Insurance For Business

Insurance for business, whatever your trade.

Being in business, you are exposed to a broad spectrum of risks each day; but having expertly placed Business Insurance allows you to get on with your every day with the confidence that should the worst happen, you have help at hand to guide and protect you so you can carry on with what you do best and ensure you are back up and running as quickly as possible.

What is Business Insurance?.

Business insurance protects you against many losses that could damage you financially, whether it's damage to your property or where there are allegations of negligence from a third party, such as a member of the public.

• Property Insurance will provide a broad spectrum of protections, not only the premises you work from but the machinery and contents you need to run your business.
  
  
• Fire, Storm Damage, Flood, Theft & Malicious damage can have a significant impact. Suppose you can't carry on your business; it could have devastating effects. In that case, essential Business Interruption insurance will continue to pay such things as overheads until you are back up and running again and back to where you were before the claim occurred.
  
  
• Public Liability Insurance is essential when working with the public or coming into contact with them or their property can mean that you could be exposed to claims for losses or if you cause damage or injury. Public Liability insurance will ensure that you are protected, providing legal defence and, if you are found to have been negligent, compensation awards too.
  
  
• Employers Liability Insurance is essential as well as a legal requirement when you have people working for you; it protects against claims from employees, it gives legal defence and provides compensation to your employee should they have been injured whilst working in the business. Professional Indemnity Insurance covers the costs of legal action where your professional advice has been questioned. This could be advice provided or where you have made a mistake resulting in a financial loss to your customer. If you are found to have been responsible, your insurer will include compensation too.
  
  
• Director Protection Insurance, comprehensive cover protecting the Directors & Officers of the Company against claims for wrongful acts committed in the line of their work. Whilst a Company may have limited liability, Directors and Officers of the business do not; they have unlimited liability putting their assets at risk.

Is business Insurance a legal requirement?.

The only legal requirement is Employers Liability Insurance, where you have people who work for you, there are exceptions to this, such as family members in some circumstances, but even then, it's prudent to have cover in place.

Motor Insurance, of course, is a legal requirement, too; it's essential that when you have vehicles used in the business, they are correctly covered, and for the correct use.

The cost of business insurance varies tremendously, no business is the same, so when you take out insurance, it should usually be bespoke to your requirements.

Business Insurance premiums are based on many factors, what your business does, whether it has had any claims, and how much cover is required. Your financials such as turnover and how much you pay as wages and salaries to your employees. All these elements make a difference to the premium.

What other types of business insurance might I need?

• Cyber Insurance - Every day businesses are under attack, hackers are trying to steal your data, ransomware events are commonplace, and email compromises can expose you to paying invoices that go directly to the criminals themselves.
  Cybercriminals don't care whether your business is large or small; if you have gaps in your security, that's a way in for them. If they do, the costs can be high, affecting your IT systems, networks, and potentially your customers and suppliers.
  Protect your business with cyber insurance cover; consider the costs to your business if you can't trade for just one day.
  A Cyber insurance policy will provide experts that will swiftly respond to an attack; they stop the attack from happening further and put up defences.
  
  
• Accident and Sickness insurance - Becoming injured or sick can mean that your income as an individual could be significantly affected, putting essential personal expenses such as mortgages at risk. Accident and sickness insurance will pay up to a previously agreed policy amount. Accident & Sickness can be a lifesaver to you or your business. If you are a small business, for example, that is reliant on income to pay your mortgage, what happens if you can't work? For larger companies, it can continue to pay for employees should they become injured and unable to work.
  
  
• Landlord Insurance will protect your investment against the many perils nature can throw at it, it's intention is to rebuild your property as soon as possible as well as provide your tenants with alternative accommodation whilst the work is being carried out, importantly the cover can pay for loss of rent whilst the property is being rebuilt.

• Legal Expenses & Tax Investigation Insurance, as well as Contract Disputes, are essential insurance covers; it provides legal assistance and defence to your business against such areas as Employment and HMRC disputes, to name a few. Usually, a policy will provide your business with a whole spectrum of legal documents and offer a 24-hour legal helpline and assistance.

• Key Man Insurance can provide a lifeline to any business; what are the consequences to the company if a Key person becomes ill?. This could cause a great many problems and prove disastrous to the business.

• Package Insurance for small businesses
  A package business insurance policy can ensure that your business is well protected and that the essential covers and protections are in place.

  A broad spectrum of insurance for smaller businesses can typically include the Buildings and their contents, such as the machinery, fixtures and fittings.

• Business Interruption is vital to any business, keeping you "in business" should the worst happen.

  Suppose you're working with or alongside the general public or just come into contact with them. In that case, public liability insurance is usually standard inclusion. Product liability will provide defence should your products cause injury, illness or damage.

  A Package Insurance policy is ideal for;

• Restaurants

• Pubs

• Shops

• Offices

For more significant sized businesses and those requiring more flexibility..

For larger firms and those needing more flexibility with their business insurance, combined commercial insurance covers your business exactly how you want it. Just like a package policy, the limits and covers are included, meaning that the policy is structured to your needs.

For many business types, some policies are designed specifically for you, Engineers Insurance, Motor Trade Combined Insurance, and policies designed specifically for Construction and Contracting.

What type of information is needed to get a business insurance quote?.

When buying insurance for your business, it's essential that you provide as much information as possible; this means your business description, for example, must be clear and concise, as this will be the basis that the insurance is provided.

This is only a tiny part of the overall information that is needed, though; you must ensure that you provide a fair presentation of all the facts; this includes such things as your claims history, turnover of your business, and the wage rolls in most instances.

Your sums insured, that's the value of such things as your fixtures fittings on a new cost basis; your gross profit is essential should you want to include business interruption. At Sills, we will ensure that we help you through the information required, and we provide advice enabling you to make informed decisions about the cover you wish to add.

Please tell us about your cover requirements; we are here to help you. What do I need to know when comparing business insurance quotes? It's not just about premium; whilst the cost may be one of the factors in the decision-making process, the cost of your insurance policy should not be at the top of the list of priorities.

It's essential that you compare insurance quotes taking into account the insurer, whether they are rated, that means, in simple terms, their financial strength, amongst other things.

You will need to compare the excesses applicable as these will differ from policy to policy, and of course, whether the covers you have requested and the sums insured meet your requirements.

Don't forget that many policies have covers included as standard. So, it's prudent to see whether a particular quote provides the covers that might be more specific to your business.

Why deal with Sills Insurance?.

From our base in the heart of Lincoln City, Sills have a dedicated Business Insurance team with many years of experience; we provide a local presence but deal with all businesses throughout Lincolnshire, the East Midlands and the rest of the UK.

Please speak to one of our experienced commercial team; we give advice and are not a call centre.