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Buying small business insurance in Indiana isn’t just a good idea for your business’ protection; it’s the law. State law holds a number of requirements for businesses, which vary greatly from industry to industry. There are a number of kinds of business liability insurances that one can purchase in the state of Indiana, and it is important to know what options you have to be familiar with.

The first kind of liability insurance is general business insurance. General business insurance provides protection against property damage, personal injury and false advertisement claims, and is used by nearly all common industries in the state of Indiana. Please note that although this description of general business insurance is common and accurate, you will often not find insurers selling this product under the term “general business insurance”; it will usually be industry-specific. (As an example, a juggling or fire performance artist who is insured with Clowns of America will purchase a product called “clown insurance,” which will weight the aforementioned types of business insurance heavily to the needs of this industry, focusing primarily on personal injury and property damage.)

The second kind of small business insurance in Indiana is for professionals and is called either malpractice insurance or E&O (errors and omissions). This protects against errors that may occur through one’s professional practice, be it architecture, legal, medicine, or engineering.

The third kind is product liability insurance, which is primarily purchased by manufacturers, and protects against bodily injury or property damage that might result from a product malfunction. Like general business insurance, the premiums and coverage of product liability insurance products vary widely depending on the type of product that is being manufactured.

The fourth and most recent kind of liability insurance is Employment Practices Liability Insurance, or EPLI. EPLI protects business owners from civil problems that may occur in the office or job site, including but not limited to discrimination, wrongful termination, and sexual harassment. The state of Indiana now requires many businesses to purchase EPLI, so be sure to check with your state’s regulations so that you know you are keeping with the standards.

If you want to bundle your health, home owner’s or auto insurance with your small business insurance in Indiana, you may want to consider umbrella insurance. Umbrella insurance bundles multiple forms of insurance under one quote and is highly customizable depending on your needs.


This Business article was written by Mark Karavan on 11/28/2009