A Guide To Understanding Commercial Insurance
Commercial insurance is a bespoke policy to protect your business from events that may impact the day-to-day running and cause financial loss. With many aspects to bear in mind, it’s important to have the right understanding of what risks your business faces and what a commercial insurance policy covers. Before you find your policy, have a read of our guide below, including the different types of cover and the best place to find it. that gives you peace of mind and allows you to put your efforts into growing your business.
What Is Commercial Insurance?
We’d argue that commercial business insurance is a necessity for businesses of all sizes. We want to make sure there is cover in place to ensure that everything and everyone, from owners to employees, is protected. This protection normally comes from various sections of covers, including commercial building insurance and public liability. Quality advice on your Commercial insurance arrangements helps ensure that if there is an event that could result in financial loss, your insurance provider will be there to step in and support you. Events could range anywhere from a fire to an employee injury in the workplace.
Most Common Types of Commercial Insurance
There are several types of cover that could be included in business insurance policies. However, there are a few core insurance components that we recommend considering as part of your arrangements.
- Commercial Building Insurance – This does exactly what it says on the tin. Commercial building insurance covers your office, shop or property connected to your operations against events that are out of your control. A policy will typically include cover against fire, flood, theft and even malicious or accidental damage. This is a crucial element to include in your policy because any damage to a building can prove to be expensive to repair and also put a stop to your business operations.
- Professional Indemnity Insurance – If someone makes a claim against you for providing inadequate advice and services then Professional Indemnity insurance will protect you from being sued. This type of business insurance is best for service-based businesses such as accountants and IT Consultants. In some industries, professional indemnity insurance is a legal requirement and you may find that certain contracts you win will have a minimum level of professional indemnity cover required.
- Public Liability Insurance – This cover is important for companies that might have members of the public on site. For example, building contractors or shop owners. If someone is injured on site, then they could blame your business for it. Public liability insurance protects the business from the expenses that occur from this kind of claim.
- Directors’ and Officers’ Insurance – If you run a company of any size, then Directors’ and Officers’ is vital in our opinion. You can be personally liable for the decisions you make as a senior figure in a business and this means your personal assets are at risk, regardless of whether you are running a limited company or not. Mistakes happen and you might sometimes have people think you should have done things differently and claims can be bought against you. It’s not uncommon for employees may disagree with some of the decisions that the management team make, which may result in a claim being made. It is also worth noting that you still need Directors’ and Officers Insurance if you are Private Limited Company.
Where to Find Commercial Insurance Policies
Despite how complex commercial insurance can be, finding a bespoke policy or set of policies can be easy if you find the right advice. A chartered insurance broker is important to help guide, advise and ultimately find you the best deal on your insurance arrangements, balancing cover and costs. As opposed to going direct to general insurance companies or using an online service, brokers like us will take the time to discuss your exact needs and find the best policy for the best price. Another benefit of using a specialist broker is that they have access to a number of insurers. Some insurers offer brokers enhanced cover or special discounts for their clients that you might not find openly on the market.
We offer an extensive range of commercial insurance covers. Whether you need commercial property insurance or public liability talk to us. To contact us and speak to an advisor, call 01202 754 900 or fill out an online contact form. You can also email info@alan-thomas.co.uk with any enquiries you may have.