Small businesses continue to employ the vast majority of Americans. According to the
Small Business Administration, 99.7% of all employer firms are
small businesses, paying 42% of the private sector payroll.
And in the past 20 years,
small businesses were responsible for creating 63% of all new jobs.
2015 represents a key turning point for these small businesses, as risks diversify and begin to stretch into the areas of cybersecurity, business interruption and terrorism.However, workplace safety remains the number one concern of small business owners, according to a report from insurance holding company Employers, and brokers need to be ensure clients are properly covered.
In the survey, executives and risk managers with most small businesses accurately cite slips and falls as the most common workplace accident, accounting for nearly a quarter of all nonfatal workplace injuries according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, roughly four out of five employers said they were not most prepared for such incidents.
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Instead, just 21% of respondents said they were prepared to handle a slip and fall incident. Business owners felt they were similarly unprepared for the damages caused by motor vehicle accidents, contacts with objects and equipment, fire and exposure to harmful substance or environment.
Acts of violence were the risks employers felt least prepared to deal with, with 29% of survey respondents citing it as the event for which they were least prepared.
Other risks on the minds of small businesses this year include professional liability, cyber security, natural disasters and terrorism. Roughly a quarter of respondents said professional liability and cyber security risks were their biggest worry, with natural disasters and terrorism hovered near the bottom of employers’ risk management priorities.
