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Of the many types of business liability insurance that are commonly known on the market (malpractice, errors & omissions, general, product liability and employment practices liability), it should be noted that many of them come marketed under the term “business solutions insurance,†which a number of large insurance firms offer.
AIG, for example, markets its most common insurance product as Small Business Solutions, or SBS. SBS covers a wide variety of business insurances, which can be found at their website. As you can see, they offer a number of general insurance packages, each of which is weighted toward the industry of the client, including business and personal service providers, hospitality, manufacturers, non-profits, real estate, retailers, wholesalers, leisure and recreational, and education. The other principal types of insurances (E&O, EPLI, product liability) are also offered in various forms through Small Business Solutions.
Insurance providers should always be cross-checked so that you know that you are buying a quality insurance product. There are a number of ways that you can verify this information; you can compare the costs and coverages of the products themselves at Netquote.com, which is the largest online market place for business and personal insurers. Netquote will provide you with a quick-and-dirty comparison of different products, and will provide you with a little bit of customer satisfaction information. For more details, it is wise to talk with any friends you might have that are in your industry and any legal professionals that might be familiar with them as well.
Another excellent resource is JD Power and Associates. JD Power is a global marketing information service that has been around since 1968. It conducts surveys of customer satisfaction for different products, including insurers. It provides a wealth of comparative information, customer reviews and testimonies, and is trusted as one of the most unbiased, reliable pieces of consumer information available on the market. Another good place to check is your state’s Department of Insurance, which will provide you with both customer reviews, and list any legal issues that have come about from misconduct on the part of the insurer.
