Commercial Insurance Offerings

Why You Need Business Liability Insurance

What is Business Liability Insurance?

Sometimes called Commercial Liability Insurance or Commercial General Liability Insurance,

Business Liability Insurance provides your business with protection against claims of damage or injury caused by you or your employees to another. Business liability coverage is not mandatory for businesses operating in Alabama. However, accidents do happen, so it would be wise to hold sufficient business liability insurance coverage to protect your property and other assets.

What Does a Business Liability Insurance Policy Cover?

A typical business liability policy will cover:

• Property Damage: covers damage caused by you or an employee to someone else’s property.
• Bodily Injury: covers physical injury to a non-employee at your place of business or injuries caused by you or an employee at a client’s home or place of business.
• Personal Injury: Covers costs incurred from acts that cause damage to a person’s reputation, such as libel, slander, copyright infringement, false arrest, and similar acts.
• Legal Defense and Judgements: Covers costs, up to the limit of your coverage, to defend against lawsuits and judgments.

How Much Business Liability Insurance Should I Carry?

The type of business you operate and/or they type of products your business manufactures typically dictates how much liability coverage you should carry. The standard coverage for a small Alabama business is between $500,000 and $1 million. You should consider increasing this amount if your business has a high volume of interaction with the public, i.e. a retail establishment or restaurant.

Other Business Insurance Options and Requirements

As mentioned above, business liability insurance is not mandatory in Alabama. However, if you have employees, Alabama law states that “any business that has five or more employees, other than contractors, is required to have workers’compensation coverage.”

Other available business insurance options include:

• Product Liability Insurance
• Professional Liability Insurance
• Commercial Property Insurance
• Home-Based Business Insurance

A Liveoak agent can help you parse through all of your options, ensure you’re in compliance with any state regulations, and create a policy specific to you and your business.

Property Insurance is one of the two main categories of commercial insurance. Without the appropriate amount of insurance coverage, property losses can easily cause the collapse of the business you’ve worked so hard to build up. Liveoak Agency, Inc. can help you put together an all-risks coverage Commercial Property Insurance Policy to help protect your business and its assets.

What is Commercial Property Insurance?

The function of commercial property insurance is to make available critical financial assistance in the event of a loss, so your business can continue to operate with as little interruption as possible. If you own a building, your property insurance policy will cover the structure itself, as well as the contents of the building – if those contents are owned or leased by the business, e.g., computers, inventory, office equipment.

Types of Commercial Property Insurance

• All-Risks Coverage – Sometimes called “Open Perils” or “Special Perils,” an All-Risks Policy provides coverage for all events not specifically excluded in the policy.
• Named-Peril Coverage – This type of policy provides coverage for specific perils as spelled out in the policy. If your business suffers a loss from an event that is not named in the policy, it will not be covered.
• Replacement Cost Insurance – Ask your Liveoak agent if Replacement Cost Insurance is available in your area. This type of coverage pays out enough to replace your property at today’s prices, regardless of the cost when you bought the items, up to the amount of the policy cap.
• Business Interruption Insurance – Also called Business Income Insurance, is a type of insurance that will cover loss of income or potential income as a result of disaster-related closing of the business.
• Business Owners Policy – Generally referred to as a BOP, a Business Owners Policy combines several types of coverages into one policy. These packages are usually more economical, and many business owners find them more convenient as they offer coverage for a number of potential events all in one policy.

Events Not Covered by Commercial Property Insurance

As a rule, earthquake and flood coverage are not covered through a general property insurance policy. Your Liveoak Agency, Inc. agent can help you decide if additional flood and/or earthquake coverage makes financial sense for your specific situation.

Bond Quotes & Information

Entrepreneur defines Bonding as “a guarantee of performance required either by law or consumer demand.” Bonds are not insurance in the conventional sense, but more like a safeguard to ensure the bonded project or service is completed as promised.

What is a Surety Bond?

There are two primary types of Surety Bonds: Contract and Commercial. A Contract Bond, sometimes called a Construction Bond, ensures the completion of a contract in the event of a contractor default. A Commercial Bond, also referred to as a “Non-Contract Bond,” includes License and Permit Bonds and Court Bonds.

Benefits to Being Bonded

Sometimes things just don’t work out as planned. Without proper foresight, bad weather, shady employees, or a surge of teenage vandalism can put a black mark on your business’s good name. Being bonded certifies completion of the project or service as specified and protects your client’s interests Disaster averted; reputation intact.

