Women Owned Business Insurance

Women-owned businesses are on the rise, and with that comes a need for specialized insurance coverage. Women-owned business insurance provides protection to businesses owned by women against potential risks and liabilities.

Women entrepreneurs face a unique set of challenges when it comes to starting and running a business. These challenges can range from securing funding to competing in male-dominated industries. But one area that is often overlooked is insurance coverage.

Women-owned business insurance is designed to provide coverage for women entrepreneurs against risks such as property damage, liability, and lawsuits. This type of insurance is tailored to the specific needs of women-owned businesses and takes into account the challenges they face.

The types of coverage available for women-owned businesses may include general liability, professional liability, property insurance, and workers' compensation.

• General liability insurance protects businesses against claims of bodily injury, property damage, and advertising injury.
• Professional liability insurance, also known as errors and omissions insurance, provides coverage against claims of negligence, errors, or omissions in providing professional services.
• Property insurance protects businesses against damage to their physical property, such as buildings, equipment, and inventory.
• Finally, workers' compensation insurance provides coverage for medical expenses and lost wages for employees who are injured or become ill while on the job.

One of the unique aspects of women-owned business insurance is that it can also provide coverage for discrimination or harassment claims. Women entrepreneurs often face discrimination or harassment in the workplace, and this can lead to legal action. Women-owned business insurance can provide coverage for legal fees and damages in the event of a lawsuit.

In addition to providing coverage for specific risks and liabilities, women-owned business insurance can also provide peace of mind. Running a business can be stressful, and having insurance coverage can help alleviate some of that stress. Knowing that your business is protected against potential risks and liabilities can allow you to focus on growing and expanding your business.

It's important to note that women-owned business insurance is not just for businesses owned by women. Anyone can purchase this type of insurance, but it is designed with the unique needs of women-owned businesses in mind. Women entrepreneurs face a variety of challenges, and having insurance coverage tailored to those challenges can be a valuable asset.

In conclusion, women-owned business insurance is a specialized type of insurance coverage designed to protect businesses owned by women against potential risks and liabilities. It can provide coverage for general liability, professional liability, property damage, and workers' compensation, as well as coverage for discrimination or harassment claims. Women entrepreneurs face unique challenges, and having insurance coverage tailored to those challenges can provide peace of mind and allow them to focus on growing their businesses.

The average price of a standard $1,000,000/$2,000,000 General Liability Insurance policy for small women owned businesses ranges from $27 to $59 per month based on location, industry, revenue, claims history and more.

Women-owned business insurance policies may vary from general liability insurance to product liability, workers' compensation insurance, and professional liability insurance, amongst others.

However, you might not need all of these insurance policies; most will need a general liability policy. That said, what you end up paying for a policy will vary from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars annually.

Insurance companies price their policies based on factors like:

• Where your business is located
• How much coverage you need
• Your history of filing claims
• Your business's industry

Every business is unique, and the same goes for every woman-owned business, which is why women owned business insurance rates will vary based on how these factors affect the business.

The best way to find out what you can expect to pay is to get a quote. An all-inclusive quote should give you an excellent idea of what you may have to pay for commercial insurance each year.

Statics show that around 75% of all US business owners, including many female-owned businesses, are not insured, out of which 40% of owners have absolutely zero insurance!

However, when they are faced with a natural disaster or maybe even a lawsuit, it often means that these small businesses have to cover the costs themselves. Sometimes covering these costs without women owned business insurance can end up shuttering their business.

How do these top-risk events even happen? Well, several issues can lead to these incidents or events, as they are called. Many times they may be of no fault of the business owner, and other times it may be a mistake made by one of the employees; either way, the business owner has to bear the financial fallout from the mishap since they are the face of the business.

Below is a list of the most common incidents that small business owners generally experience. Women owned business insurance can help protect against most of these issues. (Note - the figures mentioned are approximates based on averages of these incidents from the past five years.)

• Client Contract Disputes – It is estimated that 22.2% of businesses have faced some type of client contract dispute, making professional liability insurance essential to cover the claims. Often the claims made include dissatisfaction, mistakes, and work that wasn't delivered on time. As a women-owned business, you need to have insurance that can step in to cover the financial costs of the dispute.
• Customer Injury Claims - Around 2.4% of businesses reported that they had to deal with customer injury claims. Here having general liability insurance can help to cover the costs when clients or customers are injured on your property.
• A Product that Caused Injury – 2.3% of businesses reported that they were dealing with instances of a product that caused injury or harm to their clients. Here again, having general liability insurance can help cover the legal expenses associated with the lawsuit. However, specifically, you will want to have product liability insurance which is a part of general liability insurance.

Data shows that women business owners are more likely to reveal that they weren't insured for otherwise insurable incidents than male-owned businesses. The reason could be that women tend to, by nature, be more risk-averse when it comes to doing business as compared to men, at least in the way of how risk is traditionally defined.

Also, many female business owners don't have a growth plan in place, i.e., 25% compared to just 11% of male business owners who had a growth plan. That's why women are less likely to encounter risks like debt, or employees, which is why they experience fewer incidents. It is also why female-owned businesses can end up paying less on average for women owned business insurance.

Another factor worth considering is that 48.3% of women are running home-based businesses as compared to men; that's another reason they are less likely to encounter an injured customer.

Then you also need to consider that women are, for the most part, highly likely to run solo businesses by choosing not to employ anyone. Working alone eliminates one of the other risks of doing business, i.e., employee injuries.

While women do have different goals for their business, they are still at risk. Also, it isn't uncommon for women to grow out of their home-based startup and into an office or factory where they need to employ multiple people.

That's when they need to prepare themselves for risk, and having women owned business insurance can save them a great deal of financial strain.

Following are some additional resources beyond insurance for women-owned small businesses:

• Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO)
• Association of Women's Business Centers (AWBC)
• National Association of Women in Construction
• National Association of Women in Real Estate Businesses (NAWRB)
• National Association of Women's Business Owners (NAWBO)
• National Women's Business Council (NWBC)
• Office of Women's Business Ownership
• U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce (USWCC)
• Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC)
• Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP)
• Women's Presidents' Organization (WPO)