Doing Business As (DBA) is a common practice among businesses, allowing them to operate under a different name than their legal entity. DBA names provide flexibility, branding opportunities, and a way to distinguish different lines of business within a company. When operating under a DBA name, it is important to ensure that your business is adequately protected by insurance. In this article, we will explore the key considerations and benefits of securing business insurance under a DBA name.
1. Understanding DBA Insurance Needs
When operating under a DBA name, it is crucial to assess the unique insurance needs of your business. Consider the specific risks associated with the products or services offered under the DBA, as well as the potential liability exposures. A thorough evaluation will help determine the appropriate insurance coverage required to safeguard your business interests.
2. General Liability Insurance
General liability insurance is a fundamental coverage for businesses operating under a DBA name. It provides protection against third-party claims for bodily injury, property damage, and personal injury. This coverage helps cover legal expenses, settlements, or judgments arising from accidents, negligence, or other liabilities that may occur during your business operations. General liability insurance provides financial security and safeguards your business reputation.
3. Professional Liability Insurance
Professional liability insurance, also known as errors and omissions (E&O) insurance, is particularly relevant for businesses providing professional services under a DBA name. This coverage protects against claims of professional negligence, errors, or omissions that may result in financial losses for clients. Professional liability insurance covers legal defense costs and damages awarded in such claims, providing essential protection for service-based businesses.
4. Product Liability Insurance
If your business operates under a DBA name and manufactures, distributes, or sells products, it is important to consider product liability insurance. This coverage protects against claims related to bodily injury or property damage caused by a product you create or sell. Product liability insurance can cover legal expenses, settlements, and judgments resulting from product-related claims, ensuring your business is protected from potential financial losses.
5. Property Insurance
Regardless of the DBA name, your business needs proper property insurance to protect your physical assets, such as buildings, equipment, inventory, and supplies. Property insurance provides coverage against damage or loss due to events like fire, theft, vandalism, or natural disasters. Ensure that the coverage is sufficient to protect the assets associated with the DBA operations.
6. Cyber Liability Insurance
In today’s digital landscape, businesses are increasingly vulnerable to cyber threats. If your DBA name is associated with online activities, e-commerce, or the storage of sensitive customer data, consider cyber liability insurance. This coverage helps protect against data breaches, cyberattacks, and other cyber risks. It can cover costs related to data recovery, legal expenses, notification requirements, and potential liability arising from a cyber incident.
Conclusion
Operating a business under a DBA name offers flexibility and branding opportunities, but it is important to ensure that your business is adequately protected by insurance. Assess the unique insurance needs of your DBA operations, including general liability, professional liability, product liability, property insurance, and cyber liability insurance. Working with an experienced insurance professional can help you navigate the complexities and select the right coverage for your DBA name. By securing comprehensive insurance, you can protect your business, mitigate risks, and operate with confidence under your chosen DBA name.
Video Transcript
Can insurance be under your DBA name? In other words, let’s say you have a business and you also have a DBA, and you want to set up an insurance policy under the DBA.
Is that possible, and how does that work? That is the topic I am discussing today. I am Aaron Hall, an attorney for business owners and entrepreneurial companies, and this channel is general educational information to help business owners avoid legal problems and have great companies.
Can You Set Up an Insurance Policy for the Dba?
All right. So imagine you have an LLC, and you set up a separate DBA. Can you set up an insurance policy for the DBA? Well, you can have an insurance policy for the LLC, but a DBA is just a name. So it doesn’t need a separate insurance policy. A DBA is simply a name for an LLC. It is an alias. It is a nickname. It is a shortcut. So a DBA is not a separate entity.
It doesn’t keep its own accounting books. It doesn’t have its own bank account. It doesn’t file separate taxes. A DBA is not a separate business entity. It is merely a nickname for your business entity. So what is kind of cool about this with a DBA is you could have a business called Jenny’s Tractor Company and then Jenny could also create a DBA called Jenny’s Car Repair Company. That could be a DBA for Jenny’s Tractor Company. In other words, it is still the same company, but more for marketing or branding purposes. The original name didn’t quite work, so she just added a new name.
So when you have a business entity, you can either change its name or just add DBAs, which are adding nicknames essentially. So back to the original question. Can insurance be under the DBA name? The answer is no. Insurance companies want to know what is the entity that they are ensuring. Now you can tell them all the nicknames or all the DBAs that the company has, and that is fine.
Insurance companies like to know that. But there is only one entity. There is only one LLC. So a nickname doesn’t need a separate insurance policy if the original LLC is insured. So to answer your question, you really can’t have insurance under a DBA Name and insurance for the LLC or the business entity, and then you can have as many DBAs as you want.
Conclusion
I am Aaron Hall, an attorney for business owners. If you have other questions like this, you are welcome to put them in the comment section below. You can subscribe if you want to see the questions I am answering for other business owners on the channel. And then if you are interested in avoiding common legal problems encountered by new business owners so you don’t go through the same problems that other business owners have.
You can get a free handout from me. It is available at aaronhall.com/free. It is a free PDF, and then there are some attached videos that will be sent to you. Again, no charge for this. It is all educational to help business owners avoid common legal problems so that they can grow a successful company and experience a successful life.