Nobody needs to tell you: Operating any type of business involves risk. There’s just no way to completely eliminate it. Fortunately, there is small business insurance that can protect you from the financial impact of those risks. Two of the many types of coverage available are professional liability insurance (also called errors and omissions or E&O insurance) and general liability insurance. But when it comes to general vs professional liability insurance, it can be difficult to know which type of coverage you need.

Every business faces risk—things like employee injuries, visitor slip-and-fall accidents, professional “errors and omissions,” and work-related auto accidents. The liability and financial loss from these types of incidents and many others can devastate a small company that isn’t properly insured.

Small businesses that have purchased insurance policies such as workers’ compensation, general liability, and professional liability (also called errors & omissions or E&O) from biBERK will sometimes ask, “Do I need a commercial umbrella insurance policy?”

Small business owners who provide professional advice or services often ask, “Do I need errors and omissions insurance?” The answer in virtually all cases is, “Yes, you do.” Errors and omissions insurance (sometimes written as E&O or E and O insurance) is professional liability insurance that protects businesses from claims by clients that the company’s employees made a mistake or neglected certain required actions.

You may have heard the term insurtech. If you have, you might have wondered, “What is insurtech?” Insurtech is short for “insurance technology,” in the same way that fintech is short for “financial technology.”

A small business insurance deductible is an amount you pay toward each insurance claim you’re filing. The amount is indicated in your insurance policy. For example, you might have a $500 deductible on a commercial property insurance policy. If the cost of a claim covered by that policy is $2,000, you pay $500 and your insurance company pays the remaining $1,500. If a claim totals $450, you cover that cost.

A business owners policy (also called BOP insurance) includes two important types of coverage in one policy: general liability insurance and commercial property insurance. Also called property & liability insurance, a business owners policy can be easier to manage than having multiple policies.

First-time insurance buyers will sometimes ask, “What’s a COI?” A Certificate of Insurance (sometimes called a Certificate of Liability Insurance) is a physical or electronic document that proves you have insurance. The COI includes important details about your policy that you, a client, a landlord or someone else might require.

You might be wondering “What is commercial general liability insurance coverage and why might I need it?” General liability insurance (GL), sometimes called commercial general liability insurance, protects your company from risks you face every day—things like damage to the property of others, bodily injury to customers, product liability, libel, and copyright infringement—and claims that may be filed against your company as a result.