5.       What's your property deductible level?  Do you have one for your liability?
 
Okay, how did you do?
 
Knowing your numbers is a critical part of keeping your total cost of insurance down.  Many business owners only think of their business insurance premiums when they think about insurance costs.  But your total cost of insurance includes all of these:
 
-  Business insurance premium
-  Medical Insurance premium
-  Workers Compensation premium
-  Other premiums like Disability, Long-Term  Care, and Life insurance
-   Time
 
These all add up to affect your bottom line.  You may be asking "Why are you including time?"  Simple.  The time you have to spend on any of your insurance costs you money.  Some of it is necessary - renewing your policies, analyzing your coverages, and talking with your agent.  Some of it is unnecessary and burdensome - dealing with claims, replacing vehicles or equipment, or replacing injured employees.  These all add to your cost.
 
Too many times, business owners consider insurance and risk management extraneous time.  They end up dealing with it on a reactionary basis rather than a proactive one.  What ends up happening turns into claims, loss of time, poor production, and higher premiums.  Some agents and brokers do a decent job of helping their clients manage these risks.  Many times, they only show up at renewal.  This is your business.  Insurance and risk management is a vital part of its survival.  Ignoring these numbers is as dangerous as ignoring those health risk factors detailed earlier. Ignoring one could kill you.  Ignoring the other could kill your business.
 
Knowing your numbers will help you develop a plan to strategically implement programs to reduce those costs.  Safety meetings, risk tolerance analysis, coverage needs analysis, and regular inspections are all part of this process.  By finding out what you don't know, you will go a long way in reducing your total cost of insurance and improving your bottom line!