UK small business insurance – it is one of those niggling overhead costs which many small enterprises might wish that they did not have to consider. Unless they do, however, they run a considerable risk of shouldering some surprisingly frequent and potentially expensive uninsured losses which can turn a reasonable profitability into crippling debt almost overnight.

At one end of the scale, imagine a client or customer visiting your business premises and tripping on some frayed stair carpet as he makes his way up to your office. He breaks a leg, needs an ambulance, requires prolonged hospital treatment and is unable to work for the next six months. Having established your liability for the accident, his claim for damages includes the charges that the ambulance and National Health Service will reclaim for their attendance and treatment, and six months of lost earnings. Without adequate insurance cover, this very hefty – and perfectly justified claim – would need to be met entirely from the business’ accounts.

Admittedly, not every accident or mishap is likely to prove quite so onerous, but others can happen even more easily. You might have gone to visit a client at his home, for example, and just as you are concluding the business visit, you bump into a side-table, knocking off and smashing an expensive crystal vase. Once again, the business has a liability for compensating the hapless client and any profit you might have made from the house-call is immediately written-off.

Public liability, thus, makes such risks a prime consideration for UK small business insurance. It provides financial protection against many of the accidents, both minor and major, that can happen at any time.

Whilst public liability insurance is one of the principal considerations, however, the small business has other responsibilities and potentially costly liabilities. If the business has employees, for example, the employer is legally obliged to hold employers’ liability insurance to indemnify the business against claims for injuries sustained by employees at work or illnesses contracted as a result of their work.

Depending on whether your business is principally engaged in the provision of services or goods (or a combination of both), other considerations for UK small business insurance might be professional indemnity or product liability insurance respectively. Whilst all of these forms of insurance cover might be peculiar to the protection of business interests, it is important not to overlook the additional “normal” areas of cover such as buildings and contents insurance (to safeguard the business premises) and, of course, the legally required levels of insurance cover for any vehicles owned and driven in the course of normal business activities.

Tags | UK Small Business Insurance