Optometrists insurance – what kind and at what cost

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, Optometrists insurance must be high on the list because you can’t always know exactly what is going to 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 unexpected happens.

Like any business owner, for your Optometrists enterprise, you must consider how much financial danger you are taking on.

If your Optometrists 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 consequences 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 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 Optometrists business?

What this means, for any Optometrists 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 Optometrists 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 court can award in any case against the state.

In a court case, it’s purely the duty of the jury to award whatever amount they deem appropriate, even sometimes giving a claimant more than they have sued for.

When you are running your Optometrists 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 an LLC, all of that liability belongs to you as a person.

What does Optometrists insurance protect you from?

For your Optometrists business, the most important kinds of insurance are designed 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 Optometrists business owner should know when negotiating the insurance needed.

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

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any Optometrists 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 damaged.

In such a case, they can demand compensation.

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

It protects your Optometrists business from the claims themselves and in addition 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 usual level of general liability insurance for your Optometrists 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 Optometrists insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your Optometrists business

In the event where a buyer alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your Optometrists business for them, you can quickly face a court case.

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

Almost all small Optometrists business should have enough professional liability insurance to cover a single claim of $25,000, with annual cover of $50,000.

See the table in the cost of Optometrists insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your Optometrists 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 the results didn’t meet your description of function, or that your advice 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 responsible for results caused by products claimed to be defective.

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

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 Optometrists business

Be careful! – practically all policies for private vehicle insurance do not cover any happening like theft or accidental damage when the car 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 proper commercial vehicle insurance package.

Commercial truck policies guarantee the value of any vehicle in case of accident, malicious damage, fire, or theft.

In addition, in case of any accident, the car itself, the content and any legal bills, medical expenses, and property damage is insured 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 intended level of cover of contents. 

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your Optometrists business needs unique and expensive equipment, you will realize 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 unexpected acts.

As well, 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 specialized gear quickly out of your own pocket, you should have full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy any equipment needed to keep your Optometrists business running.

It is impossible to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s basically dependent on how much you have invested in your Optometrists business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

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

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

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

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

In other states like Illinois, where extreme cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of Optometrists business premises, there is a need for more additional cover than in warmer climes.

Whereas 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 Optometrists insurance section below to give some estimate of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your Optometrists business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your Optometrists business

Is your Optometrists business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business fluctuating?

Using short-term insurance makes excellent sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for Optometrists – 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 identical risk cover.

The key 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 higher 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 Optometrists business

You have the choice to combine a few of the important kinds of small business insurance in one policy that is known as the business owner’s policy – BOP.

A BOP combines commercial property and public liability insurance by packaging 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 mostly the right choice for small and medium-sized Optometrists businesses, such as yours.

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

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

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

The usual business that is allowed to take a BOP policy must have fewer than one hundred employees, and maximum 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 Optometrists business employees

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

Workers compensation insurance covers the enterprise against any costs that arise if any hired hand 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 requirements 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 authorize coverage from the government-run monopoly state funds.

In these states, you cannot obtain your workers compensation obligations from private insurance companies.

Workers compensation rates are calculated 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 Optometrists insurance requirement is unique, there are enough examples of standard 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 gathered for the main types of insurance your Optometrists businesses needs.

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

We have calculated these figures for small freelance Optometrists businesses.

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

The location and size and type of your Optometrists 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 enquiring about 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 Optometrists operations?

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

Does my Optometrists business have to have insurance?

Some of the forms 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 Optometrists business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides insurance against lawsuits or claims filed by a third-party 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 best policies for Optometrists insurance.

How much will Optometrists business insurance cost?

On top of the size of the business, some 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.