What a policy review finds, business by business.
Forty kinds of businesses, from remodelers to seed-stage startups. Each story follows one owner: what they asked for, what the review turned up, and the coverage that closed the gap. The businesses are composites, and the gaps are real.
4 stories
Business Owners Policy
Property, liability, and lost income bundled into one policy. The right starting point for most small businesses. How it works.
A Kirkland Boutique, a December Inventory, and a Policy Written for March
A women's clothing boutique had a business owners policy that looked fine on paper. The review found an inventory limit set for the slowest month of the year and no protection for the card data running through its register.
BOPGLCyberCreative servicesA Wedding Photographer's Gear Was Insured at Home but Not at the Wedding
A photographer with a studio and $40,000 of cameras and lenses thought her business owners policy covered her equipment. It did, as long as the equipment never left the studio.
BOPPropertyE&OFood and beverageThe Coffee Shop That Needed a Cheaper BOP and Got a Complete One Instead
A two-location café came in to lower its premium. The review found an espresso machine with no breakdown coverage, a business income limit that would run out in weeks, and eleven employees with no protection against an employment claim.
BOPPropertyEPLIPersonal servicesWhy a Salon's Business Owners Policy Didn't Cover the Client Whose Color Went Wrong
A salon owner assumed her business owners policy covered everything that happened in the chair. It covered a client who slipped on the floor, but not one whose chemical treatment went wrong. Here is what closed that gap.
BOPE&OEPLI4 stories
General Liability
Injury and property damage claims from customers, clients, and the public. The policy most contracts require. How it works.
A Hardware Startup's First Retail Order Came With an Insurance Requirement
A smart home device startup landed a national retailer. The vendor agreement required products liability coverage the founders had never bought, and the review found two more gaps that investors would ask about next.
GLD&OPropertyFitness and wellnessThe Fitness Studio That Thought Its Waivers Were the Insurance
A strength and conditioning studio relied on signed waivers and a basic liability policy. The review found gaps in how trainers were covered, a policy that excluded the injuries most likely to happen, and no plan for staff claims.
GLE&OEPLIConstructionThe Remodeler Who Couldn't Start the Job Until His Certificate Matched the Contract
A kitchen and bath remodeler landed his biggest subcontract yet, then learned his general liability policy was missing three endorsements the contract required. Here is how the gap got closed before day one.
GLUmbrellaAutoChildcare and educationWhat a Preschool's Liability Policy Needs That Most Small Businesses Never Think About
A licensed preschool had general liability through a standard package. The review found an abuse and molestation exclusion, a field trip van on a personal policy, and staff turnover with no employment coverage.
GLAutoEPLI4 stories
Professional Liability (E&O)
Claims that your advice, work, or service cost a client money. Excluded from every BOP and GL policy. How it works.
A CPA Firm Bought E&O for Tax Mistakes. The Bigger Risk Was a Fake Email.
A twelve-person accounting firm had professional liability for errors in its work. The review found a claims-made trap in its switch of carriers, and a wire fraud exposure its E&O policy was never designed to cover.
E&OCyberEPLITechnologyAn App Studio's Enterprise Client Wanted Tech E&O. The Studio Had Never Heard of It.
A small app development shop won its first enterprise contract, then hit a procurement wall: $2 million of technology errors and omissions plus cyber coverage, due before signature.
E&OCyberEPLIProfessional servicesAn Architecture Firm Asked Its Umbrella to Cover Design Errors. It Can't.
A growing residential and small commercial architecture practice needed higher limits for a public project. The plan was to add an umbrella. The review showed why that would not have covered the exposure the client cared about.
E&OGLUmbrellaProfessional servicesThe Marketing Agency, the Stock Photo, and the Client Contract Nobody Read Closely
A fifteen-person agency got a demand letter over an image used in a client campaign. The review found its policies split the claim in a way that left a gap, and a client contract that promised more than the agency could insure.
E&OCyberGL4 stories
Cyber Liability
Ransomware, data breaches, and wire fraud. The claim small businesses are now most likely to file. How it works.
A Small Law Firm's Trust Account and the Email That Almost Emptied It
A four-attorney firm handling real estate closings assumed its malpractice policy covered a stolen wire. The review found that malpractice, cyber, and crime coverage each covered a different piece, and the firm had only one of them.
