When looking for commercial property insurance you may wish to consider:

• protection for the interior and exterior of the shop against threats such as fire and flood. Your shop may be out of business for many weeks while repairs and a clean up are made due to either of these events, for example. If you add up the lost revenue it might be thousands of pounds. You also have to factor in how much it costs for repairs and replacements of shop fittings and fixtures;

• hopefully your shop sees many customers walking through the doors each and every day. While this is great for business the downside is that with each individual there is the risk of accident or injury. Any customer that suffers an accident on or around your premises may wish to take you to court. Legal costs may add up to a large sum of money that you may struggle to find. In some cases it may mean the end of your business if you have to sell to meet legal costs;

• accidental damage to your stock, fittings and fixtures may occur. In some cases over the year you may stand to lose a great deal of money this way. Shop insurance may provide compensation for losses and with some business insurance providers this may include any loss as the result of vandalism.

As you may see from the above, shop insurance may be a lifeline if the worse happens. An insurance policy may provide protection against many events, and these may vary among commercial shop insurance providers. Therefore it may pay to check out the small print and compare shop insurance policies online before you purchase.

Protection for the premises

Without your business premises you do not have a business. With this in mind you may wish to give some thought to:

• fire damage to the building;

• water damage due to burst pipes;

• flooding due to inclement weather;

• damage to the premises caused by vandalism;

• breakage of glass windows.

Any of the above may affect your business. In some cases your business may have to close down for some time and this might lead to a severe loss of earnings. Cafe insurance may provide protection against the above and more.

Protection for the interior

Just as important as the exterior of your business premises is the interior. This typically includes the fittings and fixtures within your business and the stock, but will vary among the different business insurance providers, so always check the small print. You may wish to consider how the following might affect your business;

• damage or destruction of the fittings and fixtures inside your cafe. For instance fire or water damage to the flooring, tables and chairs, along with the kitchen equipment;

• third party claims that may arise from members of the public being injured or even killed while on your premises as the result of your fault. Legal costs may be astronomical and in some cases might close your business for good;

• third party claims from staff members who suffer injury due to a fault of your premises.

Cafe insurance may provide protection for the above, depending on the policy taken out. When considering a business insurance policy, do bear in mind that cover typically differs between insurance providers and the level of protection taken.

Studies by the Federation of Small Businesses suggest that nearly 60% of all small businesses fall prey to crime of some sort or another each year. Crime takes money to put right, of course – whether it is replacing stolen equipment or merchandise or refurbishing vandalised premises. That unexpected expenditure, furthermore, will eat into the fragile profits and, in quite possibly no time at all, turn a successful business into a failed one.

But small business insurance coverage does not stop there. A multitude of other risks also need to be addressed. Practically every enterprise, for example, has dealings with clients or comes into contact one way or another with members of the public. Accidents and mishaps can then leave the business liable for any loss, damage, injury or even death suffered by such third parties. Public liability insurance is designed to indemnify the small business against such claims, ensuring that even the most expensive of them are met from the insurance cover, rather than the business profits.

Insurance coverage for some risks is not merely highly desirable, but actually required by law. If the business employs staff (who are not immediate members of the family) then employers’ liability insurance is a legal necessity to cover the business against claims from employees who are injured at work or who contract illnesses as a result of their employment.

If you are in business as a lawyer, an accountant or an independent financial adviser, then you will also be required to have professional liability insurance to protect your business against claims of negligence or other professional errors. This might also prove valuable security if you are in the business of providing services as a designer, an engineer, architect or other professional consultant.

If you trade in products you have either manufactured or bought in from other suppliers, however, your small business insurance coverage is also likely to include product liability insurance to arm you against claims that the products you have supplied have caused some degree of loss, damage or injury to your clients.