Online Auctioneer insurance – cost and types of policies

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, Online Auctioneer 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 general insurance and all the other types of insurance we will tell you about, you can protect your business and yourself in case something unforeseen happens.

Like any business owner, for your Online Auctioneer enterprise, you must consider how much financial liability you are taking on.

If your Online Auctioneer business runs without proper insurance, you are taking a tremendous 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. 

Online Auctioneer Insurance

In this article, we are giving very general guidelines for growing businesses to explain 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 Online Auctioneer business?

What this means, for any Online Auctioneer business owner, is that if some company 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 Online Auctioneer business is not harbored 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 an adjudicator 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 sued for.

When you are running your Online Auctioneer operations, you can’t escape responsibility for the outcomes of your actions.

Even more importantly, unless you have spent up-front the money necessary to have your business running as a corporation, all of that liability belongs to you as an individual.

What does Online Auctioneer insurance protect you from?

For your Online Auctioneer business, the most important types of insurance are designed 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 explain the most important points any Online Auctioneer business owner should know when negotiating the insurance needed.

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

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any Online Auctioneer business is dealing directly with other people, and that means you usually 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 sue you for compensation.

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

It protects your Online Auctioneer business from the claims themselves and also to any follow-on 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 demand proper liability insurance.

The normal level of general liability insurance for your Online Auctioneer 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 Online Auctioneer insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your Online Auctioneer business

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

Even if the matter 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 Online Auctioneer 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 Online Auctioneer insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your Online Auctioneer operations.

Product liability insurance

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

You need to be aware of 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 Online Auctioneer

Only you can determine exactly how much insurance you must have.

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

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your Online Auctioneer business

Beware! – practically all 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 right 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 car 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 covered if your van is involved in a collision.

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

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

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your Online Auctioneer business needs unique and expensive equipment, you know 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 unforeseen acts.

In addition, 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 specialized gear quickly out of your own pocket, you should have full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy everything needed to keep your Online Auctioneer 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 Online Auctioneer business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any Online Auctioneer business that owns or rents space in a building must have a commercial property insurance policy.

If you own the property, you may already have a substantial capital investment, as well as a big liability if there’s a mortgage.

Any physical building location must 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 Online Auctioneer business works in areas of high risk, like Florida or North Carolina, extra coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

In other states like Washington, where extreme cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of Online Auctioneer business premises, there is a need for more supplementary 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 Online Auctioneer insurance section below to give some indication of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your Online Auctioneer business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your Online Auctioneer business

Is your Online Auctioneer 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 Online Auctioneer – 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 adequate 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 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 Online Auctioneer business

You have the chance 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 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 mostly the right choice for small and medium-sized Online Auctioneer businesses, such as yours.

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

BOPs cannot cover your professional liability or commercial vehicle risks.

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

The typical business that is eligible for a BOP policy must have fewer 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 Online Auctioneer business employees

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

Workers compensation insurance covers the enterprise 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 get 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 consult the relevant authorities in your state.

Average costs of these types of insurance

Although every Online Auctioneer insurance requirement 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 a broker what’s relevant for your business.

The list below is of annual premiums we have collected for the main types of insurance your Online Auctioneer businesses needs.

Types of insurance Price range
Equipment insurance $448 – $1094
Commercial vehicle insurance $1695 – $2674
Commercial insurance $1135 – $2629
Product liability insurance $296 – $636
Public liability insurance $325 – $733
General liability insurance $628 – $1117

Cost of insurance for your Online Auctioneer operations depends on many different factors.

We have estimated these figures for small self-employed Online Auctioneer businesses.

In larger states like Texas, premiums are generally about 20%-30% higher than national averages, while in smaller states like Oregon, they will be about 20%-30% lower.

The location and size and type of your Online Auctioneer 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 useful source of information is the local Better Business Bureau in your city.

FAQ

What is small business insurance for Online Auctioneer operations?

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

Does my Online Auctioneer 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.

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

What does a small Online Auctioneer business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides protection 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 most common policies for Online Auctioneer insurance.

How much will Online Auctioneer business insurance cost?

In addition to 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.

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