Most people would never consider opening a business without buying insurance to cover damage due to fire and windstorms. But too many small businessowners fail to think about how they would manage if a fire or other disaster damaged their business premises so that they were temporarily unusable.

A business owner’s policy (BOP) has been compared to a homeowner's policy for business. BOPs were first developed in the 1970s and have become a very popular form of insurance for small to medium sized businesses. BOPs combine some of the basic coverages needed by a typical small business into a standard package at a premium that is generally less than would be required to purchase these coverages separately. Business owners also like the simplified nature of the package as opposed to buying a collection of small policies.

As a businessowner, you need some of the same insurance coverages for the cars, trucks, vans or other vehicles you use in your business as you do for vehicles used for personal travel. Your businessowners policy (BOP) does not provide any coverage for vehicles, so you must have a separate policy.

Commercial Crime insurance is designed to protect a business from dishonest employees.

Good liability risk management can reduce the chances that your business will be sued, but it can never eliminate the risk entirely. Liability insurance pays the cost of your defense and protects your assets.

The purpose of property insurance for the small business is to provide critical financial assistance in the event of a loss so that the enterprise can continue to operate with as little disruption as possible.

An umbrella policy is like overdraft checking — it allows you to enjoy insurance protection after you exceed the coverage limit of your existing business liability insurance.

Directors and Officers liability insurance protects against claims arising from the wrongful acts, errors, or omissions alleged to have been committed by present or former directors or officers of a corporation.

Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) protects against employment-related lawsuits. EPLI provides protection against many kinds of employee lawsuits.

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) was enacted in 1974 to regulate most types of employee benefit plans. ERISA requires a fidelity bond covering a fiduciary (those responsible for managing the plan) and any persons who handle funds or other property of such a plan. The coverage is intended to protect the plans from dishonesty and fraud committed by individuals who are associated with them.

A fidelity bond reimburses a business for employee theft of money or other assets. A business might want to consider a fidelity bond if it deals in a large amount of cash, or has one or more employees, such as accountants, who deal directly with the business’ money or other assets.

Fiduciary Liability insurance protects the personal assets of anyone acting in a fiduciary capacity from claims alleging mismanagement of your firm's employee pension and 401(k) plans.

The federal National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is the sole source of protection against flood loss in the United States.

Life or disability income insurance can compensate your business when certain key employees die or become disabled. These coverages cushion some of the adverse financial impact that results from losing a key employee’s participation.

Kidnap and ransom insurance is now available as part of a comprehensive business insurance package, as a stand-alone policy for individuals and from a few insurance companies as part of their homeowners insurance policy.

Mechanical breakdown insurance (also known as equipment breakdown insurance) protects against loss or damage to covered property that results from mechanical breakdown, electrical damage, explosion of a boiler, or other specified covered events.

A surety bond is a business’ money-back guarantee to a client: It guarantees that the client will be paid if your company fails to live up to any contracts or goes out of business.

Workers compensation insurance serves two purposes: It assures that injured workers get medical care and compensation for a portion of the income they lose while they are unable to return to work and it usually protects employers from lawsuits by workers injured while working.