the size of your business will rule 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 revenue.

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 Graduate Teaching Assistants business employees

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

Workers compensation insurance covers the business against any costs that arise if an employee 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 having 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 may not obtain your workers compensation obligations from private insurance corporations.

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 Graduate Teaching Assistants 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 Graduate Teaching Assistants businesses needs.

Types of insurance Price range
Product liability insurance $309 – $511
Public liability insurance $284 – $642
General liability insurance $642 – $1168
Commercial insurance $864 – $2764
Equipment insurance $395 – $1327
Commercial vehicle insurance $1733 – $3190

Cost of insurance for your Graduate Teaching Assistants operations depends on many different factors.

We have estimated these figures for small self-employed Graduate Teaching Assistants businesses.

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

The location and size and type of your Graduate Teaching Assistants business can have a big effect on the cost of different policies.

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

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

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

FAQ

What is small business insurance for Graduate Teaching Assistants operations?

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

Does my Graduate Teaching Assistants 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 Graduate Teaching Assistants 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 Graduate Teaching Assistants insurance.

How much will Graduate Teaching Assistants 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.

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