Protect and Insure Your Small Business: How to Choose the Right Insurance Coverage

Do you own a small business providing bookkeeping services, mortgage brokers, or a hair salon?

You work hard and devote a lot of time and energy to making your business and your company prosper. It is therefore essential to protect and insure it to maintain peace of mind. This way, you can concentrate all your efforts on making it grow.

It is therefore important to opt for a insurance coverage tailored to your needs.

How to choose your insurance plan?

No one is safe from a major problem, such as a disaster or an accident. This is why it is important to take out business damage insurance. This helps limit financial losses, but also helps your business get back on its feet as quickly as possible in the event of an incident.

In order to choose your insurance coverage carefully, you will need to follow these four steps:

1. Assess the amount of insurance needed

2. Calculate the value of your assets

3. Determine the cost of rebuilding the building

4. Identify the needs specific to your sector of activity

A damage insurance agent can help you find the best coverage for your business.

A cover in your image

There are different types of coverage to insure your property and commercial vehicles. Property and liability insurance protects your property against the most common disasters (fire, theft, water damage), in addition to protecting your business from a lawsuit if a person suffers bodily injury or property damage following this disaster.

The basic insurance contract includes 6 protections:

• Commercial goods
• Corporate civil liability
• Equipment breakdown
• Loss of income
• Misappropriation, disappearance and destruction
• Interruption d’un service public

Cybercrimes: a threat to businesses

Once your basic plan has been determined, it is possible to add optional protections. Depending on the nature of your company’s activities, these may be useful without you knowing it!

Did you know that according to Statistics Canadanearly one in five Canadian businesses (18%) have been affected by a cyberattack in the last two years?

By choosing cyber risk insurance, you protect your business in the event of damage caused by a computer attack.

With cyber risk protections, frequent security incidents such as phishing emails, viruses, malware or cyberattacks with or without ransom demands will not pull the rug out from under you!

The error is human

Getty Images

Another of the optional protections you can subscribe to is that of professional liability.

This additional insurance protects your business in the event of fault, omission or negligence committed in the course of your activities. Please note: it should not be confused with civil liability!

This protection could, for example, protect your hair salon from a lawsuit if a client suffers scalp burns following coloring.

So, in the event of a claim or lawsuit, the protection helps you cover certain legal costs. As disputes with customers are currently on the rise in Quebec businesses, this coverage can prove useful.

By opting for the Business and Professional Services offering from Desjardins Assurances Entreprises, which includes cyber risk insurance and professional liability, you benefit from several advantages.

You can, among other things, benefit from personalized support from an insurer dedicated to the well-being of entrepreneurs, legal assistance and free business concierge services as well as a discount of up to 5 % when you insure your business and your commercial vehicles jointly.

In addition, you will receive full compensation following a covered loss. Unlike the majority of business insurance insurers, Desjardins does not apply any proportional rule clause in its contracts.

Choose the insurance that has your business at heart! Request a quote from Desjardins Insurance Businesses online or by phone at 1 866 472-8848.

*Desjardins Insurance refers to Desjardins General Insurance Inc. This advice is provided for informational and preventative purposes only. They are of a general nature and do not engage the responsibility of Desjardins Assurances. Vigilance is required and it is recommended to consult a damage insurance agent to obtain complete and relevant advice for each situation. Certain conditions, exclusions and limitations may apply. The clauses and terms relating to the protections described are specified in the insurance contract, which prevails at all times. Gardens^MDDesjardins Insurance^MCDesjardins Business Insurance^MC as well as the associated trademarks are trademarks of the Fédération des caisses Desjardins du Québec, used under license.