Business Insurance

Business insurance is a key service that can protect your business should the unexpected occur.

There are many different types of business insurance that can protect you against different threats. Whether you’re a small business, medium sized or even a large group of companies, we have solutions that work for you.

Keep reading to find out more.

What is business insurance

Business insurance protects your company against the financial losses that occur should you face any insured issues in your business.

Business insurance can be made up of multiple different policies, each designed to cover specific risks. Common insurance types include public liability insurance, business buildings and content insurance and professional indemnity.

There are many types of cover for different industries and add ons that can be included to tailor cover specifically for your individual needs.

What does business insurance cover?

Business insurance covers you against everything from every day business risks through to large, unexpected compensation claims.

The protection offered will depend on the type of business insurance chosen. For example, commercial property insurance protects your commercial property, while employers liability insurance covers the cost of employee claims for illness or injury that is caused by their work and as a result of their employers negligence.

There are lots of different options available and many add ons to cover specific risks such as legal expenses, contents insurance, terrorism or protection against loss for your customers.

What are the different types of business insurance?

The different types of business insurance are:

Public Liability Insurance – Public liability insurance protects against injury and property damage claims from customers, visitors, or people you visit.

Professional Indemnity Insurance – Professional indemnity insurance covers compensation payments and defense costs if a client thinks you’ve made a mistake or given bad advice.

Business Buildings Insurance –  Business buildings insurance protects your business premises against damage or loss to your business property.

Employers’ Liability Insurance – Employers liability insurance covers work-related injury or illness claims from employees; legally required if you have employees.

Business contents Insurance – Business contents insurance covers the workspace, office, or shop and the items within it.

Business Interruption Insurance –  Business interruption insurance covers loss of income due to unexpected incidents stopping trading.

Cyber-risk Insurance –  Cyber-risk insurance protects if your data is breached or you’re hit by an email scam.

How much does business insurance cost?

The cost of business insurance is calculated based on the type of cover required, the level of risk that you’re insuring against and the amount of cover required.

For example, a small public liability insurance policy will often cost far less than you’d think, whereas a multi-million pound business life insurance policy for multiple people can cost thousands per year.

To cut the cost of your policy, it’s important that you carefully select the level and type of cover required to avoid paying for unnecessary cover. Paying for your insurance annually, rather than monthly can also reduce the cost of your policy.

Finally, review your cover annually and don’t be afraid to switch from your current insurance provider if a better deal is available elsewhere. Relying on the renewal quote alone can lead to you significantly overpaying for your protection policy.

How to get the best business insurance deal

To get the best deal on your policy, compare options from multiple insurers and tailor your policy to cover exactly the risk required and no more.

An independent broker, such as ourselves at ABC Finance can help you to significantly reduce your costs and help to find the right level of cover.

On top of this, the ongoing support offered can make it far easier to manage your policy should a claim, or changes to the policy be required.

FAQs

Here are some of the questions that were often asked about insurance for businesses.

Do I have to take out business insurance?

Most types of business insurance aren’t a legal requirement, although employers liability insurance is for companies who have employees.

Other types of insurance aren’t legally required, although they may be required for other reasons. For example, professional indemnity insurance may be required by your regulator and commercial property insurance may be a requirement of your commercial mortgage lender.

Most other types of insurance aren’t legally required, or required by a regulator, but may be beneficial to you and your business, whether that’s bad debt protection, business interruption insurance or business equipment insurance.

How much cover do I need?

This will depend on your business, the type of risk you’d like to protect against and the level of risk you face.

If you’re struggling to work out the level of cover required, speak with an experienced commercial insurance broker and they’ll be able to break this down and help you to find the perfect policy for you.

Do I need business insurance if I work from home?

This will depend on the type of work you do, whether you have employees and whether clients visit your home.

Equally, if you have business equipment in your home, it could be a good idea to insure these if they’re not already covered on your home insurance policy.

Can my business insurance payments be offset against tax?

Yes, your insurance costs are an allowable expense against UK corporation tax and can therefore be offset against tax.

This can lead to significant savings when taking insurance through your business, rather than taking them personally and paying from them out of your net income. An example is relevant life insurance, which can be up to 49% cheaper than private cover.

Isn’t it easier to just renew with my current insurer?

It may be easier to renew your insurance policy with your current insurer, but this may mean that you end up paying more than needed or end up with unsuitable cover.

For this reason, it’s important that you review your policy and compare options to make sure you’re getting the best deal, both in terms of level of cover and price.