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Commercial Insurance Vaughan

The commercial landscape in Vaughan, Ontario

In 2016 the city of Vaughan ranked #8 on the list of Canada’s best places for business. Vaughan is a bustling section of the Greater Toronto Area, well-known for its commercial landscape: leading industries in the city include manufacturing, retail, and construction. In particular, the city of approximately 322,525 residents is home to the Vaughan International Commercialization Centre which helps local and medium-sized businesses adapt technology from overseas for local utilization, in addition to helping local companies prepare their products to be exported.

Vaughan is also a commercial hotspot because the municipal government provides incentives for residents to start and grow their business in the area through the Vaughan Community Improvement Plan (CIP). The plan encourages development of available office space in the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre (VMC) located at Weston Road and Highway 7. The plan offers financial incentives for companies (regardless of size) to “build office space, valid until November 17th 2020 or when the total projects equal 139,500 square meters.”

Given the expansive nature of the already-bustling commercial landscape in Vaughan, it is increasingly important for businesses to protect their assets and employees in the form of commercial insurance. There is no one-size-fits-all model for commercial insurance as business needs differ greatly from one business to the next, however insurance companies offer a wide range of customizable policies to suit all business needs. If you are currently looking for commercial insurance in Vaughan, are already insured with a company but unsure of what your coverage should include, or even thinking of starting a business and unsure as to your business insurance needs, continue reading for a condensed summary of commercial insurance.

Commercial insurance: A breakdown

In a nutshell, commercial insurance protects business property, inventory, equipment and employees against potential losses from unforeseen circumstances such as theft, property damage, interruption of business, employee injury, and liability. Commercial insurance protects both business owners and their employees against likely contingencies based on their business operations and likely potential accidents resulting in financial loss.

Standard commercial insurance is offered as a commercial general liability (CGL) policy or just a general liability (GL) policy which typically includes coverage for the following: protection against liability claims for bodily injury (BI); coverage for potential property damage (PD) arising out of premises operations, completed operations and products; and advertising and personal injury (PI) liability in the event of on-the-job accidents. Standard CGL coverage can also incorporate commercial property insurance, commercial auto insurance, and/or commercial liability insurance depending on the business and its needs.

Because of the diverse nature of businesses and the different risks they face, commercial insurance policies vary hugely between companies. For example: a restaurant is likely to experience vastly different problems than a bank might, therefore their policies should be completely different. For this reason, insurance companies offer business owners policies (BOP), which combine the protection of commercial property insurance with general liability insurance, crime insurance and other common coverages into a standard package. This kind of basic coverage is particularly beneficial for small businesses because it covers their basic insurance needs, while ensuring they do not overpay for unnecessary coverage.

Essentially, commercial insurance policies are completely customizable to each business’ needs, which is a reason why it is an essential tool to include in an emergency management plan.

Why insure your business?

Regardless of the industry, there are always inherent risks involved in the business world. Many circumstances cannot be controlled – inflation rates, the stock market, events overseas that directly impact the industries here in Ontario, and even the declining Canadian dollar – but the most important thing business owners can control is their investment in a commercial insurance policy.

With commercial insurance, you can ensure your business’ protection against scenarios and accidents that you may not have even considered. For instance, what if the postman slips on ice while delivering something to your business? What if an employee injures themselves because of negligence on their behalf? What happens in the event of a hurricane or lightning storm that causes significant damage to your property and/or business supplies? With a thorough insurance policy, you can operate with the peace of mind that none of these scenarios will ruin your business: significant financial loss can be avoided, and your business assets can be compensated for in the event of damage.

Factors that influence your commercial insurance premium

There are several factors that can influence a commercial insurance premium. The insurance premium is the amount the business pays monthly in order to keep their policy in effect. Though the terms of the insurance policy itself and the deductible amount are the two most influential factors, there are also different things that insurance companies take into consideration. These include (but are not limited to) the location of the business, the annual revenue of the company, the number of employees, the number of years the business has been active, whether the company owns or leases their facilities, and how old the facilities are.

It is also important to consistently examine and update your policy: this is not only beneficial to ensure that your coverage remains relevant as your business grows, but also to avoid over-paying for coverage that you do not need.

What you need to know about insurance in Vaughan:

In conclusion, commercial insurance is a vital asset and tool for businesses in Vaughan particularly due to the dense commercial landscape and risk potential associated with being situated in the GTA.

A standard commercial general liability (CGL) policy protects businesses against the most common contingencies, namely claims against bodily injury, property damage, and personal injury. However more thorough policies can provide specialized coverage tailored to specific business needs including business interruption, cyber coverage, privacy breach coverage and even commercial drone insurance. Commercial insurance is vital to your business’ emergency contingency plan because it allows you to protect your business assets against any potential risk, and is determined by a number of factors including location, annual revenue, number of employees, and the number of years the business has been in operation. All in all, the most important thing to remember when it comes to commercial insurance in Vaughan is that, if you’re wondering whether or not you need it, you do.