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Best In-Class Business Insurance for Technology Firms & IT Consultants
It’s no secret that social media has become completely ubiquitous, even in the business world. Because of the blurred lines between professional and personal social media, what’s posted by you and your staff—whether it’s in the context of your business or not—can easily conflict with the public company message you want to convey. Likewise, posting overly personal business information can result in surprisingly negative consequences on your insurance policies.
In the latter case, this can relate to data mining from insurance companies. It’s a situation where your premiums could be affected if you get too specific about things happening to your business.
Most of all, though, any type of private information can end up being a legal problem if you aren’t careful. This goes for you, the business owner, and it especially goes for employees you don’t monitor every day.
So how do you manage your business on social media so you know everything said there won’t hurt your company legally or financially? By taking some smart management steps, you can get everyone on the same page.
Simply calling a meeting to discuss a general social media policy can get all of your employees aware of your concerns. If necessary, create a rule book and make copies for every employee on how they should conduct themselves when on social media. This can apply to both your company’s accounts, as well as their personal accounts should they choose to share the fact that they work for the company.
Signing disclosure agreements are sometimes frowned upon by employees, yet they are sometimes necessary if you have trade secrets you don’t want blabbed online. This still may not prevent an unscrupulous employee from posting something you’ll regret, so choose who has posting access carefully to avoid PR disasters.
Part of your social media management should involve policies on employees avoiding employer disclosures on their personal accounts. Integrating your company message with someone’s personal account could easily backfire legally, especially if one of your employees posts controversial posts.
While legal entanglements are bad enough, just having bad publicity from the above scenario could hurt your business reputation for months or years. Make sure your employees keep their personal accounts separate from the accounts representing your company.
You probably didn’t know insurance companies now scour social media to see if their clients are coverage risks. It sounds invasive, yet it’s perfectly legal based on social media’s public nature.
What insurance companies look out for is your business’s condition and whether you post about accidents or other mishaps. You’re better off avoiding posting about anything bad that happens to your business on social media, particularly when you have an open insurance claim.
General privacy problems like hacking could also occur on social media if you post valuable business information there. It’s here where your IT staff needs to get involved and help fortify security measures through your computer systems. Otherwise, hacks could occur under your nose without you even knowing it.
Down the road, you may discover that personal info became compromised, hence leading to major regulation fines and lawsuits from customers who trusted you.
Social media can serve as a wonderful marketing tool, but its wide-open nature means that it can be a liability. With a bit of smart planning and mindful employee management, however, you needn’t avoid it altogether, and you can continue to enjoy the benefits without worrying about putting your business at risk.
Fidelity bond insurance can protect your business against the dishonest acts of your employees, damage or loss if a contract is not fulfilled, dishonesty by those who administer pension plans, and more. Surety bonds can protect you against tax liens against your business, and guarantee payment of utility bills.
This post will explain the different types of fidelity and surety bonds, as well as the key differences between the two depending on the size of your business, your industry, and the nature of your client relationships.
Some kinds of fidelity bonds include:
The law requires a fidelity bond equal to at least 10% of the assets of a defined pension plan. The maximum required amount is $500,000 or $1 million if a plan holds employer securities. The bond must be in the name of the trust or plan, not the employer’s name, with no deductible. The bond has to state that the plan or plans ( listed by name), is covered.
It must also state that the general bond deductible doesn’t apply per ERISA requirements. The bond protects against possible dishonesty by those handling the pension plan.
This bond protects you against dishonest or fraudulent acts of your employees who work on a client’s premises. One example would be if your employee, who was working for your tech company, stole from a client’s office. You receive money to reimburse your client.
This covers all of your employees, unless one or more is specifically included, as well as all new employees. All of your employees would be bonded for the same aggregate amount. The limit of liability would apply “per occurrence,” and the policy will define this. Your premiums would be based on the amount of coverage you request, the total number of your employees, your business activities, and your deductible.
This bond is often used by organizations with honorary or voluntary positions, such as in not-for-profit associations, businesses with frequent employee turnover, and businesses with large number of employees.
This is often used by companies whose employees have a greater responsibility handling large sums of money, such as bookkeepers, real estate managers, and office managers. Such a bond is usually applicable to only selected or a few employees, for varying amounts. The limit of liability is scheduled per name or position.
Premiums are based on the number of individuals scheduled, the amount of coverage, the amount of coverage for each person listed, and the deductible.
