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An insurance rider offers changes to basic insurance coverage. It also helps policyholders create customized coverage. Insurance riders offer additional coverage to address various small business risks. They can also let you increase your coverage limits on a small business insurance policy.
Insurance riders, also known as endorsements, are common on different policies, such as:
- Homeowners insurance
- Business insurance
- Life insurance
You’ll have to pay an additional cost for each insurance rider that you have on your policy. So, you’ll have higher insurance premium payments.
How Do Insurance Policy Riders Work?
Insurance riders change the base policy coverage. They can either extend policy limits or provide more coverage for different risks. Knowing your business' risks can help you figure out the different types of riders you'll need.
For example, on a life insurance policy, you can get a guaranteed insurability rider. This lets a policyholder increase the coverage on their policy without needing another medical exam.
For small business insurance, you can get an insurance rider to protect against risks. For example, you can get an endorsement to protect against liability risks due to your products and services.
Why Are Insurance Riders Important?
Not every business is the same or faces the same risks. Insurance riders let you create a customized policy to address your needs.
Sometimes, the base coverage for common business insurance policies don’t offer enough protection or your business may have changed over time. When this happens, you need to get insurance riders to protect against new risks.
Common Ways To Modify Your Small Business Insurance With Riders
You can change your small business insurance with different riders or endorsements. Some common ways to do this include:
- Extending commercial property insurance coverage to business equipment or inventory that is away from your primary location.
- Providing workers’ compensation insurance benefits to different types of employees of your business to help protect them if they get a job-related terminal illness or there’s an accidental death from their work.
- Getting an extended reporting period, affecting the claim-filing process for certain policies, like professional liability insurance.
- Adding more covered causes of loss, like utility service interruption for a business income insurance policy.
- Naming an additional insured on a general liability insurance policy to extend coverage.
Remember, these are just a few insurance rider examples. There are many insurance riders that business owners can get. You can work with our specialists to find the right ones that your business may need.
Learn if an Insurance Rider Is Right for You From the Professionals at The Hartford
Make sure you’re working with an insurance company that has your best interest in mind. Not all insurance companies are the same. We’re backed by more than 200 years of experience and if the unexpected happens, we’ve got your back.
We pride ourselves on understanding the risks you face. With us, you'll know you're getting the coverage and insurance riders you need.
Get a small business insurance quote today and see how we can help you.
Brush up on more small business insurance terms with our glossary. Examples include:
Last Updated: June 30, 2022
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