Idaho Business Insurance

One of the most frequently purchased types of business insurance in Idaho is general liability coverage, sometimes called commercial general liability or business liability insurance. It can help pay for damages if someone other than an employee accuses your business of causing an injury or property damage.

For instance, an employee of a Boise-based plumbing company accidentally breaks a pipe at a downtown office building during a job. This causes water damage and leads to a worker slipping on a wet floor and falling, breaking a wrist.

The plumbing firm’s liability insurance could help cover the injured person’s medical bills and the cost to repair the damage. It could also assist with legal defense fees if the injured person or the building owner sued the plumbers for negligence.

Cleaning and construction companies may also want to include tools and equipment coverage with their general liability policy. This optional add-on can help replace or repair essential work gear that’s stolen, lost or damaged.

State law requires most businesses with one or more employees to carry Idaho workers’ compensation insurance.²

Workers’ comp is designed to help cover medical bills and lost wages when employees are injured in the workplace.

For instance, an employee of a small construction company in Moscow gets a bad cut while moving building materials at a job site. They need to visit the emergency room for stitches and require two weeks off to recover.

Workers’ comp insurance could help cover the employee’s medical bills and assist with lost wages while they’re unable to work.

If your company owns vehicles or your business involves driving, you’ll want to have commercial auto insurance. This type of coverage is important because personal auto insurance won’t pay for accident damages if you’re behind the wheel on business.

Here’s an example of how commercial auto coverage could help an Idaho business:

A shuttle driver at a boutique hotel in Coeur d’Alene has a minor accident while dropping off guests at a restaurant. Commercial auto insurance could help the hotel owner pay for damage to its shuttle and other vehicles. It could also help cover related medical expenses if anyone suffered bodily injury.

Small businesses that ask employees to drive their own vehicles for work or use rental cars will want to add hired and non-owned auto coverage to their commercial auto policy. This optional insurance can help cover accident damages in these situations.

Idaho commercial property insurance, sometimes called business property insurance, can help pay for business property that’s damaged or destroyed after a covered event, such as water, fire or wind incidents.

For example, a kitchen fire at an Idaho Falls casual dining restaurant damages the cooking station. Commercial property coverage could help pay to repair the grill and replace cookware that was ruined.

It’s important to read your policy documents carefully to make sure there aren’t exclusions for your business. Many carriers don’t cover flood and hurricane damage.

Another common type of insurance for Idaho businesses is professional liability coverage, also known as E&O or errors and omissions insurance. It can help pay for damages if someone claims that your business made a mistake, delivered substandard work or missed a deadline and caused them financial loss.

Here’s how professional liability insurance could help in the case of professional negligence:

A client accuses a Nampa-based electrical engineering company of failing to complete a job on time, which creates a project delay and causes financial losses. E&O insurance could help the engineers pay for the damages.