Mind-Blowing Insurance Facts You Should Know

We come across a lot of stunning information in our mission to bring you insightful, informative blog posts that help you protect yourself and your livelihood from business risks. If you operate a small or medium-sized business, this article is for you.

And, in case you missed it, you can read Part One here: Mind-Blowing Insurance Facts Every Business Owner Should Know.

Small Business Insurance

Did you know that, as a business owner or operator, there’s a 40% chance you’ll file an insurance claim sometime in the next ten years?

Yikes!

Small business insurance is critical to protecting your livelihood from unexpected havoc. But you might be wondering what kind of insurance claim you are most likely to file. Well, here are the five most common types of business insurance claims:

Burglary & Theft
Water and Freezing Damage
Wind and Hail Damage
Fire
Customer Slips and Falls

Business insurance is critical because the cost of damages can add up fast. For example, the five costliest claims resulted in the following average costs for small and medium-sized businesses:

Reputational Harm ($50,000)
Vehicle Accidents ($45,000)
Fire ($35,000)
Product Liability ($35,000)
Customer Injury or Damage ($30,000)

There might be a lot to learn about small business insurance, but we’re here to help you every step of the way. Contact us for a comprehensive quote, or read 10 Things You Need to Know About Small Business Insurance today.

Hotel Insurance | Hospitality Insurance

The risk is high for business owners and operators in the hospitality industry on multiple fronts, which means business insurance is critical to ensuring your long-term business health. For example, increased construction costs, supply chain issues, more frequent natural disasters, and severe weather have increased the frequency and severity of property damage claims. Staffing shortages and a rise in cybercrime have created a more complex operating environment as well.

Hotel insurance can help insulate you from becoming a statistic like one of these:

The hospitality industry is the third most targeted by cybercriminals due to the large amount of personal and financial data these types of businesses store.
Technology-based services like remote guest check-in have given hackers greater access to sensitive and proprietary information.
87% of lodging operators are experiencing staffing shortages
There are 400,000 fewer available workers in 2023 than in years past.

Hotel and hospitality insurance can help protect your investment against unforeseen revenue losses, criminals, and much more. There are steps you can take to protect your business, and it all starts with gaining a little knowledge. Read 10 Tips to Help Prevent Hotel Insurance Claims today.

Auto Insurance

If you drive even one car for your business, you need commercial auto insurance to protect you against risk. Personal car insurance policies won’t be enough if you use a vehicle for business reasons.

Whether driving to meet clients or operating a delivery service, you may risk costly losses if you’re not properly protected. If you think it can’t happen to you, just consider these eye-opening driving statistics:

Crashes during work-related activities account for 40% of all crashes in the United States annually.
There are 14,386 automobile accidents in the United States per day, on average. That’s one every six minutes!
42% of drivers don’t consider 10 mph over the speed limit to be speeding.
Drivers go 10 mph over the speed limit 50% of the time.
A 10 mph increase in speed raises the risk of a crash by over 9%.
You are 23 times more likely to get into an automobile accident texting while driving.
20% of injuries from car accidents occur because of distracted driving.
Drivers using cell phones fail to see up to 50% of the information in their driving environment (stop signs, broken-down vehicles, pedestrians, etc.).

How can you protect your business from road hazards? Read our articles on commercial auto insurance and distracted driving today:

Cyber Liability Insurance

Cyber liability insurance is becoming increasingly important to businesses of all shapes and sizes. When Marriot was hacked in 2022, it lost over 20 gigabytes of sensitive data. 37 million customers had their personal data stolen when T-Mobile was hacked at the beginning of 2023.

But you don’t have to be a giant company like T-Mobile or Marriot to suffer from a devastating cyber-attack. In fact, most cyber-attacks last year were carried out against companies with fewer than 100 employees.

And that doesn’t include “soft” costs like workplace disruptions and stress.

Consider these appalling cybercrime statistics:

60% of small businesses that are victims of cyberattacks go out of business within six months.
Cyber-attacks against small businesses increased by 424% from 2021 to 2022.
Only 14% of small businesses are confident in their ability to defend against cybercrime.
43% of all cyber-attacks are conducted against small and medium businesses yearly.
The average loss from a cyber-attack: $25,000.

If you’re operating a business, you need to protect yourself from cybercriminals. Contact a local insurance expert today to insulate your business from this rising threat.

Do you have the right insurance for your business needs?

Our agents can provide a competitive insurance quote today, so contact us to learn how we can customize your insurance policies to meet your needs.

*Disclaimer: We offer content for informational purposes; Co-Op Co-operative Insurance Companies may not provide all the services or products listed here. Please contact your local agent to learn more about how we can help with your insurance needs.

Sources

BBC News. Holiday Inn hotels hit by cyber-attack. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-62814943

https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2015/04/09/363801.htm

Fundera. 30 Surprising Small Business Cyber Security Statistics. https://www.fundera.com/resources/small-business-cyber-security-statistics

National Safety Council (NSC). https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/work/costs/workers-compensation-costs/

The Hartford. The Hartford Reports: More Than 40 Percent Of Small Businesses Will Experience A Claim In The Next 10 Years. https://newsroom.thehartford.com/newsroom-home/news-releases/news-releases-details/2015/The-Hartford-Reports-More-Than-40-Percent-Of-Small-Businesses-Will-Experience-A-Claim-In-The-Next-10-Years/default.aspx

USA Today. In latest T-Mobile hack, 37 million customers have personal data stolen, company says. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2023/01/20/tmobile-data-hack-37-million-customers/11088603002/