Why Would an Online Operation Need Business Insurance?
As business insurance brokers, we have noticed that a number of our new clients
have little in the way of a physical presence. When business owners think about
business insurance, they might focus purely on mitigating risk for physical
building or inventory. However, insurance is vital to cover other less tangible
assets, and we will demonstrate this by taking a look at a typical online store
operation.
Online Store
Risks
If you run an online store, it’s unlikely that you
have a physical shopfront to worry about and if you did you wouldn’t hesitate
to get business insurance. However, the risks to your online store and your
clients may be less obvious in an online operation, but they are still there.
Let’s take a look at the four primary risks related to an online store that you
need to mitigate with insurance.
1. Products
If you sell a product that harms a person or in
extreme circumstance even causes a fatality, your entire business operation is
at risk. This is a public relations disaster, but there are even more pressing
concerns and serious implications for your business. If you need access to
legal services, can you afford to pay for them? How will you handle the
relations with your supplier, and will they assume responsibility?
2. Theft or
Damage
If you run your online retail business from home
or a small storage unit, are you covered for theft or damage to that inventory?
If there is a break in and your products are stolen or if there is a fire,
storm, or other disaster that damages your goods, how will you cope with the
losses? Having adequate business insurance to mitigate these risks is essential
if you don’t want to go out of business.
3. Privacy
Issues
If you run an online business, you will need to
store your carefully collected customer details in a safe place. This will
include names, addresses, contact details, and most importantly of all payment
information. If the privacy of your customers is compromised, you may find
yourself in legal hot water with your customer base.
4. Natural
Disasters
We touched on this above, theft is a possibility,
but there is also a chance that your equipment and inventory are damaged as a
result of a natural disaster. If you have no business insurance coverage in
place, you will lose everything, and you may even have to cease trading
entirely.
Choosing an
Appropriate Product
As we can see, business insurance for an online
store is a smart move for a wide variety of reasons. There are different types
of business insurance products available to suit many business models,
and choosing the correct one is essential. Perhaps you need product liability
cover, or you’re concerned about the deterioration of stock with a limited
shelf life? There are far too many options to discuss here, and that’s why you
need a professional insurance broker to help you select the right business
insurance.
If you’re looking for the best insurance
brokers in Perth, get in touch with
us here at GSK Insurance today.
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