Insurance for Biotechnology & Life Science Businesses

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Biotechnology is an ever-expanding field, expected to top $7 trillion by 2030. Companies are constantly introducing new devices, services, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceutical products. Our analysts are seeing innovations occurring numerous all industries including agriculture, technology, and medicine.

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At it's core, a Life Science business is focused on researching, creating or developing products that focus on living things such as plants, animals, and humans. Here's a list of the most common professions within the life science industry:

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• Anthropology
• Ecology
• Entomology
• Botany
• Zoology
• Microbiology
• Physiology
• Biotechnology
• Evolutionary biology
• Genetics
• Human anatomy
• Marine biology
• Molecular and cell biology
• Neuroscience
• Paleontology
• Plant biology
• and Biochemistry.

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With all these ongoing developments comes great opportunity as well as significant risks. Life science insurance helps manage the risk, so you can focus on your growing business.

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More than one in three small businesses in the United States face lawsuits each year, and about 75% of American businesses are underinsured. About 40% of businesses that suffer a disaster never reopen. Protect your business with policies explicitly designed for growing biotech companies.

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There are policies that help you manage the inherent risks of providing virtually any life sciences service or product. Insurance can cover everything from property and equipment loss to general liability and even workers' compensation. Your policy should account for your exact business and product lines to optimize your protection.

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^{Medical Device and Biotechnology}

Whether you design and manufacture implantable devices, develop the latest technology in patient monitoring, or offer a way to enhance surgical procedures or ultrasounds, you need to protect your hard work and manage financial risk with insurance that focuses on your company's specialized needs. All businesses have assets to protect as well as potential liability and losses. However, when you are working in a field as sensitive as health care, you have additional vulnerabilities.

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Lawsuits stemming from misunderstandings or misuse of medical devices are all too common. In the hectic environment of the emergency room or a surgical suite, a health care professional may use your medical device improperly. Health care providers may give patients poor instructions on use, or patients may simply not follow medical advice.

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In any of these scenarios, you will need life science insurance to handle potentially complex situations and manage risk to your business. Proper liability coverage requires specialized policies from a company that understands the risks inherent in developing medical devices. Ideally, you will have a risk-management team working with you to determine how to minimize your risk and cover your liabilities.

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If you manufacture, distribute, or sell a product, you should carry product liability insurance. This type of coverage will help protect you in the event that someone faces injury or illness as a result of using your product. In the case of medical devices, this includes marketing or manufacturing defects as well as injury from use.

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^{Pharmaceutical Companies}

If you develop, test, or sell pharmaceuticals, you will need customized life science insurance to cover your place of business and manufacturing and storage facilities. You will also require broad liability coverage. Product liability coverage can protect against claims resulting from illness, allergic reactions, marketing or manufacturing defects, or even contamination.

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Everyone understands that medications require careful handling. Pharmaceuticals can be dangerous if they are improperly stored and prescribed, such as in these examples:

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• Medications requiring cool temperatures can lose refrigeration.
• Poor or inaccurate dosing can occur from mislabeling or prescription errors.
• A medical professional can inadvertently distribute outdated medication.

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Many of these situations are out of your control, but that won't necessarily prevent someone with a loss or injury from suing your company. Understanding the full scope of potential liability is critical in determining the correct insurance for your pharmaceutical business.

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^{Life Sciences}

Companies that provide health care services are not immune from risk. You need insurance designed for the health and wellness industry. Whether your patients come to you or you bring professionals to patients' homes, accidents can happen. As with any life science insurance, you will want coverage for any loss or liability that you may face. This commonly includes a range of coverage options.

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Business Owner's Policy

A business owner's policy generally combines commercial property insurance with general liability coverage. This policy protects your place of business against incidents such as slip and fall accidents or other injuries to patients on-site. It can also cover the costs associated with property damage and business interruptions.

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Professional Liability

Also referred to as malpractice insurance, a professional liability policy protects you in the event of a negligence lawsuit. Anyone working in a professional capacity in the health care industry is well advised to carry this type of liability insurance.

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Workers' Compensation

If you have employees, you will need a good workers' compensation policy, especially if they are working off-site, such as in patients' homes or other care facilities. You can't control what happens on other premises, but you are still responsible for the safety and well-being of your employees while they are performing their jobs.

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Commercial Auto

If you own one or more company vehicles, it's of paramount importance to have adequate coverage for commercial automobiles as part of your life science insurance. If an accident occurs on the job, it may well happen while an employee is driving to or from patient visits. Keep your vehicles in safe working order and have appropriate coverage for your vehicles and any employees that will drive them.

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Specialized Coverage

These are the most common business insurance policies for those who provide life science services, but each company is unique. You may require specialized coverage for a specific or complicated situation that presents a risk to your business. When you select insurance for your new or growing business, be sure to work with a risk-management team that understands life science and biotechnology business insurance.

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_{Dietary Supplement and Nutraceutical}

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If you manufacture and sell dietary or nutritional products, you should carry insurance similar to anyone in the pharmaceutical industry. As with medications, there is a risk of illness or allergy with any product that the consumer ingests or applies to the body.

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This means that in addition to a business owner's policy to protect your facilities, you will want to carry general and product liability insurance as well. As with all areas of life science insurance, you are best served when you can discuss your specific circumstances with an insurance professional who specializes in life services insurance and risk management.

