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Things to consider when purchasing business insurance 

If you find the process of shopping around for business insurance a tad confusing and not sure where to start, then you’ve come to the right place. Our guide is designed to help raise some of the key questions you need to think about when arranging your cover, without the jargon and boring bits! 

Let’s start with the basic areas to look at when figuring out the type of business insurance you need to consider to protect your business. 

Know your risks 

Have a think about the kind of business activities that your business is involved with and consider the following: 

  • Does your business give professional services or give specialist advice?   
  • Where you do you operate your business from? Do you have physical premises, is your business online, or both?  
  • Do you have clients that come to you, or do you visit them?  
  • How many staff work for you? Do you also employ contractors or suppliers?  
  • What utilities, equipment, machinery and technology do you need to keep your business running? 

Also have a think about some of the situations that could potentially impact your business like: 

  • If you or a staff member accidentally made a mistake or were negligent when providing professional advice or a service? 
  • If you or one of your staff were to offer misleading or incorrect advice? 
  • A customer, supplier or member of the public was injured as a result of your business activities? 
  • You or a staff member were to accidentally damage somebody’s property while undertaking your business activities? 
  • You experienced damage or theft of your contents, equipment or stock? 
  • Your website was hacked or your customer data was stolen? 

Understand the basics of business insurances  

Once you have a grasp of the type of risks and scenarios that could threaten the livelihood of your business, you might want to consider thinking  about the appropriate types of business insurance that will provide the right kind of protection. Having a solid understanding of the basic types of cover will make it easier when selecting your coverage options.  

 

Not only is there the risk side of things to think about but for some professions, business insurance may be a legislative requirement, especially if you belong to an industry body or membership.  

This is a quick snapshot of some of the different types of business insurance products available: 

Professional Indemnity insurance*: is an important form of protection for businesses that provide specialist services or professional advice. It is designed to respond to claims against your business for losses as a result of actual or alleged negligent acts or omissions in the provision of your professional service or advice. PI Insurance will also assist with the legal costs associated with responding to or managing claims which are covered by the policy. 

 

Public Liability insurance*: is designed to provide protection for you and your business in the event a customer, supplier or a member of the public are injured (and not covered by the Accident Compensation Commission (ACC) ) or sustain property damage as a result of your negligent business activities. 

 

Business Insurance*: Business Insurance is an insurance package designed to provide cover for your business contents, stock, tools and commercial premises when an insured event occurs (such as fire, storm, theft or even accidental damage). A Business Insurance policy can also cover your portable equipment, and loss of revenue due to business interruption in specified circumstances. 

 

Cyber Liability*: Covers you for losses from claims arising from data breaches, business interruption and remediation costs following an actual or threatened data breach. 

How much insurance do I need to consider? 

Every business will be different with their own unique business risks impacting the type and level of coverage required. These are some things to be mindful of: 

 

  • If you have legal requirements to hold a business insurance policy, make sure that you have adequate cover in place. As previously mentioned, this is something which is often required for memberships to certain profession and   industry bodies. 
  • If you work with contracts, check if there are any minimum levels of insurance required. 
  • Think about the cost which may be involved if a claim were made against you and you had to fight it in court. What kind of compensation would you need to pay your client and how much would you need to cover the associated legal fees? 
  • Go through your business assets including any property, contents, stock and equipment and add them up. How much would it cost if you had to replace it all?  

Buying business insurance 

Getting your business insurance sorted can be a time-consuming process, but fortunately there are options there to help make it drama-free. Chatting directly with an insurer, going through a broker or going through an online comparison platform are just some of the popular ways people sort their insurance.  

At BizCover, we provide an easy online insurance platform that makes arranging your business insurance easy. In the click of a button or phone call, you can receive multiple quotes from a great range of trusted leading insurers. Experience insurance made easy today.  

*As with any insurance, cover will be subject to the terms, conditions and exclusions contained in the policy wording. The information contained on this web page is general only and should not be relied upon as advice. 

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