A guide to business insurance
Listed below is a helpful guide to some of the terminology that you will encounter. You should read this prior to selecting a policy from the menu above.
What is combined business insurance
What is buildings insurance
What is contents insurance
What are specified and all risks
What is public and employers liability insurance
What is professional indemnity insurance
What are the benefits of Landlords insurance
What is products liability insurance
What is business interruption protection
What is books debts protection
What is legal expenses cover
What is fidelity guarantee
What is personal accident cover
What is loss of licence cover
What is tools and equipment cover
What is tax and VAT investigation cover
What is business money cover
Corporate and financial services
What are Employee protection benefits
Running your own business has its responsibilities as well as its rewards and it makes sense to protect your interests from expensive claims that could be a serious financial burden. You should ensure that you are sufficiently covered for accidents involving members of the public or their property, yourself, your employees and your property.
We have tailored business insurance packages (combined business insurance) to suit most small and medium sized businesses which will allow you to obtain quotes for some or all of the following:
- buildings and contents cover
- employers liability, public liability, professional indemnity, products liability, treatment risk and personal accident cover
- goods in transit and contract works
- tax and vat investigation, book debts, business interuption and legal expenses
- equipment, machinery, tools and signs
- equipment breakdown and loss of licence
- business money cover, event cancellation cover and copyright cover
- engineering business interuption and engineering material damage
- fidelity guarantee (staff honesty), financial loss, libel and slander
Buildings insurance usually covers the structure of your property and any fixtures or fittings, including out-buildings, garages, drives, walls, fences, etc.
Cover allows for the cost to repair or rebuild your property if it is damaged. Most policies cover for damage caused through: fire, lightning, earthquake, storm, flood, burst and leaking pipes, theft, vandalism, collision by vehicles, aircraft and animals, falling trees and in some cases subsidence and heave or landslip.
Cover can be on a specified perils or an all risk basis.
The contents insurance can be some or all of the following: machinery, plant, trade furniture, tenant's improvements to landlord's property, fixtures and fittings including office equipment and computers, work in progress, office furniture and stock.
Cover can be on a specified perils or an all risk basis.
Buildings and contents can be insured against loss or damage caused by Specified Perils or All Risks.
Specified perils vary with each policy, but generally include cover from the following causes:
- fire
- burst pipes
- malicious damage
- riot
- storm
- flood
- falling trees
- lightning
- aircraft
- leakage of fuel from fixed oil or heating installations
- impact by road vehicles
- explosions
- earthquakes
All risks includes the specified perils above, plus Accidential Damage which covers the insured items against being accidentally dropped, knocked, lost or damaged.
Every private individual and organisation can incur liabilities if others suffer loss through their careless or negligent acts, defects in their property or goods supplied to them.
Various liability policies have been devised to provide financial protection to meet the costs of defending claims and damages that may become payable.
Employers' liability insurance is compulsory by law. It provides cover for sums which employers may be liable to pay to any employee in respect of Accidental Death, Bodily Injury or Disease arising out of and in the course of his or her employment.
Public liability covers the liability of the insured at law to members of the public for injuries suffered or property damaged.
Professional indemnity covers the professional person or firm against claims for loss due to wrong advice or failure to do what should have been done.
Landlord Insurance (also known as buy to let insurance) provides cover for your property, the contents and landlords liability insurance. One policy can cover either a single property or a whole portfolio of properties - whichever is required.
There are many different types of Landlord, from the individual who is renting out their second home to the ambitious property tycoon with an ever-increasing portfolio of trendy dockside apartments. The common theme for all landlords is the need to purchase landlords insurance to protect their investment.
As a landlord, you are effectively using your property as an extra source of income - and this needs to be protected. A normal home insurance policy is not valid when you are taking an income from the property - instead a residential landlord policy is required.
Landlord's insurance would pay you should the following happen:
- Your property is massively damaged by a fire. Your tenants are not hurt but they have to move out as the damage is so bad. It takes builders and decorators 3 months to repair the damage.
