Most uncovered losses are not bad luck. They are predictable gaps that a review would have caught. Here are the ones we see most often in small businesses.
No cyber coverage
The most common and fastest-growing gap. Owners assume attackers only target large companies, so they skip cyber. In reality, small businesses are frequent targets, and the most common loss is not a dramatic hack but a fraudulent wire or a spoofed invoice. Standard property and liability policies generally exclude these losses. Cyber coverage, with social engineering and funds transfer protection, is what may respond.
Limits set too low
Liability limits carried over from an earlier, smaller version of the business are a quiet exposure. A serious claim can exceed the limit, and the rest may come out of the business. An umbrella is usually the cost-effective fix, and it is often missing entirely.
Missing endorsements
Contracts that require additional insured status or specific coverages are generally only satisfied if the endorsements are actually on the policy. A certificate without the endorsement behind it is a gap waiting for a claim. So is a professional liability retroactive date that was not protected when switching carriers.
Business use of personal vehicles
When employees run errands or make deliveries in their own cars, the business can be drawn into a claim, and personal auto policies generally exclude business use. Hired and non-owned auto coverage may close this, and it is usually inexpensive, but it is frequently overlooked.
Coverage that never kept up
Underneath all of these is one root cause: the business changed and the insurance did not. New employees, new revenue, new contracts, new technology, new vehicles. Each can open a gap.
The fix is not complicated. A coverage review maps your real exposures against your current policies and shows you exactly where they do not line up, before a claim does it for you.
Questions to ask your advisor
- Do I carry cyber coverage, including funds transfer and social engineering wording?
- Are my liability limits still right for the size of the business today?
- Would an umbrella be a cost-effective way to add limit?
- Were my contract endorsements actually issued, not just listed on a certificate?
- Do any employees drive their own cars for work without hired and non-owned auto?
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