5 Key areas to look into when looking into business insurance

There are five key areas you need to look into when taking out business insurance. Read on to learn more about what you need to consider:

Your employees

First and foremost, if you run your own business and you have employees, you have a legal obligation to take out employers’ liability insurance. It will not only give your employees peace of mind, but it will also reassure you, knowing that your business is protected should one of your employees have an accident, become sick or injured as a result of their work. Remember, employees have the right to compensation if your business practices have contributed to their illness or injury. So having this insurance will help both them and you, and protect your business in the long-term. Also, be mindful of the fact that you not only need to take this insurance out, but you also have to display evidence of it in your workplace, where your employees can see it. Not doing so could mean you incur a fine and this fine would increase with each new day you don’t have the policy displayed. If your business is going through a time of change and you’re expanding, there’s a lot of advice to help you regarding your obligations as an employer if you’re taking on new employees.

Your public

Another key area for you to consider when looking at your business insurance is public liability Insurance. Unlike Employers’ liability insurance, public liability insurance is not a legal requirement for the vast majority of businesses. However be mindful of the fact that there are a few notable exceptions here like horse riding stables. Nevertheless, though not a requirement, public liability insurance would have significant benefits for your business and is certainly something you should consider.

Does your business regularly come into contact with the public? Do customers visit your businesses premises such as your shop, garage, hairdressers, salon or café throughout the day? Conversely, are you out and about visiting your customers’ homes, providing a service to them? If you are, then public liability insurance would help you.

First and foremost, public liability insurance protects you if your business is held responsible for the sickness, injury, death or the damage to the property of one of your customers (or any other member of the public). Usually, such insurance would cover expenses such as compensation and other associated costs such as medical bills, repairs, disruption to business or income loss.

Typically such insurance covers ‘invitees’, that’s the legal term for those clients and customers who visit your business premises, ‘licensees’ those of you who carry out work on customers’ property and those visitors you don’t expect – ‘trespassers’ who enter your property without permission. So ultimately, public liability insurance would help protect your business in the long-term and give you peace of mind.

However public liability insurance has additional benefits too, it gives your customers confidence in your business and reassures them too, knowing that you’re a responsible business owner. Moreover, such insurance is often a requirement to join key trade organisations, associations or websites – so you wouldn’t be able to join checkatrade for example without it. Also, public liability insurance is often a requirement if you want to meet industry standards. Such standards are just the sort of thing customers look for when assessing which business to give work to – so taking out the right insurance could help raise the profile of your business amongst potential customers.

Moreover, if you are keen to develop your business and win new contracts, then public liability insurance can help give you a better competitive edge. In fact, it is common for insurance to the tune of five or ten million pounds to be a prerequisite for even being considered for a public sector contract. So ultimately the right insurance could help you to win more contracts and develop your business over the coming years. So there you have some reasons why public liability insurance is a key factor to consider when looking for business insurance. It will give both you and your customers confidence and help you to grow your business.

Your products

Does your business distribute or sell products? Then you should also consider taking out product liability insurance, as it would protect you should any of your customers become harmed through the use of your products. So if you are a retailer or wholesaler it could help protect your business should anything go wrong, especially if you are a small business. If you are a manufacturer, this may not cover you for all eventualities, so check that your main insurance covers you for such things as defects or mislabelling during the manufacturing process.

Your business vehicles

If your business has one or more company cars or indeed a fleet of vehicles, their insurance is likely to be a key cost for your business so consider it carefully. Fleet insurance can be particularly helpful if you have a number of drivers using a variety of vehicles, you could cover all of them under the same policy. To find the right policy for your company vehicles and drivers, consult an experienced insurance advisor.

Professional indemnity

A fifth area to consider is professional indemnity, which could help if a customer or client suffers a loss that is judged to be a result of negligence in your work. Although we think of this insurance as primarily being for ‘professionals’, there are similar policies tailored made for almost all businesses from tradespeople to shopkeepers and restaurateurs, to name but a few.

Living in the litigious society we do, it is important that you have the right business insurance. There is a lot to consider when looking at business insurance, from stand-alone policies to combined insurance and it can be a minefield. To find insurance tailored to your specific business needs contact Be Wiser Business Insurance, they’ll be happy to guide you through the process and find the right policy for you. Meaning you’ll have the insurance you need, without paying for the added extras you don’t need.

So there you have the five key areas you need to consider when looking at taking out business insurance, your employees, the public, your products, your vehicles and professional indemnity too. Taking out the right insurance will give both you and your customers reassurance and help take your business to the next level, potentially assisting in broadening your customer base and winning new contracts.