Research Scientist insurance – cost and coverage

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, Research Scientist insurance must be included in the list because you can’t always know exactly what can happen in the future.

Need General Liability Insurance for Your Research Scientist Business?
Get Your Free Quote

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 unforeseen happens.

Like any business owner, for your Research Scientist enterprise, you must consider how much financial risk you are taking on.

Business Insurance for Research Scientist

If your Research Scientist 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 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 available, a rough guide to how much you can expect to pay.

The question is, can you afford to NOT have insurance for your Research Scientist business?

What this means, for any Research Scientist business owner, is that if some customer claims that your actions caused them some physical or economic damage, a court can award damages far beyond the total size of your business.

Your Research Scientist business is not harbored by laws in the same way as states are, where legislation 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 court 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 sued for.

When you are running your Research Scientist operations, you can’t deny responsibility for the consequences of your actions.

Even more importantly, unless you have spent beforehand the money necessary to have your business running as a limited liability company, all of that liability belongs to you alone.

What does Research Scientist insurance protect you from?

For your Research Scientist business, the most important sorts of insurance are meant to cover the risks to your business from accidents, from unexpected events, and from mistakes.

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

In the next few paragraphs, we will describe the most important points any Research Scientist business owner should consider when negotiating the insurance needed.

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

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any Research Scientist business is dealing directly with customers, 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 require compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your Research Scientist business protects you against claims coming from injury to visitors or damage to their property.

It protects your Research Scientist business from the claims themselves and also 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 require proper liability insurance.

The usual level of general liability insurance for your Research Scientist 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 Research Scientist insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your Research Scientist business

In the event where a client alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your Research Scientist business for them, you can quickly have to fight a monetary claim.

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.

Almost all small Research Scientist 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 Research Scientist insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your Research Scientist 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 you delivered didn’t meet your description of function, or that your advice was basically incorrect.

You need to understand the specific laws of product liability in your own state.

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

To cover yourself against any possible lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for Research Scientist

Only you can know 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 Research Scientist 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 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 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 guaranteed if your truck is involved in a crash.

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

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

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your Research Scientist business needs unique and dedicated 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 unexpected acts.

Also, 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 any equipment needed to keep your Research Scientist 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 Research Scientist business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any Research Scientist business that owns or rents space in a building needs 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.

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

If your Research Scientist business operates in areas of high risk, like Texas or North Carolina, additional coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

In other states like Rhode Island, where intense cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of Research Scientist 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 Research Scientist insurance section below to give some indication of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your Research Scientist business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your Research Scientist business

Is your Research Scientist 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 Research Scientist – are special policies where you can cover a specific period when you want to be covered.

By only paying for that period of cover, you will save by having lower premiums but still having the same risk cover.

The key feature of short-term insurance is that you buy the cover for a defined period – a specific 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 Research Scientist 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 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 frequently the right choice for small and medium-sized Research Scientist businesses, such as yours.

There are two 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 dictate whether you are permitted to take out BOP cover.

The typical business that is eligible for a BOP policy must have no more than one hundred employees, and under five million dollars in annual sales.

In addition, you must separately take out the required worker’s compensation, health and disability insurance as determined for your state.

Workers Compensation insurance for your Research Scientist business employees

In most states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your Research Scientist 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 include 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 obliged 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 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 Research Scientist insurance requirement is unique, there are enough examples of usual quotes from insurance companies for us to give appropriate 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 collected for the main types of insurance your Research Scientist businesses needs.

Types of insurance Price range
Equipment insurance $455 – $1355
Commercial vehicle insurance $1840 – $2575
Product liability insurance $230 – $555
Public liability insurance $305 – $545
General liability insurance $735 – $1205
Commercial insurance $1055 – $2780

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

We have reckoned these figures for small self-employed Research Scientist businesses.

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

The location and size and type of your Research Scientist 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 searching for insurance companies near where your business is located.

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

FAQ

What is small business insurance for Research Scientist operations?

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

Does my Research Scientist business have to have insurance?

Some of the kinds of insurance are not mandatory for you to operate 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 Research Scientist business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides coverage against lawsuits or claims filed by a customer for bodily injury, property damage, or negligence.

The specific 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 Research Scientist insurance.

How much will Research Scientist 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 discuss with professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

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

Was this helpful? Share it!
SBCoverage.com