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There are as many insurance policy options as there are businesses that need coverage. The importance of putting together the right combination of protection and risk management can't be overstated. You don't want to be one surprise away from an enterprise-ending disaster. The right coverage will give you the financial protection you need for the long haul.

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You've seen a few examples of which policies are helpful in various life science companies. Perhaps your business is a combination of biotech endeavors, or maybe you'd like a basic road map of common insurance coverage options. Here is an overview of life science insurance policies and how they protect your company.

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^{General Liability}

General liability insurance manages the financial risk you incur if you face a lawsuit for injury or damages. Such a policy protects you from having to defend against lawsuits or pay the damages yourself. You will choose the limits and conditions of liability insurance when you purchase the policy. Your level of coverage and how likely it is that your business will need to make a claim are key factors in determining the cost of liability insurance.

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General liability policies typically do not include coverage for errors and omissions, alcohol-related incidents, and automobile liability.

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^{Product Liability}

Product liability helps to protect you if someone claims that your product caused illness, injury, or damage. Product claims usually involve an assertion that your product is defective in some way. This could include a defect in how you make, label, distribute, or sell the product.

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Having a product liability policy as part of your life science insurance package will help you handle the legal expenses of this type of suit and can help you pay any judgments stemming from product claims.

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^{Business Owner's Policy}

If your business owns property such as a store or a manufacturing facility, you should consider combining commercial property insurance with general liability insurance, called a business owner's policy. Bundling these two types of coverage is common practice and will save you money over purchasing the policies separately.

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The commercial property portion of your policy covers the facility itself so you can repair damage due to theft, fire, weather, and the like. Policies vary; ensure that you're getting the coverage you need.

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^{Professional Liability, Malpractice Insurance, or Error & Omissions}

This type of policy has three common names, but they all refer to the same coverage. A professional liability policy will protect you against complaints that you haven't provided the work or service you promised.

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If a customer feels you have made mistakes or oversights or that you have been negligent, they can sue your company for damages. Life science insurance will help you lighten the financial burden of fighting these legal claims as well as paying settlement costs.

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^{Workers' Compensation}

Every employer needs to have a good workmen's compensation policy. After a workplace injury, expenses can add up quickly for the injured employee. Additionally, many states require that businesses maintain this type of coverage.

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^{Commercial Automobile Insurance}

If you have one or more vehicles that you use commercially, make sure you have the proper coverage on them. Most states require commercial auto insurance for business vehicles. In all states, you and your employees are responsible for any damage caused while operating a business vehicle.

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^{Cyber Security Insurance}

Every business needs to think about the cyber security risks they face in today's digital landscape. If you handle customer records, payment sources, or medical data, you should carry cyber security insurance to protect you in the event of compromised data. This type of policy provides financial protection for your business from a data breach or other intrusion into sensitive digital information.

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^{Commercial Umbrella Policy}

At the other end of the spectrum, your life science insurance package may not include a commercial umbrella policy. This is coverage that kicks in when you've exhausted the resources from other policies such as liability or commercial property.

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Companies that purchase this type of insurance are usually those with especially high liability for lawsuits or those that would expect exceptionally expensive settlements in the case of a suit. Some biotech companies should consider carrying an umbrella policy if they are developing devices or treatments for use with severely ill patients or in high-risk environments such as emergency rooms.

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Today, there are countless insurance companies that can help you with anything, no matter the profession or the industry. When talking about game developer insurance, getting the insurance you need can be equal parts difficult and easy.

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You can find many companies that will offer at least some policy for video game developers, with a variety of security protocols in it. The hard part is that insurance for video game development is a relatively new product, so you might have a hard time finding the right one with sufficient coverage. 

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Game development is not risky as other jobs might appear to be, but it still holds risks of online attacks, hacks, and losing data.

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You deserve a partner that understands your risk.

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The insurance for game developers is not without its risk. Before you move on to grab one insurance package, you must get familiar with the risks. The best way to understand the risks is to hire a broker who is specialized in your industry. The broker is well informed of the risks and can negotiate the deal for you, for the best price. Most importantly, they will work with underwriters to ensure the insurer understands your business and the risks involved.

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The process to get insurance is usually an easy and straightforward process. At the end of the day, our job as brokers and advisors is to educate you on what everything means and collect the information to educate underwriting. Some traditional businesses can move through the process faster as a lot of underwriting is supported by artificial intelligence, but most policies today will be reviewed by an actual person.

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The standard process to produce quotes for your startup is as follows:

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1. Introduction with your advisor: this can be a quick phone call, email, video conference or in person meeting. You'll decide if you enjoy the advisor and trust their advice. This is also where you'll be able to ask questions, provide information about your operation, and go over the process to get insured.
2. Data Collection and Underwriting: this is where you'll get into the fine details about underwriting questions and information that will be necessary to engage the insurance market. You'll be able to chose from filling out PDF's, going through our smart-form technology, or provide it all over the phone, email, or in person.
3. Quote Review: once your advisor has the information needed for underwriting, they will work with the insurance market to produce quotes. This can take a day or up to a week, depending on the time and operation.
4. Finalize Coverage: here you'll decide the coverage to move forward with. Final steps include signed documents, payment, and selecting a specific start date.

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Advisor Tip: take 5 minutes out of your day and speak with one of our advisors. We'll learn about your operations, provide estimates for annual premiums, and go over the process to get your business covered.