Business Insurance

During my many years of legal practice in Michigan I have come across numerous situations where businesses lacked insurance coverage when they tried to file a claim with their insurance carrier and/or was denied coverage when a claim was filed because it was excluded from their policy. Many of the owners have asserted to me an “I didn’t know I didn’t have the coverage, my insurance agent never told me that my policy wouldn’t cover the type of claim involved or my insurance agent didn’t advise me that I needed additional coverage for certain types of potential claims.” In many instances, I have come to the realization and conclusion that the business owner merely didn’t want to pay for the additional coverage or didn’t think that type of coverage was needed. I always tell my business clients when they plan on purchasing business insurance they should review the policy in its entirety before signing on the dotted line, and to especially review and take notice of the area that usually is entitled “exclusions” from the policy. In many instances, and depending on your state’s insurance statute, an insurance agent must inform you of all coverages available to the business. Many insurance agencies and agents are now requiring you to fill out waiver forms if you do not wish to take certain additional coverages for your business so they can avoid potential malpractice claims. Depending on the type of industry a business is involved in may determine the type of extra or additional coverage the business should look into.  A business owner would be wise to spend time reading a property and casualty policy or any other business related policy in advance of binding coverage with the insurance carrier in order to verify what is covered and what is excluded from coverage.