More than 50 District-area businesses attended an event co-hosted by the DC Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB), which introduced a comprehensive public education resource to help small businesses understand and address business risk with insurance options.

DISB Commissioner Thomas E. Hampton presents Insure U for Small Business to the District’s small business community on July 18.

DISB joined forces with the Washington, DC Economic Partnership’s (WDCEP) Business Premier initiative to introduce the public to Insure U for Small Business.

“I felt that the Insure U event was both valuable and informative,” said Kevin Sims, president of Auctus Inc., a financial consulting firm in Fort Washington, MD. “The seminar was well worth the time spent.”

“I enjoyed it immensely,” said Michael Jones, an insurance and financial service agent. “Please have more like it and invite me each time.”

Small business owners like Sims and Jones learned about the online resource, Insure U for Small Business, which 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.

Washington, DC Economic Partnership’s President and CEO Steve Moore welcomes the audience to the event.

“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 business owners at the WDCEP’s downtown office on F Street, NW, on July 18. “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.”

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. NAIC is a voluntary organization of the chief insurance regulatory officials of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the five US territories.

In the study, it was revealed that most individuals in this country receive health coverage through their employers.  However, only 47 percent of the small businesses surveyed offer this benefit to their employees. Of those, 24 percent said they have changed the fee structures, deductibles or other components of their plans in the past year to offset the rising cost of premiums.

Another finding was that 71 percent of small businesses surveyed said they were very dependent on one or two key people for their success and viability. Yet very few of these companies–just 22 percent–had Key Person life insurance. With this type of policy, the company is the beneficiary and receives proceeds that could enable it to weather the death of a key employee or buy out the key person’s heirs if ownership rights of the business are involved. To address these kinds of insurance information needs among small business owners and managers, DISB–in conjunction with the NAIC–has created Insure U for Small Business.

Department of Small and Local Business Development’s Chief of Staff Harold Pettigrew Jr. spoke about the initiatives in that office.

The event attracted representatives from the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development as well as from the Department of Small and Local Business Development. Both discussed some of the initiatives from their agencies. WDCEP’s BusinesPremier is a collaborative effort of the Government of the District of Columbia, the Washington, DC Economic Partnership, and economic, community, and workforce development organizations.

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

For more information about Insure U, consumers can visit DISB’s website or call DISB at (202) 727-8000.