Surety bonds guarantee payment for utility bills or state sales taxes. They involve three parties:
Some kinds of surety bonds include:
This promises the covered business will comply with regulations and codes, usually established by a town, city, or state. Permit bonds grant a privilege. Some kinds include plumber’s license, electrician’s license, driveway permit, sign permit, and sales tax.
As an example, a plumber might have to post a bond for licensing, and he will have to promise to follow all the laws in a state, town, or city.
If you are a supplier, contractor, or manufacturer, you may be contractually obligated to maintain a surety bond to guarantee your performance. You may need to obtain a surety bond, as a part of your bid process. You will have to pay the municipality if you fail to complete the contract. The municipality will use the money to pay another contractor to finish the job.
If there is a tax lien on your property, you can get the IRS to release it by posting a bond. This is required within 30 days of IRS acceptance of the bond.
If you have questions about fidelity and surety bonds or any other issue, feel free to contact us.
Business insurance is almost always necessary. In the context of a company that places tech or IT professionals where their services are needed, there are usually contract requirements that will need to be met before starting a job.
Each contract is different, but they will often include transferring the liability and risk from that client company to you. The business owner will want you to be responsible in every way he can think of for any issue or action that will happen when you have someone placed there.
While contracts can vary from client to client, the types of insurance that are applicable remain the same across the board. They can include:
Almost every state requires your business to have it, and no matter what a contract says, you will surely need to provide workers’ compensation. This will cover the rehabilitation and medical costs of employees injured on the job.
When you have such insurance, an injured person typically gives up the right to sue the company for whom he or she is working. It benefits workers because they know they can get paid when they are unable to work and recover expenses for medical bills without litigation.
Read more: What Is Workers’ Comp And As A Business Owner, Do You Need To Provide It?
Employee dishonesty insurance, a fidelity bond, or theft bond protects a business from fraud and employee theft. Almost any contract involving an IT staffing firm would probably require just such insurance.
Statistics from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners show that losses at companies from employee dishonesty range up to millions of dollars a year at any one business. Nationwide, about $400 billion is lost annually, often by companies that can’t afford expensive safeguards.
Such policies often protect against computer and credit card fraud, two protections that might seem especially appropriate for an IT or consulting firm. In addition, policies protect against burglary, employee thefts, safe burglaries, and money order and counterfeit fraud. People covered under such policies would typically include all former and current employees, members, partners, trustees, volunteers, and temporary and seasonal employees.
Any special wording that is obviously designed to transfer the risk from the other company to you. Insurance professionals can determine any type of specific insurance necessary.
Almost any type of contract for almost any type of company would probably call for general liability insurance. It protects company against fraudulent or real claims of negligence or wrongdoing, as well as protecting against physical or bodily injury that might occur on your premises.
This might be the most important kind of insurance for an IT staffing firm.
Professional liability insurance protects you and your business from potentially catastrophic litigation caused by charges of professional negligence or failure to perform your professional duties.
This could include omissions and errors, resulting in the loss of client software, data, or system failure—appropriate coverage for this type of business. It could also include a claim of negligent oversell or non-performance.
If you have a subcontractor working on a client site, a contract will likely require proof of such insurance.
Read more: Understanding Your Independent Contractor Agreement
Designed to protect against the expenses and liability from the theft or loss of data, as well as from a breach of data security or privacy, this is important, especially when sensitive client information is involved.
Coverage protects against a large number of issues, including disclosure of confidential information, denial of service attacks, cyber extortion or terrorism threats, and loss of data or digital assets, whether accidental or malicious.
Read more: Cyber Liability: How To Protect Your Business’s Data
This covers after the loss or theft of first-party and third-party data, whether the breach happens directly to the company you are working with, or to the professional you placed there.
Companies will often push hard to make no changes to a contract, but exceptions are sometimes allowed. Basic coverages may not be altered, but higher limits may be put in place. Our highly trained IT contract specialists can examine your contract and find alternatives to properly insure your company. For more information, contact us.
You may have the title and the corner office. However, if you have yet to consider or deal with all of your legal risks, you run the risk of putting your entire company in jeopardy over a single unexpected accident.
These days, companies often run into trouble when it comes to email. For many fields, it’s the preferred mode of communication over phone or face-to-face conversations. Your employees are communicating with clients, vendors, and other employees all day, every day.
Are you sure you know what they are saying? More importantly, what are they not saying?
