Business Insurance – FAQs
Manufacturer of the product is: MAPFRE Middlesea
MAPFRE Middlesea p.l.c. (C-5553) is authorised by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) to carry on both Long Term and General Business under the Insurance Business Act. MAPFRE Middlesea p.l.c. is regulated by the MFSA.
FAQs Business Insurance
How can I value my business?
There is no cut-and-dried answer to this question. Valuation is usually a very subjective issue, and it involves many variables difficult to standardize and homogenize. Different specialists will differ when valuing the same object, even if that object is our same business. Nonetheless, we count on the help of some particular features we have to check whenever we want to have an approximate idea of how much our business is worth.
First of all, the area in square meters. This is intrinsically related to how big your business is, in physical, realistic terms. This is known as the continent. By way of explanation, continent refers to every construction and structural element of, in this case, an office, workshop, studio, laboratory, working space, plant, foundry, etc. Therefore, there is a direct relation between the size of the area and the price of the square meter in our particular place to check the monetary value of our business. Besides, the location of the building in a specific neighborhood or district may influence on the price too. This is somewhat easy to calculate, for everything that must be taken into consideration is tangible and material.
Tangible and material are also most of the the goods we own to execute our company’s purpose. Those may be machinery, raw materials, movable assets, etc. Those can be rated simply by their monetary value, considering their age, damage, situation of use…
That is for the physical place in which our business takes place. For the business itself, we have to consider the following factors.
To value a business basing on sales, we must calculate the predictions on the annual sales to anticipate how much our business earns during a year, particularly, the current year. This is based on many factors, such as the exact type of commerce, the risks, the specifics of the company, etc.
Similarly, valuing a business considering its profits will set the price accordingly to the stream of benefits a company is able to generate. Usually, the results of various years are required to calculate this rating, in order to estimate the worth of the business.
Those abstract dimensions may also be valid to measure the price to pay for our business. There will be disadvantages buyers may use to negotiate down, that we also have to be aware of in advance. All things considered, studying our business deeply may lead us to an approximate conception of the value of our company.
What are industrial risks?
Risk is the probability in which a dangerous event may take place and cause any type of injuries. Exposing ourselves to situations of risk will probably lead us to a situation of harm, material or environmental damages. Due to their varying nature, jobs have different risk factors. And what is even more, those factors are also different from one another. Our workplace and our tasks are essential in defining the risks we may face during our labour.
Those work-related threats are occupational hazards we must take into consideration. Industrial safety measures intend to establish those regulations and criteria needed to control and avoid every risk concerning things or people during the production process.
Some analyses may be carried out in order to identify and evaluate every risk that emerges during the industrial activity, from the moment the project is conceived until its materialization. Those analyses, if proficient, must provide a deep review of every step along the planning, considering, not only ordinary circumstances, but also non-routine situations, such as those of accidents or emergencies, besides external events unconnected to the reason of being of the company.
Chemical and petrochemical industries, processing plants, power stations, cement factories, and iron and steel industries are particularly the object of analysis of the industrial safety, for professions in this fields are usually dangerously in touch with hazmats (hazardous materials) and run a higher risk of getting injured.
According to the corresponding legislation, authorities or insurance companies may demand business companies to possess a certification, proving measures have been established to prevent dangers, and valuating every risk emerging during the production activity. In the European Union, there are some guides and collective agreements to control and prevent industrial risks, which must fulfill the legal requirements of the union. These regulations are extensively guarded in order to avoid accidents or disasters. Companies must reflect a commitment to their workers and provide the safest workplace. Otherwise, they may receive a penalty or even being closed down by the local authorities, for periodical inspections take place in order to check the industrial safety protocol of action.
What to consider when shopping for a Business Insurance?
Therefore, there is a minimum of advisable things you have to search when looking for protection.
As a businessperson, you will already know it is essential to cover anything that may occur to your company; that is, to the physical location and continent of your shop, as well as the content of your (everything contained in your office/shop/factory/plant…), safe from fire, burglaries, natural disasters… Preventing any damage your commerce may happen is essential in order to save any incident and continuing with the ordinary activity. That is for sure.
But apart from that, there are many other things, less visible or tangible, we must assure when running a business. For instance, public liability should be covered by our insurance, in case there is someone injured due to our commercial activity, either it is a worker, a customer, or an authority: our insurance company must answer with a compensation to the injured and be responsible for those for the workers, in case the business is shut down, even if it is temporarily, if the incident has taken place within the limits insured in our business policy.
Professional liability (different from public or civil liability) insurance provides assistance to those professions (lawyers, doctors, administrative managers, industrial property managers, tax advisers, judges, prosecutors…) with a great responsibility in this increasingly demanding society. Professional attention and legal advice are some indispensable features we may need covered in this type of insurance, when in need of assistance against omissions, possible negligence, errors… (with, for example, a Errors & Omissions insurance).
Finally, nowadays it sounds reasonable to take care of our electronical devices, for most of our business may be settled online, or, at least, on a technological basis. Covering computing assistance, cyberthefts, back-up copies, IT support, and everything related to the proper functioning of our devices seems extremely recommendable.
Along with this guidance, we have to consider the specifics of our business to discern what type of business insurance suits best our needs, so that we shop the best coverage for our enterprise and have the greatest security and peace of mind about our protection.
Why would I need a Business Travel insurance?
When we have to travel a lot due to our business activity, there are a lot of things that we have to bear in mind. What if we can spare some worries related to our trip, just relying on our Business Travel insurance? Then, we would have more time and effort to focus on what is really important: our company.
Travel insurances are particularly convenient when we have to travel a lot during business activity. If we are used to international flights and stays abroad, we may be interested in doing whatever is needed for peace of mind. If that happens to be the case, a Travel Insurance could be the perfect solution for everything we are worried about when we have to do business abroad. If we want to be professionals, we should have professional coverage for any adversity we may find during our trip.
Therefore, Business Travel Insurances should at least cover the following:
- Emergency medical assistance;
- Medical expenses (up to a certain extent);
- Cost of the accommodation of the companion, in case of hospitalization of the insured.
- Travel assistance services;
- Trip cancellations, or delays, compensations: if our flight is cancelled, we will be reimbursed;
- Interruption of the trip in case of serious damage to our house or workplace;
- Public or civil liability;
- Personal security assistance;
- Advance payment in the event of loss or theft of the personal effects, including luggage;
However, most of these conditions may vary, depending on the type insurance we hire. If we travel very often within the country or to safe places, we may not be in need of an expensive policy. On the contrary, if our business demands recurrent trips abroad and to remote destinations, a Business Travel insurance offering as many outputs as possible is highly recommended. Another factor to consider is the length of our stay: it will not be the same if we travel a week than more than a month. Nonetheless, the easiest way to get the most from our insurance is to analyze step by step which type of coverage suits best our needs.