Children's Book Business Insurance
Getting insurance for your children’s book business is essential.
Children’s book businesses need to be protected against claims of things like product liability, contractual breach, and copyright infringement.
For example, your business is accused of using copyright-protected illustrations without a license, or a publishing error causes a batch of books to be sold with blank pages.
We’ll help you find the most personalized and affordable coverage for your unique business.
Recommended: Next Insurance is dedicated to matching small businesses with the right policy at the best price.
Best Insurance for a Children's Book Business
General liability insurance is — generally speaking — one of the most important insurance policies for children’s book businesses.
Some of the risks general liability insurance covers are:
- Bodily injury
- Property damage
- Medical payments
- Legal defense and judgment
- Personal and advertising injury
In addition to general liability, there are numerous insurance policies that are beneficial for children’s book businesses, such as:
- Workers’ compensation insurance
- Product liability insurance
- Commercial property insurance
- Commercial umbrella insurance
For the most part, all insurance providers can be divided into two distinct categories, which are:
- Traditional brick-and-mortar insurers — This category describes providers with a tangible store and/or office for customers to visit. It includes firms like Hiscox and The Hartford. These providers are known for their longevity in the insurance world.
- Online insurers — This category describes providers without physical premises (i.e., those that are purely based online). It includes firms like Tivly and Next. While newer, this is our recommended course of action for new and small businesses.
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Cost of General Liability Insurance
On average, children's book businesses in America spend between $300 - $800 per year for $1 million in general liability coverage.
Compare the average cost of general liability insurance for a children's book business to other professional industries using the graph below.
Several factors will determine the price of your policy. These include your:
- Location
- Deductible
- Number of employees
- Per-occurrence limit
- General aggregate limit
You may be able to acquire general liability insurance at a discounted rate by purchasing it as part of a business owner’s policy (BOP) rather than as a standalone policy.
A BOP is a more comprehensive solution that includes multiple forms of coverage, such as business interruption and property insurance.
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Common Situations That General Liability Insurance May Cover for a Children's Book Business
Example 1: While touring your business, an author trips and falls, breaks an arm, and decides to sue your company. General liability insurance would pay for your legal defense costs and any required settlement.
Example 2: During an office visit, a distributor slips and falls in your restroom. He sustains a concussion and asks you to pay for his medical treatment. General liability insurance would cover his medical bills.
Example 3: A competitor sues your business for libel. While you disagree with the claim, you want to hire an attorney to protect your interests. General liability insurance would pay for your legal defense costs.
Other Types of Coverage Children's Book Businesses Need
While general liability is the most important type of insurance to have, there are several other forms of coverage you should be aware of. Below are some of the most common types of coverage:
Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Most states require businesses to carry workers’ compensation insurance for their part-time and full-time employees. This coverage protects your employees if they become injured at work or fall ill after a work-related accident. It not only covers an employee’s medical bills and lost wages if they need time to recover, but also any disability or death benefits stemming from a work-related accident.
Product Liability Insurance
While you strive to ensure the books you sell bring joy and educational opportunities to your customers, there’s always a chance someone might claim one of your products caused them harm. In the event of a lawsuit, product liability insurance would cover your legal defense costs and any required settlement.
Commercial Property Insurance
You made a major investment in the real estate, equipment, and supplies needed to establish your business. In the event of a fire, theft, or natural disaster, commercial property insurance would cover the cost of repairing or replacing your business-related property. This includes structural damage to your building as well as the business materials you store there.
Commercial Umbrella Insurance
While your general liability insurance policy covers most claims, some accidents or lawsuits may be so catastrophic that they threaten to exhaust the limits of your primary coverage. Commercial umbrella insurance protects you from paying out-of-pocket for any legal fees and awarded damages that exceed your primary policy.
Additional Steps To Protect Your Business
Although it’s easy (and essential) to invest in business insurance, it shouldn’t be your only defense.
Here are several things you can do to better protect your children's book business:
- Use legally robust contracts and other business documents. (We offer free templates for some of the most common legal forms.)
- Set up an LLC or corporation to protect your personal assets. (Visit our step-by-step guides to learn how to form an LLC or corporation in your state.)
- Stay up to date with business licensing.
- Maintain your corporate veil.
Children's Book Business Insurance FAQ
Yes, absolutely. You will need to first get a quote from an online business insurance provider like Next Insurance. Next allows you to then purchase a policy immediately and your coverage will be active within 48 hours.
A typical business owner’s policy includes general liability, business interruption, and commercial property insurance. However, BOPs are often customizable, so your agent may recommend adding professional liability, commercial auto, or other types of coverage to your package depending on your company’s needs.
"Business insurance" is a generic term used to describe many different types of coverage a business may need. General liability insurance, on the other hand, is a specific type of coverage that business owners need to protect their assets.
Yes. It is vital that you obtain sufficient business insurance for your children’s book business before its operations commence, as otherwise, your business will be completely vulnerable to the many potential risks businesses in this industry face.
Additionally, it is increasingly common for businesses to need to acquire certain insurance policies before they start in order to maintain compliance with local laws.
Not necessarily. Certain exceptions may be written directly into your children's book business insurance policy, and some perils may be entirely uninsurable.
Yes, an LLC is meant to create a legal barrier between your business and your personal assets and credit. If you haven’t formed an LLC yet, use our Form an LLC guide to get started.
An LLC doesn’t protect your business assets from lawsuits and liability– that’s where business insurance comes in. Business insurance helps protect your business from liability and risk.