The DC Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB) and the Washington, DC Economic Partnership (WDCEP)’s BusinessPremier program joined forces today, through a seminar held at WDCEP from 9 am to 11 am, to introduce a new comprehensive public education resource to help small businesses understand and address business risks with insurance options.

“Small businesses are a major engine of our national economy, employing millions of Americans and generating immense economic activity,” said DISB Commissioner Thomas E. Hampton who introduced the resource to several District area business owners this morning at the WDCEP. “Small business owners need to understand the array of business risks they face, as well as how to protect themselves with the right insurance coverage. Insure U for Small Business will help small business owners and managers make smarter insurance decisions.”

The online resource, Insure U for Small Business, features an education curriculum with six categories of information to small businesses: workers’ compensation; group health and disability; business property and liability; commercial auto; group life and key person life; and home-based business insurance. After reviewing the curriculum’s helpful explanations, tips and considerations, small business owners and managers can test their knowledge about insurance issues by taking an online quiz. Upon successful completion, they can download an Insure U for Small Business diploma.

“Our BusinessPremier program’s partnership today with DISB introducing Insure U to the public makes perfect sense,” said Steve Moore, president and CEO of the Washington, DC Economic Partnership. “Because the BusinessPremier program is designed to help businesses excel and remain in the District, and the information released today can help business owners make more informed and cost effective decisions, this is directly aligned with a piece of BusinessPremier.”

DISB introduced research done in March by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), of which DISB is a member, which revealed that many small businesses—those with fewer than 100 employees—are exposed to serious risks that could be mitigated by a better understanding of insurance options.  (View the executive summary of the research*.) Key findings of the research show:

• Only 47 percent of small businesses offer heath insurance to their employees. Of those, 24 percent report changing the fee structure, deductibles or other components in the past year to offset the rising cost of premiums.
• Only 59 percent of small businesses with fewer than 20 employees have workers’ compensation insurance, which state law requires for most companies. Workers’ compensation insurance protects business owners from claims by employees who experience a work-related injury or illness.
• Only 35 percent of small businesses have business interruption insurance, which covers expenses like payroll and utility bills that often continue after a major event (e.g., a fire or storm) shuts down a company. Because rebounding from a disaster can take a considerable amount of time, small businesses need to understand this risk and the available insurance options.
• Only 48 percent of small businesses carry commercial auto insurance. The others apparently rely on personal auto insurance. However, personal auto insurance policies typically have lower liability limits and may even exclude business-related liability.
• While 71 percent of small businesses say they are very dependent on one or two key people for their success and viability, only 22 percent have Key Person life insurance, a type of policy that enables a business to weather the death of a key employee or buy out the key person’s heirs if ownership rights are involved.
• Among home-based businesses—22 percent of the NAIC survey—48 percent depend on their homeowners insurance to protect their businesses. However, most homeowners’ insurance policies severely limit coverage of business property and may totally exclude business-related liability claims.

“Insure U for Small Business manifests the commitment of the NAIC and its members to help small business owners,” said Commissioner Hampton.  “It builds on the momentum of the NAIC’s highly successful Insure U consumer education program that DISB introduced a year ago.” 

For more information about Insure U, consumers can visit DISB’s website at disb.dc.gov. The Insure U for Small Business curriculum is available at www.insureUonline.org/smallbusiness.

ABOUT DISB
The Government of the District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB) regulates all financial-service businesses in the District of Columbia. DISB has two overall missions: to provide fair, efficient and fast regulatory supervision of financial-service activities for the protection of the people of the District of Columbia; and to create conditions that will attract and retain national and international insurance, securities, banking and other financial-services businesses to the District. For more information, visit DISB on the web at disb.dc.gov.

ABOUT THE WASHINGTON, DC ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP’S BUSINESSPREMIER
WDCEP’s BusinessPremier is a collaborative effort of the Government of the District of Columbia, the Washington, DC Economic Partnership, and economic development, community development and workforce development organizations. It has been designed to help businesses grow and thrive in the District of Columbia by providing no-fee access to business resources and services, including economic incentives and programs; lease and site location assistance; workforce development assistance business development resources; statistics and demographic information; and a network of partner organizations. To learn more or schedule a consultation, visit the Economic Partnership’s website, www.wdcep.com.

ABOUT THE NAIC
Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is a voluntary organization of the chief insurance regulatory officials of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the five U.S. territories. The NAIC’s overriding objective is to assist state insurance regulators in protecting consumers and helping maintain the financial stability of the insurance industry by offering financial, actuarial, legal, computer, research, market conduct and economic expertise. Formed in 1871, the NAIC is the oldest association of state officials. For more than 135 years, state-based insurance supervision has served the needs of consumers, industry and the business of insurance at-large by ensuring hands-on, frontline protection for consumers, while providing insurers the uniform platforms and coordinated systems they need to compete effectively in an ever-changing marketplace. For more information, visit NAIC on the web at: http://www.naic.org/press_home.htm.