Texas Business Insurance

General liability insurance, also known as commercial general liability (CGL), protects your Texas business from another person or business’s claims of bodily injury, associated medical costs, and damage to property.

Here are some examples of what could be covered.

• Bodily injury: An audio visual technician is setting up some booths for a client’s demonstration. A customer comes to look at a booth and trips over some wires that were left out, and is injured. The technician’s general liability insurance policy could cover the customer’s medical costs that result from the injury.
• Property damage: A consultant spills coffee on an architect’s server causing damage. General liability insurance could cover the subsequent claim up to the general liability policy limits.
• Personal injury: An assistant at a hair salon is overheard speaking negatively about one of the salon’s customers on her lunch break to other employees. Word gets back to the customer who then sues the salon for slander. A general liability insurance policy could cover defense costs as well as a settlement or judgment.

Learn more about general liability insurance costs for your business.

Professional liability insurance, also known as errors and omissions (E&O) insurance, covers claims of negligence against businesses that provide professional and personal services.

Here are some examples of what could be covered.

• Dissatisfied client: A business consultant is hired to increase a company’s productivity. The consultant advises the company to implement several internal processes; however, the recommendations are not implemented as specified and productivity decreases rather than improves, causing the client to sue the consultant. A professional liability policy could protect the consultant, even if no mistake was made.
• Negligence: A tax accountant is preparing taxes for a client. The client asks about a deduction he heard about, and the tax preparer adds it in without checking to make sure it is accurate and applies to his client. The IRS fines the client who sues the tax preparer for negligence. A professional liability policy could protect the tax preparer.

Learn more about professional liability insurance.

Business owner's policy (BOP) is a combination of general liability and business property insurance. BOP is often used to provide balanced coverage for small businesses who also want to protect their own business equipment, tools and property such as computers, printers and furniture. Here are some examples of what could be covered.

• Damage to equipment and property due to a covered cause of loss
• Third-party claims of property damage or bodily injury
• Theft of equipment or tools
• Electronic data loss
• Business interruption due to a covered event

Learn more about business owner's insurance.

Businesses in Texas can be protected from the costs associated with computer-related losses like extortion attempts and data breaches with cyber security insurance coverage. This coverage is important for businesses that have a website, accept credit cards or other digital payments, and use email. Sometimes called cyber liability or cyber risk insurance, cyber security insurance can cover scenarios like these.

• Cyber extortion: You receive an email that appears to be from a vendor you use, and it includes a link to confirm your contact information. You click on the link, but the email is fraudulent, and your computer is infected with malware. You receive a demand for ransom to restore your data. Cyber security insurance could provide expert assistance in handling the ransomware demand as well as covering the associated costs.
• Data breach: Your customer database is breached. While it’s unclear if sensitive information was compromised, you are required to notify the affected parties and provide credit monitoring. Cyber security insurance can cover the cost of complying with regulatory requirements, along with providing defense against lawsuits and fines if necessary.

Learn more about cyber security insurance.

Handyman insurance is required in Texas if you are a licensed contractor working for a construction company or a contract with the government. As a profession that is physically demanding, requiring the use of various tools and providing many specialized services, it is crucial for those who own this type of business to obtain insurance.

As a Handyman, general liability insurance, or commercial general liability (CGL) insurance, is a great way to protect yourself and your small business against claims of bodily injury, property damage, or personal injury. For example, you might face a bodily injury claim if your client trips over an electrical cord or a ladder; or a property damage claim if you or one of your employees accidentally damages or breaks something in a client’s home, while you are on the job. Your CGL policy could cover associated medical costs for the bodily injury claim or the cost to replace the damaged good in your client's home. You can protect your Handyman business from hypothetical scenarios like these, among others, with general liability insurance from Hiscox.

Photography is a powerful art form, but doing it professionally means that photographers need to make smart business decisions. Hiscox helps photographers in Texas protect themselves and their businesses from lawsuits alleging personal injury, property damage, professional negligence and a variety of other variables that are often unforeseen in the photography business.

Professional liability insurance protects photographers from claims that may occur, for example, as a result of faulty or corrupt memory cards and hard drives that store valuable photographs for a client. It may also protect against the costs of lawsuits by dissatisfied clients who may have miscommunicated expectations for a project.

General liability insurance can protect a photographer from bodily injury claims if a customer slips and falls in a studio or trips over a wire and sustains an injury. Damage to a client’s home or event space could also be covered in this case, and while liability insurance is optional for photographers in Texas, it is highly recommended that professionals be covered in the event of these unfortunate mishaps.

Professional liability insurance is a common type of insurance obtained by accountants. It covers a wide range of claims, including negligence and accounting mistakes when delivering services to customers. If an accountant fails to fulfill contractual obligations on time, then this type of insurance could help cover costs resulting from a client’s claim of lost business revenue.

Accountants also obtain general liability insurance to protect against bodily injury, personal injury, and property damage. This type of insurance protects an accountant from claims, for example, that a client was injured due to a slip-and-fall in the office, claims of libel or slander, and more. These kinds of things happen, and that’s why it’s important for accountants to consider insurance to cover many of these unfortunate scenarios.

A business owner’s policy (BOP) protects an accountant’s business property in addition to protecting against third-party property damage and bodily injury claims. If an accountant’s office is damaged by fire, or if their office equipment is stolen, a business owner’s policy could cover the costs to replace the equipment and get the accountant back to work.

Personal trainers help clients get in shape, train for marathons and recover after injuries. Due to the nature of this business, personal trainers often obtain liability insurance to protect them from claims of negligence. General liability insurance from Hiscox helps protect personal trainers in Texas from bodily injury and property damage claims. For example, if a client trips over training equipment and blames the personal trainer for not keeping the area organized and safe. Hiscox can help protect the trainer against the claim of bodily injury and payment of medical costs.

A business owner’s policy (BOP) can protect a personal trainer’s business property as well as providing general liability protection. If a trainer’s equipment is damaged or stolen, a business owner’s policy can cover the cost to replace the equipment and get the trainer back to work fast. It could also cover bodily injury and property damage claims by third parties.

Workers' compensation insurance is not required for personal trainers in Texas. However, this is an industry that focuses heavily on fitness stress and, sometimes, pushing the physical limits of the body.

There is a heightened risk of bodily injury for employees working with clients in the fitness industry, and it would be advantageous for personal trainers to consider coverage for their employees.

Business owners in every industry face certain risks and those in the therapy and counseling practices are no different. If a patient files a claim against a practice for dissatisfaction – if they are not making progress or not receiving the care they expected – professional liability insurance can go a long way. For instance, if a marriage still suffers after significant therapy, clients may sue, and that’s when a therapist’s practice could benefit from insurance. Hiscox covers a broad range of mental health services, including family counselors, hypnotists, marriage counselors, occupational therapists, psychologists, and social workers.

Many therapist services have their own office space where clients come for sessions. General liability insurance covers these professionals if a client slips and falls in the office, or their property is damaged. These are just a few of the risks that demonstrate why a therapist or counseling service should consider various forms of liability insurance.

A business owner’s policy (BOP) can protect a therapist’s office equipment and furnishings as well as provide general liability protection against third-party claims of bodily injury or property damage. If a therapist’s office is damaged by fire, or if equipment is stolen, a business owner’s policy can cover certain costs and get the therapist back to work quickly.