What is commercial insurance?

Commercial insurance is insurance coverage that protects your business, your employees and you as the owner. It’s designed to protect various aspects of your business. The most common coverage companies carry are liability, property, crime, or commercial auto insurance. Most small businesses start with a business owners policy (BOP). Within a BOP there’s a combination of general liability, commercial property, crime and other coverages wrapped into one bundle to cover most aspects of the day to day operations. Other insurance that may fall into commercial would be cyber, equipment breakdown, workers comp, business interruption, and commercial health to name a few.

Below we dig into two of the more common types of commercial insurance;

What is commercial health insurance?

Commercial health insurance is issued by private companies or non-governmental organizations.

Types of commercial health insurance

With so many different options commercial health insurance has to offer, it’s important to understand what’s available. It’s also helpful to know the differences and what you can and can not combine. The most common types of commercial health insurance are the following;

• Health Maintenance Organization: HMOs require you to choose a primary care physician (PCP) in their network. You must see this PCP for any health issue apart from emergencies. The PCP can refer you to a specialist in the HMO’s network if they cannot fully treat the issue. The exception is obstetricians/gynecologists, with whom patients can make an appointment directly. HMOs often have the lowest premiums and out-of-pocket costs, but they offer fewer choices. Usually if you want to see a doctor outside of the network, it will not be covered. The amount you pay for a monthly premium, deductible, and the co-pay depends on the plan you chose.
• Preferred Provider Organization: In a PPO there’s a network of physicians. This offers a lot more flexibility within the plan. When you see a network doctor, the co-pay is lower. The PPO will also cover a larger portion of the services. You’ll have some coverage if you go to an out-of-network doctor, but less of a portion of the cost is covered. There’s also more out of pocket cost to you. To see a specialist, you do not need a referral from your PCP. As with HMOs, PPOs charge monthly premiums, deductibles, and co-pays. The amounts will vary depending on what’s in your policy.
• Exclusive Provider Organizations: In an EPO you’re required to see in-network doctors. You’re not required to see a PCP for a referral before you see a specialist. You don’t receive any out-of-network coverage. On average EPO plans are less expensive than most HMO or PPO plans. They may be best for young, healthy individuals who do not expect to need much medical care.
• Point-of-Service Plan: A POS is a combination of an HMO and PPO. Within a POS plan, you have a PCP who provides most services and can refer you to a specialist if you need them to. A lot of the PCP’s services may not have a deductible. Similar to a PPO, you have the option to see an out-of-network doctor. You’ll receive some coverage, but your costs are going to higher.
• Flexible Spending Account: Employers may offer a flexible spending account as an optional supplement to the health benefits package. You decide on the amount to be taken from your pay check, tax-free, in equal increments. This money can be used to pay for eligible medical and dental expenses. These can include deductibles, co-pays, over-the-counter medications, eyeglasses and other medical devices.
• High-Deductible Health Plan: HDHPs have a higher deductible than most health insurance plans. Monthly premiums are for the most part lower than a standard HMO or PPO. HDHPs often get paired with a health savings account to make the deductible lower. Healthy people who don’t anticipate needing much healthcare and can afford a larger deductible often look into this type of coverage.
• Health Savings Account: HDHP, a health savings account allows you to put aside money to cover your deductibles, co-pays, and other “eligible” health care-related costs. Like a flexible spending account, you don’t pay taxes on the money you put into this account.

What is commercial prescription drug insurance?

Commercial prescription drug insurance covers a part of the cost of medications prescribed by a doctor and filled by a pharmacy. On average most commercial health insurance plans have commercial prescription drug insurance included. Although, some plans exclusively cover prescriptions may be purchased separately if you don’t have prescription coverage. Most often offered by larger commercial health insurance companies.

What is commercial auto insurance?

Commercial auto insurance is coverage to protect any vehicle used for business use. Some of the vehicles covered may be trucks, trailers and business autos.

What does commercial auto insurance cover?

Like your personal car insurance policy, it covers a lot of the same aspects.

• Bodily injury liability coverage
• Property damage liability coverage
• Combined single limit (CSL)
• Medical payments, no-fault or personal injury coverage
• Uninsured motorist coverage
• Underinsured motorist coverage
• Comprehensive physical damage coverage
• Collision coverage

Commercial auto insurance is obviously a very important type of coverage to have if you have commercial vehicles or employ drivers. If you have questions on your existing policy or need information on a new one, give us a call. Our agents would love to talk with you.