In the past I have written about how to hire a business attorney and an accountant for your Iowa business.  Another important professional you will need to work with is an insurance agent.  (We’ll save bankers for another post).  An insurance agent that writes policies for businesses is an important professional advisor in your business. 

You can protect yourself from large, unknown losses by acquiring the appropriate insurance.  Also shareholders and partners sometimes take policies on each other’s life, so that the surviving shareholder or partner can buy out the interest of the deceased shareholder or partner.  Moreover, even corporations, LLCs and other limited liability organizations should have insurance coverage to provide greater protection of assets.

This article from the Small Business Administration discussed business insurance and types of coverages you should consider.  A couple of things worth noting from the article.  FIrst, notice that home-based businesses are not typically covered by homeowners’ insurance.  Second, the list of insurance coverages in the article does not include employee practices liability insurance (EPLI).  If you have employees, EPLI insurance may help protect against claims of discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, breach of employment contracts, etc.  But make sure you understand what is covered by such policies before you purchase the coverage.  The exclusions in some of these policies are plentiful.  You need to understand what is covered and what is not to determine whether it is worth the premium.