BUSINESS INSURANCE
Why Do I Need Business Insurance?
Nobody wants to pay for something they’ll hopefully never need, but aside from the legal requirements, you need business insurance to protect you against the everyday risks that come with your normal business activities. Insurance can cover you against mistakes, accidents, theft, damage, and legal fees, but the exact cover you need depends on the business you run and how you run it. Covering yourself for risks that aren’t applicable means a higher – and unnecessary premium, not having adequate cover means you’ll have potentially unknown gaps and so continue to carry those risks.
We work with some of the largest UK Insurers and are an Affiliate Partner of the UK’s largest network of independent insurance brokers. We can ensure that your Policy is specific to your needs and requirements– not an off the shelf package.
WHAT IS BUSINESS INSURANCE?
Business insurance gives you protection from everyday business risks to large, unexpected compensation claims. It can protect your work, your people, your reputation, and ultimately, your livelihood.
Business insurance is typically made up of public liability, employers’ liability, professional indemnity, and buildings and contents insurance. But that’s not all. Depending on what your business does, you can also add protection for terrorism, defamation, Data protection – and much, more. Because your business is unique, your insurance needs to be too.
Smaller businesses are often most at risk, as many couldn’t afford a large compensation or damage claim or without having business insurance in place. From mistakes to trips and falls to flooding, accidents can happen anywhere, at any time. Whatever the product or service you provide – you’ll need business insurance to protect you from the things that could go wrong, from the start.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What Are The Different Types of Insurance?
- Employers’ Liability Insurance – If you have employees it’s a legal requirement to have this cover in place.
- Professional Indemnity Insurance – Cover should a client claim you have provided inadequate service or advice.
- Public Liability Insurance – Protect your business against the cost of injury or property damage claims. Plans usually cover claims from clients, visitors, and the public
- Business Income Insurance – To help keep you financially viable during unavoidable periods of loss of income.
- Tools, Stock, and Business Equipment Insurance – If you work from home and don’t own or rent business premises.
- Buildings & Contents Insurance – Buildings and Contents Insurance protects your companies premises, inside and out. Even if you don’t own the property you operate from, you can cover most damages to furnishings, bricks, and mortar, right down to the fixtures and fittings.
- Key-man insurance – If there are particular people who keep the business going, you can insure them. Then, if for some reason those individuals are unable to work you can be compensated for that loss.
- Credit risk insurance – credit insurance protects the policyholder in the event of a customer becoming insolvent or failing to pay its debts
- Cyber Insurance – Cyber liability insurance is used to guard your business against these internet threats – helping you to recover any costs suffered if the worst case was to happen. it usually means that your company’s online security has been breached and some sort of information has been stolen.
This could include:
- Your customer database
- Confidential customer details such as payment information and bank details
- Employee data such as NI numbers
- Intellectual Property
- Digital and/or Cloud stored data
- Social Media accounts passwords and logins
Why Do I Need To Be Insured At All?
1. It’s the Law!
In many areas, a failure to carry legally required coverage could result in fines, civil or criminal penalties, exclusion from public contracts or cease & desist orders — all of which would likely cost you far more than the price of an insurance premium.
2. You Could Get Sued
In the event of a lawsuit or liability claim, without insurance, your business could fold. One accident, one broken contract, one disgruntled employee, and it could be disastrous.
3. Keeps Your Business Trading
In the event of a natural disaster, such as an earthquake or flood insurance can cover loss of property — buildings, equipment, and so on, but can also protect you against loss of income.
4. Credibility
Business insurance shows your existing and potential customers that you’re a safe bet. If anything goes wrong with the work you do for them, you have a way to compensate.
5. Protects Your Employees
Your most valuable asset is not the products or services you offer, it is your employees, and it pays to protect them in the event of an accident.
The law already requires that you carry workers’ cover, but protecting your employees’ interests is also a good way to protect yours — against lawsuits or liability claims.
6. Covers Acts of God
In insurance-speak, an “Act of God” is an accident or event not caused by human hands. Floods, tornados, hurricanes, and fires caused by lightning all qualify.
7. Protects Your ‘People Assets’
As the owner, you’re tasked with keeping the business running. But what happens if you have to stop working because of a heart attack, serious accident or some other unfortunate circumstance that takes you out of the picture for a prolonged period?
You can also buy such policies — referred to as “key man” insurance — to cover the disability or death of a valued or work critical employee.
8. Helps to Attract/Retain Your Employees
Having insurance isn’t just about protecting your business in negative scenarios. It can have the positive benefit of attracting and retaining staff. After the salary, job hunters tend to look for benefits packages that include life, health, disability, and long-term care insurance. If you don’t offer these perks, you may lose a good employee to a company that does.
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