This is a question we get asked a lot and many people are concerned that the insurance will either be difficult to obtain or too costly, well don’t let that stop you from protecting your business because it really isn’t true!
Our aim is to get to know some basic information about you and your business so that we can provide you with an overall view of what covers you might need. We always tailor the final product to fit your needs perfectly.
Some policy covers are required by law and are there to protect individuals working for you and the wider society. The three most common are as follows;
Employers Liability
If your business has employees then this cover is mandatory. It is designed to ensure you adequately protect people who work for you and you must have at least £5m of cover although most insurers offer £10m as a standard. Once purchased the insurer will issue you with a certificate showing the cover you have, this will need to be displayed at your place of work or be available for inspection.
Commercial Vehicle
In the same way that you must insure your personal vehicles you, or your business must insure commercial vehicles that will be driven on the public highway. Whilst this cover will usually be separate from other commercial covers it is required to comply with the Road Traffic Act.
Public liability under the Animals Act
This act makes it a requirement to have public liability insurance to cover damage caused by animals, most household policies will cover pets (other than dogs classified under the dangerous dogs act) but won’t cover livestock or horses or other animals so separate cover should be arranged if you own those.
What else might you need? Well that is where talking to a broker will ensure you get what you need but we’ve listed some of the more common covers:
Public Liability
Now, onto the other types of insurance… If you own the business premises you operate from you will want to insure the fabric of the building so buildings insurance is needed. If you have machinery, stock and other equipment then contents and stock cover should be high on your list of requirements too.
If you run a shop or people visit your premises either to buy items or to speak to you about what your business offers or if you regularly visit customers at their place of work or at home then you need public liability insurance. Public liability insurance is there to protect you against claims for injuries or loss or damage caused as a result of running your business.
Most public liability covers will either automatically provide you with products liability so that if you retail products or items to customers you are covered against injury and damage arising from use of the items.
Tools, equipment and business contents and stock
It sounds fairly obvious and whilst most people have considered these covers most dismiss them believing them to be too expensive to cover. This isn’t always the case and if you need these items to run your business then insuring them and getting them replaced quickly could be vital.
Professional indemnity
For businesses that provide advice this cover should be considered high on the priority list. It is designed to cover legal defence costs and compensation awards should the advice you give have caused financial loss to another party.
There are a host of other covers that you can select which will help protect your business further and this is where working with an insurance broker really helps. We are here to take the time to understand your business and recommend covers based on how your business operates.
We also have access to a wide range of covers and specialist schemes too so premiums are usually more competitive than you might think!
Julie Cordes is Director of Cascade Insurance Services in Ashford.