The right insurance is an important tool to protect any business whether you are running a side gig from your residence or a large manufacturing operation. If your business generates income, it needs commercial insurance. Besides the obvious benefit of coverage when a loss occurs, insurance can also benefit your business by increasing your ability to secure contracts, funding and loans as well as providing a boost to your business reputation. Your commercial insurance should be designed to protect your business against the risks you’re not prepared to take on yourself. An Ontario West or Bill Blaney Insurance Commercial Specialist can help you identify and analyze risks, advise you on how to reduce some of the more manageable risks, and suggest an insurance mix that takes into account your risk tolerance, financial situation and contracts you’ve entered.

Most insurance packages include: Commercial General Liability, Property, Equipment Breakdown, Business Interruption and Crime coverage. If vehicles are used in or for your business your program should also include Commercial Automobile Liability and/or Garage Automobile Liability.

Specialized coverage can also be purchased to provide proper protection such as: Errors and Omissions Liability, Director’s and Officer’s Liability, Cyber/Privacy/Data Compromise Expense, Cyber Liability, Group Health and Benefits, etc.

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Frequently Asked Questions

If you are still interested in learning more about Commercial & Business Insurance, click below to read our answers to frequently asked questions.

Commercial policies are designed to protect businesses against property, equipment, business interruption, crime, general liability, cyber attack, and other losses. An Ontario West or Bill Blaney insurance broker can help design a package of coverage that fits the needs and risk management requirements of a wide variety of small to medium size businesses.

Each commercial policy will have its own specific wordings and exclusions. Most policies exclude property coverage for wear and tear or losses due to war or nuclear events. It is recommended that you review the exclusion section of your policy. An Ontario West or Bill Blaney insurance broker will be pleased to review your policy’s exclusions with you.

Commercial business insurance is not mandatory for you to operate your business; however it may be required by your lenders, vendors or customers. Any business can be sued so at minimum a Commercial General Liability policy, which may offer protection against court awards as well as provide legal defense, is recommended. An Ontario West or Bill Blaney insurance broker will be pleased to review this and other coverage options with you.

An Ontario West insurance broker can provide a Certificate of Insurance as soon as signed documents and payment are received. Once a policy is issued we endeavour to provide certificates of insurance within 4 business hours of your request.

Any vehicle that is used to generate self-employed income should be rated commercially. Vehicles used to commute are considered personal use. An Ontario West insurance broker will be pleased to review your vehicle use to assess how it should be rated.

The registered owner does not affect the rating of vehicle. Auto insurance policies are issued in the name of the vehicle owner but rated on the vehicle’s use and who drives it. An Ontario West or Bill Blaney insurance broker will be pleased to review your vehicle use to assess how it should be rated.

The short answer is it depends. All auto insurance policies include rating factors that are based on how and where a vehicle is being used, the type of vehicle, and who is driving it. An electrician who visits one jobsite per day in a rural area may have a lower rate than a sales person who travels to various clients each day in the GTA. An Ontario West or Bill Blaney insurance broker can assist in finding the best coverage and premium package for you and your vehicle.

A commercially rated vehicle will include personal use as well. The estimated percentage of personal use must be declared on the Commercial Vehicle Supplement which forms part of the Auto Insurance application. An Ontario West or Bill Blaney insurance broker will review this with you when assisting you with your Commercial Auto insurance needs.

If you use your personally rated vehicle to drive for Uber or Lyft, you must disclose this to your auto insurance provider. Many insurers will not write coverage for personal vehicles that are used in this way. The same applies to meal delivery, package delivery and other income-generating vehicle uses. An Ontario West or Bill Blaney insurance broker will be pleased to review your vehicle use with you and provide appropriate insurance options to you.

No they are not. Auto insurance policies do not cover theft of the contents of a vehicle.  A commercial property policy can cover tools for theft. An Ontario West or Bill Blaney insurance broker can provide a quote for this and a variety of commercial property and liability coverage.

Cyber attacks are on the rise in Canada. Often it is small businesses, contractors, etc. that are attacked because the perpetrators know these businesses don’t have sophisticated cyber security in place.  A wide variety of coverage is available depending on your risk level and appetite. An Ontario West or Bill Blaney insurance broker will be pleased to review your business's needs in this area.

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