George "Twig" Segura, Senior Account Executive, Daniels Insurance

Entrepreneurs do everything they can to control the elements that contribute to their business’s success, but some events are out of their control. That’s where business insurance comes in: to ensure that an unpredictable event doesn’t destroy everything the company’s owner has worked for.

Business insurance — also called commercial insurance — is an umbrella term for a variety of products designed to protect business or commercial interests. Some businesses require insurance that targets industry-specific challenges, but other types of insurance address risks common to all businesses.

Commercial property insurance covers buildings, contents, inventory and equipment against physical loss or damage. It typically comes with “business income and extra expense coverage,” which compensates a business owner for the money that’s lost while the business is closed because of an insured loss.

Commercial general liability insurance protects a business from claims for bodily injury or property damage to customers and clients. It covers claims that result from a customer or visitor getting hurt on the business’s property or from an employee damaging property at a client’s home or business.

Professional liability coverage, sometimes called “errors and omissions” (E&O) insurance, can help businesses that deal with customers who potentially could claim that something the business or its employees did for them was done incorrectly and cost them money or caused them harm. 

Workers’ compensation and employers liability coverage is required of all New Mexico businesses — with limited exceptions — that employ three or more workers; for the construction trades, no minimum number of employees applies. This insurance provides benefits in the wake of occupational injuries or disease suffered by an employee, regardless of fault. Benefits include payment of medical services and lost wages, subject to a limit set by state law. Workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy for the coverage of work-related injuries.

Accounts receivable coverage protects a business when its records are destroyed by an insured peril and the business cannot collect the money owed. The policy covers these uncollectible sums plus the expense of record reconstruction and extra collection fees. It does not insure the physical value of the records themselves, such as the paper, computer disks and tapes on which they’re stored.

Crime coverage and fidelity bonds protect a business from crime-related losses, whether it’s burglary, robbery or theft. Fidelity bonds specifically cover theft perpetrated by a business’s employees who steal money, equipment or other assets from the business (first-party fidelity) or a client (third-party liability)

Given all these insurances choices, a business owner should view an insurance agent as a business partner who can help her tailor coverage to her business’s specific risks and needs.

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Monica Abeita, Regional Development Corp. for Northern NM Connect

The New Mexico Small Business Assistance program provides free technical assistance and expertise from scientists and engineers at Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories to New Mexico small businesses facing challenges with testing, design and access to equipment or facilities.  Businesses do not have to be technology-based, however, the challenge they face must be potentially solvable using laboratory resources. While individual businesses can request assistance anytime, the program annually considers leveraged projects involving multiple businesses with a shared problem. 

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Wayne Unze, Director of Business Brokerage at Maestas & Ward Commercial Real Estate

Anyone thinking about buying or investing in a business needs to do due diligence to make sure it’s a viable venture with long-range income potential. But due diligence means more than just reviewing the balance sheets and income statements.

Some other things that warrant close inspection before a buyer signs the final closing documents include:

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Naomi Engelman, SATOP Project Engineer

During his years in the hotel and hospitality business, Nate Mandalia of Alamogordo struggled with a problem experienced by many people who have to dress professionally for work: how to keep the hem of his pants from bunching up on his shoe or dragging on the ground.  Mandalia came up with a solution – an invention he calls the “hemlock.”

With assistance and advice from the Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program (SATOP), Mandalia applied for a patent for his shoe accessory and completed prototypes.  His next step is to proceed from prototype design to mass manufacturing.

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Monica Abeita, Regional Development Corp. for Northern NM Connect

Los Alamos National Laboratory’s MBA Summer Internship Program recently picked four graduate students to be summer interns and help the lab’s scientists and engineers find commercial uses for new technology and to assist real-life companies with business challenges.

The 2010 class consists of four people studying for their masters degree in business administration: Justin Dewey of the University of New Mexico, John Harris of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Ian Soti-Landis of Keck Graduate Institute and Jacqueline Shen of Cornell University, who is returning to the program for a second year.

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Deborah Peacock of Peacock Myers P.C.

Among business assets that fall into the category of intellectual property are the ideas and concepts that lead to the invention of new designs, devices and methods of doing something. If the idea is likely to lead to a commercially marketable product, an inventor should consider protecting it with a patent.

Inventors and innovators can take some steps to decide if patent protection is warranted, but specific legal advice from a qualified attorney or legal expert is essential when applying for a patent.

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