Business Insurance
YOU’VE WORKED HARD TO BUILD YOUR SMALL BUSINESS.
WE’LL HELP YOU PROTECT IT.
From offices to retail stores to home based businesses and everything in between, the Leslie S. Ray Insurance Agency has been insuring small businesses for over 50 years. Whether it is insurance for your building, business property, equipment, inventory, or company vehicles, we offer products and services to protect your small business.
PROPERTY AND LIABILITY INSURANCE
Property Insurance can protect your commercial building, office furniture, computer equipment, leasehold improvements, inventory, business records, supplies, and other physical items in the event of a loss caused by a covered peril such as fire or theft. It can also help supplement the loss of business income that you may incur in the event of a loss.
Liability Insurance protects the business owner against injury or damage claims made by other parties, including those occurring on your premises or caused by your business operations or product. And, since we live in an age of million-dollar lawsuits, many business owners add extra liability protection in the form of a Commercial Umbrella Liability Policy. The umbrella provides an extra layer of liability protection over and above your general liability, auto liability, and employer’s liability coverages.
Many small business owners purchase a Business Owners Policy which packages Property, Liability, and other types of coverage into one comprehensive package policy that helps the business owner save time and money.
OTHER BUSINESS INSURANCES
EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES LIABILITY INSURANCE
Employment Practices Liability Insurance provides protection for an employer against claims made by employees, former employees, or potential employees. It provides protection against such employment-related acts as discrimination (age, sex, race, disability, etc.), wrongful termination of employment, and sexual harassment.
PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY INSURANCE
Mistakes happen. Professional Liability Insurance, also known as Errors and Omissions Coverage, insures not only your mistakes, but also the mistakes of the employees and, with your insurer’s approval, the independent contractors that you hire.
Coverage can include legal defense costs – no matter how baseless the allegations. Subject to the contract language, errors and omissions insurance will pay for any resulting judgments against you, including court costs, up to the coverage limits on your policy.
BUSINESS AUTO INSURANCE
The Leslie S. Ray Insurance Agency represents some of the most competitive commercial auto insurers in Massachusetts including Commerce, Safety, Arbella Mutual, and Hanover Insurance Company. A Business Auto Insurance policy protects vehicles that are owned, leased, hired or borrowed by businesses. Business Auto coverage may be used to insure private passenger autos and all types of trucks, trailers, semi trailers and commercial vehicles designed for use on public roads. We can give you more details about specific coverages and deductibles and about tailoring a business auto plan that’s right for you and your business.
The easiest way for us to provide you with a quote on your business autos would be for you to fax or email us a copy of your current policy, a listing of your current drivers (including license numbers and birth dates) and a description of any claims you may have had in the past three years.
WORKERS COMPENSATION AND EMPLOYERS LIABILITY INSURANCE
Workers Compensation and Employers Liability coverage applies to accidental bodily injury and diseases arising out of and in the course of employment. Only occupational diseases, which are unique to the occupation, are covered. The workers compensation insurance policy provides the injured employee with medical benefits, income benefits, and rehabilitation benefits. It also provides death benefits to the injured party’s family in the event of a work-related fatality.
Workers compensation premiums are based upon a combination of (1) the job classifications of each employee (2) their annual compensation (aka payroll) and (3) your past workers compensation loss experience. Smaller businesses with minimal workers compensation premiums will most likely pay the state’s manual fixed rates. Larger businesses with good loss experience may be eligible for premium discounts and / or dividends from some workers compensation insurers.
Many small business owners are unknowingly in violation of the Massachusetts Independent Contractor law, believing that they are not obligated to obtain workers compensation insurance to protect these workers. Massachusetts General Law 149 Section 148B defines an employee, as opposed to an independent contractor. Under the law, anyone defined as an employee must be protected by workers compensation insurance. Serious fines and sanctions can be enforced on a business that is in violation of the state’s workers comp laws, as outlined in the Attorney General Advisory to this law.