It’s a good idea to review with all your employees the proper way to communicate with your clients and vendors, as well as amongst themselves. Your company is responsible for their actions, and more times than not, an email with a joke, meme, or inappropriate attachment might not be taken the same for everyone.
There is a type of business insurance to cover such issues when they arise, but something as simple as setting a company email and communication policy can be an effective deterrent against any of the liability issues that might arise.
Are you aware of every email that comes from your servers? Can you keep track of everything that every employee says during every minute of every workday?
Of course you cannot do this. However, the law looks at you like you can and places an undue burden on you as the business owner that truthfully cannot be upheld without the proper insurance.
A good insurance partner has the ability to insure your company the right way, adding to it the weight that comes with insurance protection. The first step to communications control is this email policy. However, it means nothing without a proper financial backing. If the policy is in compliance with federal and local regulations and protects your company on paper, your insurance company can make sure that it protects your company in court as well.
One of the first protections that you can incorporate immediately is placing a disclaimer in the signature of your outgoing email. Make sure that all employees implement this disclaimer footer in every email as well. This is actually done automatically in many of the best email aggregation programs.
Make a formal company draft of the format that you prefer for the correspondence between company employees and customers or company employees and suppliers. Create a separate template for each type of communication. Make sure that employees have an email format for the correspondence between themselves in the office as well.
Not everyone has the same sense of humor. This is especially true if you are doing international business. You must keep company emails as straight-laced as possible in order to protect your company from a joke that gets misinterpreted or a bad translation from correspondence.
International business increases the need for protection. Cultural differences across the world means that many words, phrases, and pictures that are completely acceptable in one society are highly offensive in another society.
Your employees must accept the tone of your company as well as the template for the format of the emails. Keep everything completely professional.
You may also opt to not allow employees access to personal emails on company computers, even on break. You may be held legally liable if a personal correspondence creates confusion because it came from your business network, and all it takes is one misplaced “send” for a funny joke to become a company nightmare.
The better your company email policy, the lower your insurance rate is. Take the time to craft an insurance policy that protects your company legally along with the right insurance. Feel free to contact us when you are ready to insure your company against many of the liabilities that you may face and stabilize your business for years to come. We offer specialized insurance packages that helps your company to navigate the potential legal issues that might otherwise bring your growth to a grinding halt.
Advertising your small business can be a difficult proposition. Faced with limited funds, small business owners tend to gravitate toward saving budget and focusing on face-to-face interactions to spread the word about their products and services. While these interactions are undoubtedly important for businesses in any industry, they are not enough to allow your business to grow and prosper.
Fortunately, there’s a solution! Small business advertising doesn’t have to be expensive, so here are 3 ways to get the most out of it without breaking the bank.
The first tip requires nothing but strategic thought. Especially among small businesses, advertising tends to be a spur-of-the-moment decision. A local paper offers ad space, you can sponsor a small event, or other opportunities pop up. When that happens, it’s easy to fall into the trap of simply creating a quick ad or logo that fits the specific opportunity.
Unfortunately, that also means you lose one crucial aspect of any successful marketing effort: message consistency.
The importance of marketing message consistency cannot be overstated. Just imagine being a member of your target audience who comes across the aforementioned ads in the local paper and at a local concert. You may even stumble across the business on social media. If the messages presented on each of these outlets are not consistent and don’t present a unified identity, they will not last in your memory. In fact, you may not even realize they come from the same business.
If, on the other hand, they present a unified brand identity, you’ll be significantly more likely to turn from a curious consumer into a customer.
Don’t just take our word for it, though. While studies differ on just how many times a consumer has to come across your business in order to buy from you, they all agree that it takes more than one and at least 3. And they’ll only count if these touches all make sense together and promote the same core message, which is why consistency is so important.
Another way to maximize your marketing dollars is to subscribe to the inbound marketing philosophy. Industry leader HubSpot defines inbound marketing as “creating quality content that pulls people toward your company and product, where they naturally want to be.”
In other words, marketers engaging in inbound marketing move away from the traditional (and expensive) “push” strategies of getting the word out, instead engaging in efforts that “pull” their potential customers onto their website.
Once they’re there, you can turn them into leads by offering the above-mentioned quality content only in exchange for some basic contact information. And once anonymous visitors become identified leads, you can use emails and other free methods to nurture them toward becoming sales-ready.
We won’t go into details on the concept on this blog, but business owners should know that inbound marketing significantly increases your marketing ROI, making it perfect for small businesses on a tight budget.