We handle both contract and commercial bonds and can get your business bonded quickly and hassle-free.

A Liveoak agent can help you acquire:

Bid Bonds: a type of contract bond that ensures the bidder on a contract will enter into the contract and furnish the required payment and performance bonds if awarded the contract.

Payment Bonds: a type of contract bond that ensures suppliers and subcontractors are paid for work performed under the contract.

Performance Bond: a type of contract bond that ensures the contract will be completed in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract.

Maintenance Bonds: a type of contract bond that guarantees any maintenance issues, e.g., design defects, faulty workmanship, etc., will be solved by the contractor

License and Permit Bonds: business owners in certain industries must purchase these bonds before they can be legally licensed to do business.

Don’t see what you need? Contact Liveoak Agency, Inc. for information on other bonding options and prices.

If you have a personal umbrella liability policy, there’s generally an exclusion for business-related liability.

Unfortunately for every business owner, the chances of getting sued have dramatically increased in the last decade. General Liability insurance can prevent a legal suit from turning into a financial disaster by providing financial protection in case your business is ever sued or held legally responsible for some injury or damage.

General Liability Insurance pays losses arising from real or alleged bodily injury, property damage, or personal injury on your business premises or arising from your operations.

Broad Range of General Liability Insurance Protection

• Bodily Injury, including the cost of care, the loss of services, and the restitution for any death that results from injury.
• Property Damage coverage for the physical damage to property of others or the loss of use of that property.
• Products-Completed Operations provides liability protection (damages and legal expenses up to your policy’s limit) if an injury ever resulted from something your company made or service your company provided.
• Products Liability is a more specialized product liability insurance that protects your company against lawsuits from product-related injury or accidents.
• Contractual Liability extends to any liability you may assume by entering into a variety of contracts.
• Other coverage includes: Reasonable Use of Force; Borrowed Equipment; Liquor Liability; Non-Owned Vehicles (such as aircraft and watercraft); Fire, Lightning or Explosion Damage; Water
• Damage Liability Protection; Legal Defense Costs; Medical Payments; Personal Injury; Advertising Injury; and specialized liability protection for specific business types.

No business is 100 percent immune from lawsuits. Claims can be brought by employees, non-employees, or investors. Liveoak Agency, Inc. can help protect your company’s assets with a Professional Liability Insurance Policy. Our professional liability line of products includes:

• Employment Practices Liability Insurance
• Directors & Officers Insurance
• Errors & Omissions Insurance.

Employment Practices Liability Insurance

What Is Employment Practices Liability Insurance?

Employment Practices Liability Insurance, also known as EPL or EPLI, provides coverage against claims made by employees charging the employer with discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, or other employment related issues.

What Will an EPLI Policy Cost?

A variety of factors can affect the cost of insuring your business for EPLI coverage, such as:
Number of employees;
Percentage of employee turnover;
Employee litigation history of the company;
If the company has a best practices plan in place.

How is an EPLI Policy Written?

Depending on the size of the company, EPLI coverage can be an addition to a General Liability Policy or a Business Owner’s Policy. Additionally, a stand-alone EPLI policy can be written in conjunction with your Business Owner’s Policy.

Directors and Officers Liability Insurance

What Is Directors and Officers Liability Insurance?

Business insurance policies provide protection for the business itself. That can leave individual company officers personally exposed to the threat of financial loss as the result of a lawsuit. Directors and Officers Liability Insurance, sometimes referred to as a D&O Policy, adds a layer of liability protection specifically for the business’s directors and officers.

What Does a D&O Policy Cover?

A D&O policy will help cover corporate leadership in the event of claims for:

• Failure to comply with laws and/or regulations;
• Employment practices;
• Human Resources issues;
• Pollution or other regulatory claims;
• Cyber liability;Failure and/or disregard of fiduciary duties.

What Does a D&O Policy Exclude

There are standard exclusions for all D&O policies that typically include:

• Illegal compensation exclusions;
• Personal profiting;
• Fraud;
• Bodily injury and/or property damage
• Errors and Omissions Insurance

What Is Errors and Omissions Insurance?

Errors and Omissions insurance, frequently called E&O Insurance, is professional liability insurance that offers protection from claims of failure to perform or negligence specifically for your professional services business

What Does an E&O Policy Cover?