CyberE&OBOPRetailAn Online Store Had Insurance for Its Warehouse and None for Its Website
A direct-to-consumer outdoor gear brand made nearly all its sales online. Its insurance protected the warehouse shelves, but not the store that actually made money, and not the products it imported.
CyberPropertyGLHealthcareThe Dental Practice That Was Insured for Everything Except Its Patient Records
A three-dentist practice had malpractice, a solid office policy, and no cyber coverage, while holding years of patient records, insurance details, and payment data. Here is what a review turned up.
CyberBOPEPLITechnologyWhen a Managed IT Provider Gets Breached, Every Client Gets Breached
An MSP supporting forty small businesses had a cyber policy sized for its own office. The review found that its real exposure was a single compromised tool that touches every client at once.
CyberE&OUmbrella4 stories
Commercial Auto
Vehicles your business owns, plus liability when employees drive their own cars for work. How it works.
A Food Truck Is a Vehicle, a Kitchen, and a Business. Its Insurance Should Be All Three.
A taco truck owner had a commercial auto policy and figured that was the whole program. The review found the kitchen equipment, the customers, and the events all needed coverage the auto policy doesn't provide.
AutoGLPropertyConstructionAn HVAC Company's Technicians Took Their Vans Home. The Auto Policy Needed to Know.
A heating and cooling contractor with eleven service vans had a fleet policy that didn't match how the vans were actually used, and liability limits too thin for a fleet on the road every day.
AutoGLUmbrellaConstructionSix Trucks, Four Trailers, and a Landscaper's Auto Policy That Only Knew About Three
A growing landscaping company added trucks, trailers, and drivers faster than it updated its insurance. The review found undisclosed vehicles, an unlisted driver with a bad record, and equipment nobody had insured.
AutoGLStop-gapMoving and logisticsThe Movers Who Were Insured for the Truck but Not for the Piano Inside It
A local moving company carried commercial auto on its box trucks and assumed customers' belongings were covered too. They weren't, and a crew injury exposed another gap.
AutoGLStop-gap4 stories
Commercial Property
Buildings, equipment, inventory, and improvements, valued at what it would really cost to replace. How it works.
A Machine Shop Bought a New CNC Mill and Forgot to Tell Its Insurer
A precision machining shop had added nearly a million dollars of equipment over three years. Its property limit hadn't changed, and a coinsurance clause meant that even a small claim would have been cut down.
PropertyGLStop-gapFood and beverageAfter the Kitchen Fire, the Real Question Was How Long the Restaurant Could Survive Closed
A seventy-seat restaurant had its building and equipment insured. The review found a business income limit that would run out long before a serious fire could be repaired, and liquor exposure the policy excluded.
PropertyGLUmbrellaReal estateEight Rentals, Three LLCs, and Insurance Still in the Owner's Personal Name
A couple moved their eight rental properties into LLCs for liability protection, then left the insurance exactly where it was. The review found named insured problems that could have cost them a claim.
PropertyUmbrellaGLFood and beverageThe Bakery Whose Oven Broke on the Busiest Week of the Year
A wholesale bakery supplying grocery stores and cafés had fire coverage on its equipment. The review found that what actually threatened it was a breakdown, a spoiled cooler, and a delivery van no one had insured correctly.
PropertyAutoStop-gap4 stories
Commercial Umbrella
Extra liability limits above your GL, auto, and employers liability, usually at a lower cost per dollar. How it works.
A Roofer's Umbrella Only Works if the Policies Underneath It Are Right
A roofing company needed a $5 million umbrella for commercial jobs. The review found that without stop-gap and the right GL form underneath, the umbrella would not have responded to the claims roofers actually face.
UmbrellaGLStop-gapEvents and hospitalityA Wedding Venue's Umbrella Was the Difference Between a Claim and a Catastrophe
A barn wedding venue hosted two hundred guests most weekends. Its liability limits were set for a much smaller business, and outside caterers and bartenders brought exposures it had never considered.
UmbrellaGLPropertyFood and beverageThe Brewery Taproom That Was Insured as a Factory, Not a Bar
A craft brewery grew its taproom into a busy neighborhood spot with trivia nights and food trucks. Its insurance still described a small production brewery with a tasting room, and the review found the gaps that followed.
