During the #CandleMakerDay event, we hosted a live interview with Zensurance to tackle “Business Insurance 101”.

Many business owners are confused of what kind of insurance coverage their business needs as it grows but it doesn’t have to be as overwhelming as it seems to be. So Matt Jardine, from Zensurance, helped us recognize the level of importance of obtaining an insurance and what’s right for your business.

Village: What is Zen Insurance? 

Zen Insurance is completely focused on ensuring small businesses that has been around for six years now. We're one of the fastest growing companies in Canada. We rank 52nd, I believe, on the global mails list this year. 

So anybody that is a candle maker that has purchased insurance through his insurance in the last year, has likely dealt with a member of our team and not only do we focus on retail, we focus on other aspects too. So if like you own the building that your business is operating out of, you know, we can ensure that too.

We're a full service broker which means that we have dedicated people on all sides of the business to help out, whether it's something administrative, giving a little bit of advice, helping manage a claim, or, setting someone up with a new policies. We're coast to coast as well, so it doesn't matter if you're in Vancouver or in Newfoundland or Ontario, we got you covered.

Village: When do you think is the best time to get insurance for yourself and is there a size criteria?

What we find more often than not is the big requirement is that you have to have a business that's running. We see a lot of customers that have $5,000 or even less in annual revenues that are coming to us for insurance.

Still for those that are starting out, I'm sure there's plenty of people. Part of your group that are starting out there is saying, “Oh, we can't wait to even have our first sale level, have $5,000 a year in sales and business” where comes in I think, is going to be a few different factors. Another one would be when you start to make products and you're testing products, the reason being as well, they might not have any liability. You start to really build your business at that point.

Village: What is the application process? 

So our application process in my honest opinion is second to none. I've been in this industry for a long time and I think one of the things that we're able to do and do quite well is have a real simple approach to making sure that our customers get connected with us. So our application is actually even less than filling out some details about your business.

We have people always working behind the scenes checking our websites, checking our platforms to make sure that we're in contact. But what's most important is you know who that contact is and you can reach out to them directly. So whether it's the new business broker that you dealt with to get the policy, it's your dedicated account manager and our service team, it's your renewal broker that's working on the renewal where you're gonna be collecting information and saying. 

Village: What kind of quick checklist should like a potential customer go through to determine that the business is insurance ready? 

What do they start with to determine that they gotta go out and potentially solicit. So what I would do if, people are curious, it's probably a good chance they need it. And if you go to our website and you start filling out the application, you can't complete the application. Probably don't need insurance.

If you can get the application completed, you'll not only get a price, but it doesn't mean we need you to get coverage, right? That moment. We want to help customers out instantly. 

Village: How much does candle making insurance cost?

It might just be a dollar and cents, you know, decision at that point, but, can't complete the application because your business just, you know, is not that stage that we have those answers then so be it. But really we are looking to know how much you're doing in sales. If your sales are only in candle or not, then it'll be a couple other questions after.

We wanna make sure that your items that you're selling are less than $3,500 in terms of individual item. And I think, you know, probably a hundred percent chance that's the case for everybody in this room unless we have some really extravagant candles. And then last, but not the least like where you're operating your business, and if you need us to ensure any of those things like the premises or the candles of the items you're using to. After that, you select coverage you want and it's done right. So if you have a business and you've joined this group and you're trying to save some money on the materials you need and you're selling a product, truth be told, you need insurance. It's whether or not you want it at this point. And when you do want it, we're there to help you.

Village: What’s the best way to reach out to you or your support team? 

We can do by email. It's mattjardine@zeninsurance.com.

Key Takeaways

1. Obtaining insurance doesn't have to be complicated. It doesn't have to be overwhelming. What matters is whether the gaps can be filled effectively. Working with great people makes things simpler.

2. The beauty about insurance is that it's not one size fits all. To protect you properly, business insurance should be bespoke, made to fit the needs of your individual business.