As a small business owner, it’s easy to fall into the trap of prioritizing the acquisition of new customers above all else. But in reality, making sure that your existing customers remain loyal is just as, if not even more important.
As it turns out, businesses whose customer base consists of 40% repeat customers generate 47% more revenue than those who could only count on 10% repeat customers. That’s because repeat customers spend 67% more than new customers, while a 5% increase in customer retention on average improves your profitability by 75%.
Of course, we’re insurance specialists, not marketing experts, but we’ve been in the business long enough to know that business growth typically precedes the need for insurance. Optimizing your advertising as a small business does not necessarily mean increasing your spending. Integrating your message, generating and following your leads, and shifting gears to focus more on customer retention will not increase your budget, and it can significantly increase your return on investment.
There may come a time when you might need to take out a small business load to help build momentum so you can succeed in the marketplace. Yet, no matter the size of your business, it’s never an easy accomplishment.
It’s easy to blame the lenders for this, but in many cases, it’s usually the fault of the business for not preparing adequately. Business lenders look for specific things that prove they aren’t giving money out for an already doomed venture.
Most of all, you can’t underestimate the amount of documentation you need to provide when working with a lender. Some businesses don’t provide enough information on their initial visit and end up wasting time, having to come back and bring in more paperwork. Or, they may have to take time to find said documentation if not readily available.
But you don’t need to feel doomed to make the same mistakes. You have methods available that can make the process a little easier. Thanks to numerous business organizations out there as well, you can get some help and tips on how to get a small business loan.
The Small Business Association says that being thorough and truthful are some of the key things to getting yourself prepared before even approaching a lender. Part of this requires more than just gathering all of your financial papers, including which bank you go to.
If you try to obtain a loan from a bank you’ve never been to before, it’s frequently a much tougher path based merely on the fact that they don’t know you. You’re better off obtaining a loan from the bank where you do all your personal banking. Most banks try to get to know their customers, and if they already know you well, asking for a loan isn’t like a cold call.
Remember that it’s best to stay away from larger banks since they don’t typically give loans to small businesses. Going to a credit union or a small community bank is better because they’re more apt to want to fund small business ventures. Community banks are generally more focused on locals since they don’t adhere to a corporate structure.
Once you start working with your bank, listen carefully to what they want in the way of documentation. You’ll sometimes have to bring more than you think, including information linking back in time if you’ve already been in operation for at least a year.
You already know that you’ll need to bring your business’s credit history with you, though banks want to see your personal credit history as well. Plus, don’t forget personal and business financial statements with complete projections. A detailed business plan is equally essential, and this should include your credentials like education and past experience.
Banks additionally want to know what your cash flow projections are for a year since this is a true barometer on whether a business can stay afloat. Have this carefully delineated in chart form so it’s easy to read. Don’t forget the personal guaranties of your business’s owners.
Afterward, you can expect to obtain around $250,000 at most for your loan based on median figures from the SBA above.
The Small Business Administration itself works extensively with small businesses on more efficient ways to get a loan. So does SCORE, which the SBA supports. With 300 SCORE chapters across the country, they have counselors who can help you deal with the complexities of small business loans.
Read more – All About SCORE: A Small Business Networking Resource
If you feel overwhelmed by the prospect of taking out a small business loan, don’t worry. We can help lead you in these right directions related to loans, insurance, and other business documentation here at InsureYourCompany.com.
Do you know about SCORE and its promise of providing a large network of business mentors to get your small business off the ground? If not, you need to look into this non-profit organization supported by the Small Business Administration. They’re out there to help you.
Once an acronym for “Service Corps of Retired Executives”, it’s no longer recognized under that title. Because it consists of volunteers who provide business mentoring for small businesses nationwide, it now comprises both retired and employed business people.
Having mentors in business is absolutely essential, and that’s the true heart of SCORE. They have over 11,000 volunteers nationwide, plus 320 chapters available, so you can have the certainty of finding help no matter where you live.
What makes it even better is that while you can work with mentors for the life of your business, SCORE has plenty of resources where you can get immediate education on specific topics. They provide the perfect balance of both online and offline mentoring, and you shouldn’t hesitate to use all their resources.
Even so, you’re probably wondering how to sign up and how the mentoring works. Let’s take a look at how easy SCORE makes it for you. They also want you to share your success story with others as part of a symbiotic process in making all of today’s small businesses successful.
