For many small business owners, insuring their physical buildings and products is a top priority. In an upcoming webinar, insurance experts in loss prevention will explain why liability protection should be added to the mix.

‘Small business liability: staying afloat amongst the chaos’ will take place Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 11 a.m. as part of the free weekly Business Breathers webinar series facilitated by the Goodman School of Businesses’ Goodman Group. Business Breathers feature 30 minutes of live industry and faculty expert-led discussions, followed by a 15-minute question-and-answer period. Topics focus on leadership, management and innovation, as well as the financial and social impacts of trending topics.

Representatives from Erie Mutual Insurance will discuss a business’ duty of care to the public and how to properly protect a business in the event of a liability threat or risk to operation.

“Protecting your business with insurance is not something that should be overlooked,” said George Nikolaidis, Manager of Underwriting and Loss Prevention, who is co-presenting the webinar with his colleague Aaron Bazinet, Account Executive for Commercial Lines. “Many small businesses delay purchasing a policy until they are more established, but it’s important to protect your operations as soon as possible.”

Examples of liability risks include a visitor slipping and falling on business premises, bodily injury to a third party as a result of the business’ work or product and damage to a customer’s property while employees are working at their premises or while the customer’s property is in the business’ care.

“The pandemic has made liability protection more important than ever because there is an increased duty of care imposed on business owners to ensure the safety of visitors and customers,” said Nikolaidis.

Nikolaidis and Bazinet will also discuss factors that make a business vulnerable to liability threats and how to reduce risk; items covered under a commercial general liability policy, such as legal or defense costs to a third-party claim against the business; and questions to ask insurers, brokers and agents when purchasing liability protection insurance.

Everyone is welcome to attend Business Breathers webinars. Interested participants are asked to register online. A confirmation email will provide a Lifesize link to access the webinar at the date and time it is planned.

Upcoming Business Breathers:

Small business liability: Staying afloat amongst the chaos
Panel discussion with Erie Mutual Insurance
Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 11 a.m.

The role of childcare in post-pandemic recovery
Presented by Diana Huson, Regional Councilor, Region of Niagara
Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 11 a.m.

Big data analytics: Wisdom or folly
Presented by Ejaz Ahmed, Dean, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, Brock University
Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 11 a.m.