From Susan Ward,
Your Guide to Small Business: Canada.
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Some business owners stop here. But there are other types of insurance that wise business owners will also want to purchase to protect themselves from incurring the kinds of losses that can close their doors.

Remember the infamous ice storm? It's just one example of an unforeseen natural disaster that could force you to suspend your business operations. There are also floods, tornadoes, and fires. Or, on a more mundane level, your business could be the victim of vandalism or theft.

Business interruption insurance protects you from the loss of revenue incurred when you're forced to close down. Binks Insurance Brokers' Business Interruption Insurance is a good example of this type of policy. To help you figure out how much business interruption insurance you might need, use this Business Interruption Insurance Worksheet.

If you're a business owner, you should also carry some kind of disability insurance. There are various kinds of disability insurance available that are tailored to the needs of business owners. All of them involve paying premiums now to cover your lost income if you become disabled or unable to carry on your business. For an example of this kind of policy, see Great-West Life's Boss Expense, a cute name for a very serious product.

If your business is dependent upon the expertise or knowledge of particular people in your company, you should also consider Key Person insurance. This type of plan helps to compensate a business for financial losses due to the death or long term disability of a key person. The insurance provides additional funds to the business until the key person can be replaced, or until he or she returns to work.

If you are a member of a partnership, you may also want to carry Buy-Sell insurance. If one of the partners dies or becomes disabled, this kind of insurance provides the surviving partner or partners with the money to buy the deceased or disabled partner's share of the business.

Being a successful business person means being able to anticipate events and plan for the future. Business insurance is one way of ensuring that you're in control of your future rather than being controlled by it. Unfortunately, there is no generic plan that will meet every small business person's needs. You'll need to shop around, just as you would for any product, to get the business insurance that's most suited to you.