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Business insurance is about protecting your company from any and all types of possible liability and keeping it running in the face of challenges. There is no one-size-fits-all type of insurance that will cover all of your business needs. Instead, you will have to weave together many types of insurance to provide the protection you will need for your business. Here are eight types of insurance coverage businesses should consider.

General Liability Insurance 

This is a catch-all type of insurance policy that can cover a wide variety of injuries people can suffer due to your business activities. For example, general liability insurance will cover premises liability claims, such as a slip-and-fall accident on your property. This type of insurance coverage would make payments for the damage to someone’s body, and it could cover damage to another’s reputation if you or your employees were found to have committed libel. General liability insurance could also cover damages that your employees cause to others in the course of their jobs. Without this type of protection, injured plaintiffs can go after your company’s assets and possibly even put you out of business. Business owners cannot afford to be without this type of insurance.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance 

Your business not only should have workers’ compensation insurance—it might be legally required to do so. Under Florida law, if your company has four or more employees in a non-construction business, you must purchase workers’ compensation insurance to provide benefits should your employees be injured on the job. While the premiums are an expense for your business, they will actually save you money in the long run. The tradeoff for you spending money on workers’ compensation insurance is that it severely limits the circumstances in which an employee can file a personal injury lawsuit against your business.

Commercial Property Insurance 

This type of insurance is a must, especially in Florida since severe weather routinely hits the state. Commercial property insurance will cover damage to both your business and your equipment when there is a natural disaster or fire. These policies can also provide your business with valuable protection if something happens to disrupt operations. If you cannot continue operating your business because of property damage, you can potentially receive benefits under a business continuity policy or business interruption policy until you are able to open again. Commercial property insurance can pay for temporary expenses while your business gets up and running again. If your commercial property insurance does not include business interruption insurance, you should purchase a separate policy to cover your operating expenses when you cannot access your physical location due to a disruption like severe weather or a natural disaster.

Flood Insurance  

When severe weather hits Florida, water damage from flooding is not covered by commercial property insurance. Floods can cause massive financial loss, so the government has stepped in to help insurers offer this type of coverage. Flood insurance typically only covers floods that affect more than one property. For example, if a business’s plumbing or sump pump malfunction and cause a flood, this would not be considered a covered flood under the terms of a flood insurance policy. Flood insurance will cover both damage to a physical building and the contents inside. This type of insurance is an absolute must when a business is located in a rainy climate like Florida’s because it can help owners rebuild after a catastrophic storm.

Commercial Umbrella Insurance 

These days, many businesses live in fear of a “nuclear verdict” from a jury. A nuclear verdict is an extremely large verdict that can put a company out of business because of how much money would be needed to pay it. Your general liability insurance can only go so far to protect you when there are coverage limits. An umbrella policy gives you more coverage, and it will give you extra peace of mind that will keep you from worrying about the effects a serious injury could have on your business.

Auto Insurance 

If you have company cars or people that drive on behalf of your business, you can be held liable for the damages the drivers cause. Employees are normally considered agents of their employers for purposes of liability. So long as they were acting within the scope of their employment (such as using the company car to make a delivery or meet a prospective client), the employer can potentially be held legally responsible for their employees’ car accidents. Auto insurance will cover many of the resulting damages.

Professional Liability Insurance 

If your business provides a service, you may always be at risk for a lawsuit. Every business needs errors & omissions liability insurance (E&O insurance) in case they are sued for failure to perform the services for which they are hired. Each profession will have its own type of liability insurance. Without professional liability insurance, your business could be at risk if you make a mistake. Even worse, a plaintiff may try to go after your personal assets. In some industries, having E&O insurance may be a legal requirement in order to operate a business.

Product Liability Insurance 

When you produce a product that you sell to the public, you can be held liable if there are defects in that product with regard to its design, manufacture, or operation. The resulting verdicts or settlements in product liability cases can be very significant. Chances are if one person was hurt or suffered a loss caused by a product, many other people were also affected, leading to large-scale liability and perhaps a class action or mass tort lawsuit. Product liability insurance can help protect your business from large-scale liability for defective products and keep jury verdicts from shutting down your business. This type of insurance could also cover your legal fees if you are sued, so litigation expenses won’t destroy your bottom line.