• Personal injury claims – libel or slander
• Copyright infringement
• Actual or alleged negligence
• Defense costs

What Does an E&O Policy Not Cover?

• False advertising
• Employment matters
• Fraudulent acts
• Third-party bodily injury or property damage
• Patents and trade secrets

Employees not only deserve a safe workplace, but they are entitled to a safe workplace. Under state and federal law, employers must provide employees a workplace free of known health and safety hazards. If an accident does occur, a Workers’ Compensation Insurance Policy from Liveoak Agency, Inc. will be key in providing guidance to the employer and protection to the injured employee.

Who Needs Workers’ Compensation Insurance?

Per the Alabama Department of Labor, any business that has five or more employees, other than contractors, is required by law to have workers’ compensation coverage. The term “employee” includes:

• All full or part-time employees;
• All officers of the corporation – with the option to exclude yourself;
• All members of an LLC – with the option to exclude yourself.

Employers are free to choose the best way for their business to cover workers’ compensation liability requirements. A Liveoak agent can explain the pros and cons of Alabama’s coverage options and answer any questions you might have.

What Does Workers’ Compensation Cover

• Workers’ compensation insurance protects the business by limiting civil liability and specified damages while providing employees with a remedy for occupational disease and injuries sustained on the job. Examples of employee benefits include medical coverage and wage compensation.
• In exchange for these benefits, employees cannot pursue any legal claims against their employer regarding an incident. While the law allows quite a bit of leeway as to the method of insurance a business selects, the available options are quite strict with their criteria in granting a policy. An expert Liveoak agent can discuss all of these options with you, so can better select the best allowable policy for your business.

What are the Penalties for Non-Compliance?

An employer who fails to secure the appropriate workers’ compensation coverage is:

• Guilty of a misdemeanor;
• Subject to a fine of not less than $100 and no more than $1,000;
• Liable for two times the amount of employee compensation;
• Subject to additional civil penalties of up to $100 for each day the employer remains in noncompliance.

When you are responsible for a place of worship, maintaining a safe and welcoming facility is a must. But because places of worship are open to, and work with, the public, proper commercial liability insurance is essential. Churches can be held accountable in the event of an injury or property damage involving their facilities, staff, or operations. Liveoak Agency, Inc. can help you safeguard your church’s property and finances with reliable commercial insurance.

Types of Insurance Your Church May Need

General Liability Insurance helps protect against claims of property damage or bodily injury occurring either on the church property or a church-sponsored event.

Enhanced Liability Coverage provides an extra layer of financial security to the church and can include:

• Special Events Liability Coverage
• Liquor Liability Coverage
• Owners Protective Liability Insurance
• Contractors Protective Liability Insurance
• Hired and Non-Owned Auto Liability Insurance

• Employee Benefits Liability Coverage: requires the church to make available information to employees about benefits
• Employee Practices Liability Coverage: can protect the church from liability and legal costs to defend against a discrimination, sexual harassment, or wrongful-termination claim by an employee or worker.
• Counseling Professional Liability Coverage: helps cover costs incurred by the church’s resulting from a legal obligation to pay as damages because of injury caused by providing or failing to provide counseling services
• Directors, Officers, and Trustees Liability Coverage: As a non-profit organization, board members may be held personally liable for the actions of the ministry. This policy provides coverage for legal fees arising out of lawsuits and wrongful act allegations that are brought against these officers.

Additional Enhanced Liability Coverage options include:

• Personal Injury Liability Coverage
• Teacher/Governing Board Liability Coverage
• Specialized Emotional Injury Liability Coverage
• Sexual Misconduct Liability Coverage
• Workers Compensation

Property Coverage

A standard Commercial Property Policy covers buildings, signage, and fences from damage and theft, but many church policies require additional coverage for non-standard items such as stained glass windows or mission trips. Your Liveoak agent can help you tailor your policy’s terms to best protect the needs of your establishment.

In addition to property and liability coverage, a variety of optional policies are available to optimize your venue’s coverage. Some of the policies Liveoak Agency, Inc. can assist you with are:

• Equipment/Electronics Failure Coverage
• Fire And Security Alarm Upgrades
• Lost Wage Coverage
• Key Person Replacement Coverage
• Computer Fraud Coverage
• Flood Coverage