In Canada, insurance is very important. However, a lot of businesses try to operate without insurance and this is a recipe for disaster. Statistics have consistently shown that Canadian courts are going to get busier. In 2018, it was reported that Canadian lawyers expected the volume of litigation disputes to increase each year. If you’re running a real estate business in Canada, you may become involved in one of these lawsuits. It may not be your decision but anyone can get sued. A simple mistake or oversight might cause a client to sue your real estate business. To prepare for such problems, you need to acquire business insurance.
Real estate business insurance could make the difference between saving and losing your business. If you care about your business, your family, and your employees, you need to protect them by acquiring business insurance. If you don’t, you’re going to risk everything. Your negligence could haunt you in the future. You need to obtain business insurance so you don’t have to worry about it and can focus on helping your clients.
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What Type Of Insurance Do Real Estate Businesses Need?
Running a real estate business can be fun, exciting, and rewarding. You’re going to be helping the public find their dream homes. What more could you ask for? With your assistance, Canadians will be able to settle down and purchase a beautiful home. However, you have to understand that you may make a problem during the process. You may fail to tell the customer about a problem with the home’s roof. If that leads to a leak and severe damage, you’re going to be blamed. Or, you may forget to tell them about land disputes and other issues. Canadians are going into debt for their homes so they want to get the most for their money.
Your mistake could anger them to the point that they decide to file a lawsuit against your real estate business. You need insurance so you can be ready for these issues. Below, you’ll learn about the insurance policies that are most important to your company.
General Liability Insurance
General liability insurance is essential for any Canadian business. If you are going to invite clients to your office, you need this insurance. There is a risk that these individuals are going to trip and fill when visiting your place of business. If this happens and they’re seriously injured, you might be sued. They’ll want to sue you and seek compensation. To prepare for such issues, you should obtain general liability insurance. Just remember that you can always combine this insurance with property insurance through a business owner’s policy. This is the best way to save money and provide your company with additional protection.
General liability insurance offers immense protection. It can protect your company from slip-and-fall lawsuits, damaged client property, and libel lawsuits. Getting general liability insurance after the lawsuit is filed is not going to help so you’ll want to act early.
E&O Insurance
E&O or errors and omissions insurance is designed to protect your company when you make mistakes. You put forth your best every time you work for a client. You look at the numbers repeatedly hoping you’re making the best decisions possible. However, you stayed up late at night to finish the paperwork and ended up making a costly mistake. Now, your client is out of money and they’re seeking revenge. A lawsuit has been filed against your real estate company and you’re in big trouble. If you have E&O insurance, you can guarantee that you’ll be okay. The insurance will help you in and out of the courtroom. Without this insurance, your company could be crippled.
Thanks to this insurance, you can protect your company when you’re engaged in property listing disputes or allegations of negligence. If there are discrepancies in the inspection documents, this insurance can help. Since you never know when something is going to go wrong, you need this insurance to protect your real estate business.
Workers’ Compensation Insurance
In Canada, there were 951 reported workplace fatalities in 2017. That number has increased each year. The number of injuries is far higher. As you can see, the risks of running a business are immense. Even with a real estate business, some of your workers could get injured while on the clock. Whether they trip at the office or get into a vehicle accident, they’re going to get injured while working for your company. This can lead to major risks and problems. If you don’t have workers’ compensation insurance, the employee can sue and ruin your business. You need to have insurance for numerous reasons. First, you have to have it due to Canadian law. Furthermore, you need it to protect your workers.
With this insurance, you can protect these individuals by paying for their medical expenses. Furthermore, you may be able to help cover their lost wages. Finally, workers’ compensation is designed to protect your company if it is used due to employee injuries. Since it is required by Canadian law, you’re going to need it either way. But, it is nice to help your workers.
Business Owner’s Policy
Bundling and saving are one of the best ways to save money. You need general liability insurance and property insurance. With that being said, you should obtain a business owner’s policy. This combination ensures that your business property is protected. If a tree falls and crashes into your roof, the insurance will cover the costs. However, the insurance can also protect visitors and clients. When they step foot onto your property, they become your responsibility. If they get injured during their visit, you’ll be responsible. You’ll need to make sure that they stay safe. If they get hurt, they could file a lawsuit against your company. With the business owner’s policy, you can protect your real estate business from these concerns.
Furthermore, this policy will protect property owned by visitors and guests.
Commercial Auto Insurance
When you need to meet with a client, you’ll have to drive one of your company’s vehicles. This adds more risk to the picture. Getting into an accident while driving a business vehicle means your company could get sued. This is very dangerous and it may lead to a hefty lawsuit. The victim will want your company to pay for the damages as well as their medical bills. So, you cannot drive your commercial vehicle without having commercial auto insurance. You don’t want to lose your business to a small vehicle accident. With that being said, you need to buy commercial auto insurance. If you get into an accident and you have this insurance, it will pay for the damages and medical expenses. Also, it offers protection to you and your business too.
If your company’s vehicle is vandalized or damaged by Mother Nature, this insurance has you covered. If you’re running a real estate business in Canada and own company vehicles, you need commercial auto insurance. Driving without it is too risky. Even if you’re a careful driver, a small mistake could lead to a costly accident. Get covered before hitting the road.
Cyber Liability Insurance
All Canadian companies need to understand the risks involved with technology. Still, you’ll likely find that the pros outweigh the cons. So, you’re going to take the risk even though you may run into problems in the future. If you’re going to use the Internet to your benefit, you need to be worried about cyber breaches. If something goes wrong and someone breaks into your database, there is a risk that your client’s private information is going to be stolen. It could be shared or sold to people with nefarious intentions. You cannot let this happen since it could lead to your company being sued. You cannot be positive that you’ll be able to stop all cyber breaches. Instead, you’ll need to be prepared for the potential consequences.
One way to shield your real estate business is by acquiring cyber liability insurance. In 2018, it was estimated that more than 57% of Canadian Internet users experienced some type of cyber security incident. 48% had received fraudulent emails or other messages. Thieves are not stopping. By acquiring cyber liability insurance, you’ll receive money to notify your clients when your database is compromised. You’ll also get financial assistance so you can help them pay for fraud monitoring services.
How Much Is Real Estate Business Insurance?
Real estate professionals are important people. You’ll want to work hard so you can help people find their dream homes. Canada’s real estate market is booming so your business is flourishing. You’ll want to keep the ship headed in the right direction. Unfortunately, there are numerous problems that can capsize your ship and cause things to spiral out of control. To address these issues, you should think about paying for real estate professional insurance. In Canada, the costs for this insurance tend to vary based on several aspects of your business. For instance, the insurance provider is going to study your company’s services, business equipment, business property, annual revenue, location, and size.
Having more assets and workers means that you’ll end up paying more for insurance. You’re considered a bigger risk because you have more to lose. Still, you should not let the cost of insurance hold you back. Get covered so you can rest assured knowing that your real estate firm is protected for the long haul.
Why You Need Real Estate Business Insurance
All Canadian real estate businesses face great risks. As a business owner, you need to analyze these risks and find ways to shield your company from problems. Acquiring real estate business insurance will prove to be a good decision. While it won’t stop you from experiencing problems, it will help you overcome the hurdles that you face. For instance, you may cause a client to purchase bad real estate property. In return, they’re going to sue your firm for neglect. This could ruin your business but insurance will stop that from happening.
With the right insurance policies, you’ll be able to protect your firm and keep it operational during the toughest times. Don’t delay getting insurance because you could regret it severely in the long run.
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