First-time insurance buyers will sometimes ask, “What’s a COI?” A Certificate of Insurance (sometimes called a Certificate of Liability Insurance) is a physical or electronic document that proves you have insurance. The COI includes important details about your policy that you, a client, a landlord or someone else might require.

The vehicles you use for conducting business are insured separately from your personal vehicles. Business vehicles should be protected under a commercial auto insurance policy, which covers:

Does your business need workers’ comp insurance? If you have employees, you almost surely do. Technically called workers’ compensation insurance and sometimes referred to as workers’ comp or workman’s comp insurance, this coverage protects employees in the event of an injury or illness at work. The financial support it provides can be crucial as they strive to recover and return to work.

You might be wondering “What is commercial general liability insurance coverage and why might I need it?” General liability insurance (GL), sometimes called commercial general liability insurance, protects your company from risks you face every day—things like damage to the property of others, bodily injury to customers, product liability, libel, and copyright infringement—and claims that may be filed against your company as a result.

Professional liability insurance is coverage for individuals and organizations that provide professional advice or services in the event that a client alleges a mistake or oversight was made. Also called errors and omissions insurance (or E&O for short), it’s critically important if your business is focused on providing expertise.