SCORE makes searching for a mentor across the country a simple process. You simply type your zip code in their search box and they’ll show you listings of mentors in your area that are readily available for consultation. You can submit a request to work with a mentor, which doesn’t always mean working in person. You can submit business questions you need answered immediately with guaranteed expert answers.
These mentors are there to work long-term as well where they’ll help you with all of your business goals. As long as the mentor stays active, they’ll also work with you indefinitely, which is invaluable considering you don’t pay anything.
Your biggest challenge is coming up with a business plan you know will propel you to a successful level within your first year. SCORE is there to help you find the right approach toward the above goal.
Thanks to SCORE having a huge library of updated workshops and webinars, you can have amazing access to expert tutorials on creating a perfect business plan. Mentors will work one-on-one with you as well if necessary, though the Web content is great when you need answers in a hurry.
You’ll learn everything from the basics of business plans to creating well-organized financial statements. Many courses are even in other languages (especially Spanish), so you have bilingual lessons at the ready.
Keep in mind your mentors can additionally help you with an expert business outlook for the industry you’re in. This helps immensely in crafting a business plan that deals in reality.
It’s not just the basics that SCORE provides for you. They cover all ground in small business, including marketing advice, all aspects of financing, plus acquiring the right technology. You’ll even have thorough mentoring in business management, which includes guiding you to the right path on customer service to life/work balance.
You’ll find plenty of inspiration through other business success stories on SCORE’s site. However, they want you to submit your own success story, as mentioned above. You can even become a volunteer yourself in a local chapter after submitting your own or a similar success story to help others.
Timing is a key component when adding a spouse to your health insurance policy. If you carry coverage through your employer, adding a spouse wholly depends on the type of coverage offered. While most companies do offer health insurance coverage to employees, they are not under any legal obligation to extend benefits to spouses or children.
Understanding the terms of your policy is paramount. If your company-sponsored health plan offers an “employee and spouse” option, then it is possible to extend coverage to a spouse.
At the time you enroll yourself in a healthcare plan, you may also elect to cover your spouse. Keep in mind that “employee and spouse” coverage will cost you more than the “employee only” option.
This is the time to exercise due diligence. If your spouse is also employed and has current coverage with his or her employer, do a cost comparison. Would adding them to your plan save your family money? The cost may actually be less if you each keep individual policies. Does your plan offer a wider range of benefits?
Once you decide to add a spouse, you usually need specific documentation to prove eligibility. You may need a copy of your most recent federal tax return (obliterate financial information), your marriage certificate, and proof of joint ownership. This is either a mortgage or bank statement, property tax bill, or a lease agreement. It is likely that you will need these documents no matter when you add a spouse to your coverage.
If you marry after you enroll in the plan, you have a limited amount of time to notify the insurance carrier about your change in marital status, and your desire to add your spouse. Be certain to check with your HR manager and your company’s insurance carrier so you don’t miss important deadlines. Allow enough time to get and complete the required enrollment forms.
Open enrollment is a period of time each year, determined by the company that sponsors your work-based healthcare plan, during which you may sign up for coverage, add additional coverage, or change carriers. Most large companies offer the open enrollment option in the fall so that the coverage will begin at the start of the calendar year.
Qualified applicants who apply during this period are not subject to underwriting restrictions. If you wish to add a spouse to your policy, make sure you know the open enrollment dates, and plan accordingly.
You may also add a spouse to your policy if you show proof of a “qualifying event”. In the case of health insurance, this would be the loss of spouse’s employer-sponsored coverage. This could be either because they lost the job, or because a reduction in work hours made them ineligible. Electing to terminate coverage or failure to pay the premium does not qualify for the special circumstance or as a qualifying event.
Removing a spouse from your health insurance plan has time sensitive requirements as well. You may change your coverage from “employee and spouse” to “employee only” during the stated open enrollment period. If the change is because your spouse wishes to enroll in his or her own company’s plan, be certain the open enrollment times for both businesses coincide.
Death or divorce would both be “qualifying life events’ and terminating spousal coverage can take place outside of the open enrollment period.
Adding a spouse your health insurance (or removing one, for that matter) requires spot-on timing and professional expertise. If you’re a business owner, partnering with a trusted team of experts in the insurance industry will give you and your employees peace of mind and the tools to do things right.
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If you are in the IT industry InsureYourCompany.com is the insurance agent you want to work with, we are technology insurance experts and have changed the way you do business. See below a list of professionals who we help today.
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