Insurance is one of those things that nobody enjoys paying for, if you need to use it then it normally means that something has gone wrong, but it is absolutely essential. It can be a minefield deciding what type of insurance you need, what it covers and how much it will cost so we’re going to outline some of the most popular types for businesses. Remember, if you are still unsure or are struggling to compare deals and find the best value for money then an insurance broker may be the best solution for you, they can often get much better deals than approaching insurance companies directly and will handle everything for you both when setting up your policy and if you ever need to make a claim.
Public & Employers Liability Insurance
These are the most popular forms of insurance for businesses and are essential to have. Public liability insurance applies to businesses of all sizes, whether small or large and covers you if a member of the public, client or any of their property gets injured as a result of your business activities. As you may expect, employers liability insurance covers you in case any of your employees get injured or ill whilst on or off site. If you are a sole trader or don’t have any employees then this won’t be needed but even if you only have one member of staff it is worth having.
Professional Indemnity Insurance
This area of insurance covers the work you do and the services you offer. It is particularly important to service based industries and means that if you offer negligent advice or the service you provide results in big losses to a client then you are covered in the event of a claim for compensation. It is also important to note that even if you provide a free service you can still be sued so it is still essential to have professional indemnity insurance.
Key Persons & Life Insurance
This is an area that can often be overlooked but key persons insurance means that you are covered in the event of any essential employees, owners or directors falling ill and not being able to work. Obviously those people will lose out on pay themselves and the business may need to bring somebody else in to cover their work. Business life insurance covers a company in the event that the worst should happen and an integral member of the company should die, there are many different types of policy here so it is definitely worth using a life insurance broker to get the right deal.
Business Interruption Insurance
This was something that came to prominence in a big way during COVID. If something unexpected happens that means you are unable to trade then business interruption insurance will pay you what you would have lost. This could be that a car crashes in to the front of your shop, a building contractor destroys a phone line or power cable and so on. After COVID people are checking their policies closer than ever.