UmbrellaPropertyGLReal estateThe Mixed-Use Building With Apartments Upstairs and a Bar Downstairs
An investor bought a three-story building with retail on the ground floor and six apartments above. The previous owner's insurance didn't account for the tenants below, and the review found why a bigger umbrella was the right answer.
UmbrellaPropertyGL4 stories
Employment Practices Liability
Wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims from employees and applicants. How it works.
A Physical Therapy Clinic's Growth Plan Needed an HR Plan, and an Insurance Plan to Match
A two-location physical therapy practice was opening a third clinic and hiring fifteen people. The review found employment exposure, an owner's malpractice policy that didn't cover the clinic's other therapists, and a lease that asked for more.
EPLIE&OBOPStaffingA Staffing Agency Has Two Sets of Employees Who Can Sue It
A staffing firm placing warehouse workers had an EPLI policy for its own office staff. The review found that its real exposure was the hundreds of temporary workers it placed, and the client companies they worked for.
EPLIStop-gapE&OTechnologyA Tech Company Went From 25 to 110 Employees in a Year. Its EPLI Stayed at 25.
A venture-backed software company quadrupled its headcount after a funding round, then went through its first layoff. The review found an EPLI policy sized for a startup, and remote employees in states it had never considered.
EPLID&OCyberHealthcareHome Care Workers Drive to Every Shift. That Changes the Agency's Insurance.
A home care agency with sixty caregivers had a professional liability policy and little else. The review found high employment exposure, caregivers driving clients in their own cars, and a gap around abuse allegations.
EPLIAutoE&O4 stories
Directors & Officers
Personal protection for founders, directors, and officers when management decisions are challenged. How it works.
A Condo Board Voted on a Special Assessment. Then an Owner Sued the Board.
A forty-unit condo association's volunteer board approved an expensive envelope repair. An owner who disagreed filed suit against the board members personally, and the association's D&O limit turned out to be the smallest number in its program.
D&OPropertyUmbrellaTechnologyThe Founder Sold His Company. The D&O Policy Ended at Closing.
A founder negotiating the sale of his company had tax advisors, lawyers, and bankers. Nobody had mentioned that the company's D&O coverage would end at closing, right when claims from the deal were most likely.
D&OEPLICyberTechnologyThe Term Sheet Said D&O. The Founders Had Two Weeks.
Two founders were closing a seed round with a new outside board member. The term sheet required directors and officers coverage before closing, and the review found two other policies their first enterprise customer would soon ask for.
D&OCyberE&ONonprofitWhy a Food Bank's Volunteer Board Needed Directors and Officers Coverage
A community food bank relied on volunteers, including its board. When a board member asked whether she could be personally sued, nobody knew the answer. A review found the organization had no D&O coverage at all.
D&OEPLIGL4 stories
Workers Comp & Stop-Gap (WA)
Washington workers comp runs through L&I. Stop-gap covers the lawsuits L&I does not. How it works.
A Cleaning Company's Clients Wanted Three Things It Had Never Bought
A janitorial company bidding on office buildings kept hitting the same wall: property managers wanted stop-gap, a janitorial bond, and employment coverage. Here is how the program came together.
Stop-gapGLEPLIConstructionA Spokane Painter Took a Job in Coeur d'Alene. Washington L&I Didn't Follow His Crew.
A commercial painting company based in Spokane began taking jobs across the Idaho line. The review found its crew wasn't clearly covered for injuries in Idaho, and its stop-gap and umbrella had gaps of their own.
Stop-gapGLUmbrellaConstructionAn Electrician Moved From Arizona and Asked Where to Buy Workers Comp
An electrical contractor relocated his company to Washington and asked a simple question: which carrier writes workers comp here? The answer surprised him, and the gap it revealed is one many Washington employers miss.
Stop-gapGLAutoConstructionTree Work Is One of the Riskiest Trades in Washington. The Insurance Has to Match.
A tree removal company with bucket trucks, chippers, and climbers had L&I and a basic liability policy. The review found missing stop-gap, heavy equipment on the wrong auto policy, and no umbrella over one of the highest-hazard jobs around.
Stop-gapAutoUmbrellaFind out what your current policies actually cover.
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