From Susan Ward,
Your Guide to Small Business: Canada.
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How much did your business insurance premium increase last year? Thirty percent? Forty percent?

According to a survey by the CFIB (Canadian Federation of Independent Business), you're one of the luckier small businesses. Some have had their small business insurance premiums increase by as much as 600 percent, sometimes with only days to pay. It's no wonder that 83 percent of the CFIB members surveyed listed high business insurance premiums as their single biggest cost.

Before you scrabble to find the money to pay the latest business insurance premium increase you've been hit with, check this list of ways to save money on business insurance and see what you can do to reduce your business insurance bill.

1) Reduce your business insurance coverage.

Comb through your business insurance policy and see what areas of business insurance you can prune. For instance, are there deductibles that you can increase to lower your insurance rates? If you are carrying fleet or vehicle insurance, are you carrying only collision insurance on older vehicles?

2) Take advantage of group rates by purchasing your business insurance through a business or professional organization.

Many different business organizations, such as Chambers of Commerce and the CFIB, offer insurance plans and/or discounts on business insurance to their members. The bigger the group, the more diffuse the risk and the lower the insurance rates are. You will have to pay to become a member of the group or association, of course, but you could still end up saving money compared to the cost of purchasing the same kind of business insurance the group offers on your own.

3) Lower your liability risk as much as possible.

Talk to your insurance agent or broker to find out what you could do to lower your business insurance cost. Would installing a security system reduce your business insurance premiums, for instance?

Are you offering particular products or services that are increasing the risk of insuring your business from the insurer's point of view? By eliminating these "risky" products, you could dramatically lower your premiums.

4) Avoid the U.S. market.

It sounds harsh and it is, but the increases in business insurance premiums for Canadian small exporters have been especially high. Insurers consider doing business with the U.S. extremely risky because it is highly litigious.

5) Relocate your business to an area with lower insurance rates.

The costs of various types of business insurance vary, depending on where your business is located. Vehicle insurance, for instance, is much more inexpensive in Alberta and B.C. than in the Maritimes. Do the research and see if relocating is worth your while.

These are only some of the things you can do to save money on the cost of small business insurance. (See How To Save Money On Home-Based Business Insurance for more.) The most important thing you can do to reduce the cost of your business insurance, however, is to shop around. Instead of just sticking with the same company, go through an insurance broker and/or get quotes from different companies. There may well be a deal out there that's better than the business insurance deal you're getting now.