Yes, while businesses may share many of the same concerns and exposures. Coverage needs vary by industry such as the needs of a restaurant compared to a contractor.
Business Owners Policies (BOP's) are very common for small to mid-size companies. The BOP is a package policy containing coverage's such as General Liability, Property, Business Income, and Crime and usually is less expensive than writing individual policies.
While these policies are designed to reduce gaps in coverage, they do not close all the gaps.
Businesses that make or build or fix things have a continuing need for special liability insurance even after the business shuts down. This coverage is called "discontinued products and completed operations liability" and it protects your and your employees against lawsuits arising out of injury or damage caused by the products you made or the work you completed while you were in business.
The CGL policy does not cover bodily injury and property damage unless the injury or damage occurs while the policy is in effect. The only thing that matters is when someone is injured or some property is damaged because of your product or your work. A liability policy muct be in force when that happens.
There are laws - called "statutes of repose" that dictate how long you may be legally liable for injury or damage caused by your work or products, and thus how long you may need to carry such insurance.
If you operated your business as a corporation or some other form of limited liabilty entity, you may want to ask your attorney about whether you or your employees can be sued personally for accidents caused by your work or products after the business shuts down and the entity is dissolved.
No business can afford to be unprepared for a lawsuit. General Liability insurance protects your business assets when the business is sued for something the business did (or failed to do) that contributed to injury or property damage to someone else. Liability coverage extends not only to paying damages but also to the attorney's fees and other cost involved in defending against the lawsuit - whether valid or not.
Usually excluded from general liability insurance policies are suits by customers against the business for nonperformance or a contract and by employees charging wrongful termination, racial or gender discrimination, or harassment. For this coverage businesses should purchase Professional Liability Insurance and Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI)
It's important for you to understand the many risk your face as directors and officers of privately held companies like yours.
Directors and officers (D&O) liability insurance policies are designed to cover other types of claims that might be brought against you individually or the compnay for the decisions you make on behalf of the company. Such claims can be made when actions, inactions or decisions o fthe company's directors or officers cause financial harm to others, including stockholders, employees, competitors, customers, suppliers, or creditors. In addition a veriety of claims can be made by government agencies against directors and officers of privately held corporations, including those involving enviromental contamination or employee health and safety.
Without proper insurance to cover claims such as these, your personal assets may be the only available source to cover potential cost of defending the allegations and funding any adverse settlements or judgements.
D&O liability insurance is widely available from a number of insurance companies and is surprisingly afordable.
