 Professional Indemnity
This is for anyone starting a new business as, say, a business consultant (legal management, marketing, financial etc.) This protects you against your legal liability to compensate third parties for injuries sustained due to you or your employees negligence.
Credit Insurance
This protects you against customers who fail to pay their invoices. Because the risk of bad debt can be high, you would probably find it hard to get cover for this unless your business has been successfully up and running for some time.
Public Liability
This provides you with legal cover and protection against claims for which you would be legally liable for and brought to you by anyone other than your employees for bodily injury or loss or damage to property arising in the course of your business.
Factory Insurance
This usually covers you for machinery and equipment, as well as fire and theft etc. (policies will differ depending on requirements).
Premises Insurance
If you are going to buy the premises, or if it is a condition of the lease, this would cover you against fire or any other perils, such as, burst pipes storms etc. (check policy details).
Employers Liability
This is only required if you have employees. This insurance is to protect employers against claims for bodily harm or death brought to employees in the course of employment( this also includes injury by other employees, for whom the employer is liable). A certificate has to be displayed in a place that all can see.
Office Insurance
This usually covers you for computers, fax, printers, fire, damage, theft and files and records. (policies will differ depending on requirements).
Home Office
This usually covers the home office scenario: computers, fax, fire due to office equipment etc. Note: this will not be covered by home insurance.
Fidelity Insurance
This covers you for fraud or dishonesty by employees, it can be taken out for any amount of employees or the whole staff.
Shop Insurance
This usually covers you for building and content in the event of fire and theft etc. (policies will differ depending on requirements).
Key Person (Key Man) Insurance
This insures your business against the loss of a key employee through disability or death. The money can be used in any way by a business deems appropriate, not just to train/hire a direct replacement. Key person cover can also be used to cover partners in a partnership, or shareholders in a privately owned company. Key person insurance can be particularly important in small businesses, where there may only be one person trained for a particular job.
It is essential to talk to a specialist or advisor before taking out key person cover; as it requires a detailed knowledge and understanding of the business and employee roles.
Legal Expenses Insurance
This helps cover the majority of your costs in the event of a legal dispute. This usually covers legal costs for employment tribunals, prosecutions under acts such as The Health and Safety at Work (etc) Act 1974, contract disputes, and costs caused by an in-depth Internal Revenue or Custom and Excise investigation. Some legal expenses policies also provide free legal advice, as well as cover for employee time lost during jury service or as a witness in a case.
Business Travel Insurance
This covers you against the loss or damage of business equipment such as laptops and product samples. This often also covers the costs of an emergency courier to deliver replacement items if needed (say, for an important meeting). Some policies also provide cover against the death or hospitalisation of an employee on a business trip, covering the costs for a colleague to take their place.
Product Liability Insurance
This is a less common form of business insurance that covers you against legal liability if a product you manufacture (or supply in some cases) is faulty, not to satisfactory quality, or not to specification; and causes damage to a person or business.
E.g.: A woodcutting tool that operates incorrectly, causing large amounts of wasted material and employee time to the company that bought it.
Business Interruption Insurance
This covers your business against unforeseen risks that cause the business to lose money due to a loss of capacity or inability to continue business for a period of time.
E.g.: If a flood damaged critical electrical equipment causing all manufacturing to shut down, the insurance would cover income that was lost while the equipment was replaced or repaired. This figure should also take into account the lower outgoings during the period of interruption.
Goods in Transit Insurance
This covers goods and property in transit from one set place to another. It usually covers transport in a company vehicle, or with a third party delivery/transport service. The method of transport is sometimes specified on the policy. If the goods are lost, stolen, damaged, or late, then you are able to claim for damages or replacement.
For overseas transit, there is a special Marine Insurance, which covers transport by sea, as well as the following journey over land to deliver the goods.
Commercial Motor Insurance Third Party Cover - This insures your liability to others in the case of a car crash or other motor vehicle incident. This includes death or injury to anybody (but not death or injury to employees while they are working, as they are covered by employers liability insurance (see below).
Fire and Theft (third party) - This is an optional addition to your third party cover.
Comprehensive Insurance Cover - (Including the above) This covers you in the event of accidental damage regardless of whose fault it was. If you use your own private vehicle in your work, then you should inform your insurers as you will not be covered for business use (travelling to/from work is usually OK).
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