Shared Office Spaces insurance – cost and types of policies

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, Shared Office Spaces insurance must be high on the list because you can’t always know exactly what is going to happen in the future.

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With the protection provided by liability insurance and all the other types of insurance we will tell you about, you can protect your business and yourself in case something unwanted happens.

Like any business owner, for your Shared Office Spaces enterprise, you must consider how much financial risk you are taking on.

If your Shared Office Spaces business runs without proper insurance, you are taking an enormous chance not just of losing some money but of a complete 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. 

Shared Office Spaces 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 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 Shared Office Spaces business?

What this means, for any Shared Office Spaces business owner, is that if some person 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 Shared Office Spaces business is not protected 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 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 duty of the jury to award whatever amount they deem appropriate, even sometimes giving a plaintiff more than they have claimed.

When you are running your Shared Office Spaces operations, you can’t avoid 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 as a person.

What does Shared Office Spaces insurance protect you from?

For your Shared Office Spaces business, the most important types of insurance are intended to cover the risks to your business from accidents, from unexpected events, and from mistakes.

In addition there are some legal kinds of insurance that various states require.

In the next few paragraphs, we will explain the most important points any Shared Office Spaces business owner should consider when negotiating the insurance needed.

The main categories of insurance for your Shared Office Spaces businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any Shared Office Spaces business is dealing directly with customers, and that means you usually have the danger that some accident can happen to them bodily or else something of theirs can be spoiled.

In such a case, they can demand compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your Shared Office Spaces business insures you against claims coming from injury to customers or damage to their property.

It protects your Shared Office Spaces business from the claims themselves and in addition to any follow-on court costs and legal fees of the lawsuits.

In many cases, it will even 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 Shared Office Spaces 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 Shared Office Spaces insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your Shared Office Spaces business

In the event where a client alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your Shared Office Spaces business for them, you can quickly be involved in a monetary claim.

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

Most small Shared Office Spaces 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 Shared Office Spaces insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your Shared Office Spaces 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 the results didn’t meet your description of function, or that your guidance was basically incorrect.

You need to understand the explicit 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 likely lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for Shared Office Spaces

Only you can estimate exactly how much insurance you should get.

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

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your Shared Office Spaces business

Be careful! – practically all policies for private vehicle insurance do not cover any occurrence 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 direct commercial vehicle insurance package.

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

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

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

The required value of the insurance is worked-out for the depreciated value of the vehicle, and your intended level of cover of contents. 

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your Shared Office Spaces business needs specific and costly equipment, you know how much it can cost to replace it in case of any damage, loss, or theft.

The gear 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 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 should have full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy any equipment needed to keep your Shared Office Spaces 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 Shared Office Spaces business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any Shared Office Spaces 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.

Your physical building location needs to 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 Shared Office Spaces business operates in areas of high risk, like Florida or Georgia, extra coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

In other states like Washington, where unlimited cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of Shared Office Spaces business premises, there is a need for more additional cover than in warmer climes.

Although the level of cover depends entirely 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 Shared Office Spaces insurance section below to give some indication of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your Shared Office Spaces business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your Shared Office Spaces business

Is your Shared Office Spaces 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 Shared Office Spaces – 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 less premiums but still having the same 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 higher business activity, get the existing cover increased.

Talk to your insurance agent, broker or the company’s representatives to see what options you have.

Business Owners Policy BOP for your Shared Office Spaces business

You have the chance 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 combines commercial property and public liability insurance by incorporating 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 Shared Office Spaces 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 risks.

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

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

As well, you must separately take out the mandated worker’s compensation, health and disability insurance as determined for your state.

Workers Compensation insurance for your Shared Office Spaces business employees

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

Workers compensation insurance covers the business against any costs that arise if a worker 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 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 may not take out your workers compensation obligations from private insurance companies.

Workers compensation premiums are calculated 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 Shared Office Spaces insurance need 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 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 Shared Office Spaces businesses needs.

Types of insurance Price range
Commercial insurance $912 – $2545
Equipment insurance $455 – $1280
General liability insurance $646 – $1298
Public liability insurance $305 – $720
Product liability insurance $267 – $506
Commercial vehicle insurance $1521 – $3494

Cost of insurance for your Shared Office Spaces operations depends on many different factors.

We have reckoned these figures for small self-employed Shared Office Spaces businesses.

In larger states like Texas, premiums are generally about 20%-30% higher than national averages, but in smaller states like Utah, they can be about 20%-30% cheaper.

The location and size and type of your Shared Office Spaces 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 enquiring about insurance companies near where your business is located.

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

FAQ

What is small business insurance for Shared Office Spaces operations?

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

Does my Shared Office Spaces business have to have insurance?

Some of the forms 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 Shared Office Spaces business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides insurance against lawsuits or claims filed by a client 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 recommended policies for Shared Office Spaces insurance.

How much will Shared Office Spaces 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 discuss with professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

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