Your landlord's insurance policy would not only pay for all of the work to repair the property but also pay you the rent that you are missing out on by not having tenants living in the property during this period. - You fall out with your tenants. They stop paying the rent and refuse to leave the property. You are forced to take them to court to get them evicted and collect rent owed to you.
If you have purchased the "Legal Expenses" cover as part of your Landlord's insurance policy then all of your costs accrued in fighting the court case would be compensated.
You are always asked to give an estimate for the Buildings Sum Insured (BSI) when going through the process of getting a Landlord's Insurance quotation. This is an estimate of the cost for rebuilding your property should it be completely destroyed. Do not confuse this with the value of the property (which is normally much more - especially in prime city-centre locations) otherwise you will be paying more than is necessary for your insurance. On the other hand, do not be tempted to deliberately understate the BSI since should it come to making a claim the insurers will reduce the amount that they pay you in proportion to the amount you have underestimated.
Products liability insurance covers the liability of the seller or manufacturer of goods which have caused injury or damage to others or their property.
Business interruption covers loss of gross profit, gross revenue or gross rentals due to reduction in turnover and increased cost of working following loss or damage caused by any of the insured perils.
Books debts protection covers cost of monies due following loss of or damage to books/records.
Legal expenses can be purchased to cover the legal costs arising from a variety of disputes in connection with your business. Cover varies with each policy, but generally include cover for the following:
- employment disputes and awards
- legal defence
- property protection
- personal injury
- inland revenue investigations
- vat disputes
Fidelity guarantee covers you against fraud or dishonesty by your employees.
This cover provides benefits for you or your named employees if you or they are killed or injured in an accident. Cover is for:
- Death, loss of limb(s) or eye(s)
- Permanent and total disablement
- Total disablement (temporary)
- Partial disablement (temporary)
- Medical expenses
Loss of licence covers depreciation of your interest in the business resulting from non-renewal or withdrawal of your licence from causes beyond your control.
Tools and equipment cover, covers loss of or damage to tools and equipment owned by you or your employees or hired/borrowed by you. Tools and equipment are those that are usual to your trade and this does not cover office equipment, portable telephones and the like.
Tax and VAT investigation insurance covers the legal costs and expenses of any appeal by the insured against any terms and conditions imposed during the period of the insurance by the Inland Revenue or HM customs and Excise upon completion of an in-depth investigation into the Insured's most recently submitted business accounts in respect of the insured's:
- PAYE tax arrangements
- business tax arrangements
- VAT arrangements
Provided that the insured:
- has fully complied with the legal requirements for the maintenance of books of accounts and tax returns.
- has all account and tax returns within the required time limits
- was VAT-registered when any alleged VAT offence occurred
Business money cover includes the loss of business money in the following circumstances:
- during business hours, in transit or on contract sites while you or your employees are working there
- after business hours; in a locked safe, not in a locked safe, at your or your employees' homes
- loss of crossed cheques, credit company sales vouchers and other non-negotiable forms of payment
Large businesses have different needs to small and medium sized businesses and require individual solutions to ensure that the correct cover is obtained.
Specialised corporate services include:
- commercial all risks
- loss of profits
- domestic and worldwide liability schemes
- hazardous occupations
- financial loss
- professional indemnity
- marine
- aviation
- goods in transit
- contractors all risks
- health & safety audits
- disaster recovery programmes
- claims assessing services
- risk control & insurance audit
- directors and officers liability
- building defects
- agricultural and livestock
- executive kidnap and ransom
- film producers all risks indemnity
- engineering and computer breakdown
- property portfolios
- engineering
- motor trade
Specialised financial services include:
- pensions (group or personal)
- key man assurance
- share protection
- commercial mortgages
- staff financial reporting service
- investment advice
- unit trusts
- serps schemes and employee counselling
- partnership protection
- trustee investment advice
The most valuable asset in any business is its employees - providing your employees with a valuable remuneration package will assist in retaining high quality staff as well as attracting new candidates.
As an employer you will also be removed from the need to make moral decisions regarding the financial security of employees and their familes in the event of an illness or the death of one of your staff.
Employee protection benefits include:
- group life assurance
- group critical illness protection
- group private medical insurance
- group income protection
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