Yes and no is the simple, easy answer. The type of policy an insurer will provide for your business depends on a number of factors.

What size is your business? Surprisingly enough this is a very difficult question to answer.

There are so many different ways to define business size. You can be a small to medium enterprise, a macro business, a micro business or a large multi-national. There is no universal definition of a business because, as every business owner knows, every business is different.

You cannot define businesses by just employees or turnover. Each and every business is unique. As far as business or commercial insurance is concerned, most insurers do consider each business differently.

When searching for business insurance, you are sometimes better to look around for brokers that specialise in helping smaller businesses. A standard business insurance policy will include sections where you can insure business assets, stock, fixtures and fittings, employers, public and products liability, business interruption, money and goods in transit.

There really is not a huge amount of difference between the insurance cover that, say a large supermarket would buy to protect their 1m square foot shop compared to that required by a small village grocer. Bigger companies may buy additional covers as they are potential more open to legal proceedings.

Some businesses may feel that they are not “small” and they are quite right. It is however beneficial for the business owner to speak to a broker that understands their requirements. This is the key point, not only are you buying a business insurance policy you are also buying a relationship with your business insurance broker. There is no point in sourcing a commercial insurance quote from a broker unless your gut instinct is that you like the person you are speaking to. You have to look forward to the point when you may make a claim. You need to have a broker working for you every step of the way.

People do get the wrong impression that all insurers want to do is not pay out on claims. However, the opposite is true, an insurer just has to go through certain processes to ensure the claim is genuine and that the policy covers the damage or loss. Insurance brokers are used to working for insurers and you need a good one to take all of these worries away from you.

You really do need to speak to a broker about your insurance requirements. Don’t, whatever you do, use an online site that offers to compare business insurance for you. The problem with using these types of sites is that you do not receive any advice whatsoever. You are buying purely on price and the policies you get can have quite onerous terms, conditions and excesses. If you use a broker to get you a quote or quotes, they are obliged to point out anything like increased excesses, excluded cover or terms which could prevent a claim being paid.

So, a business insurance policy is the same whether you are small, medium or large. The process for buying a policy is also the same, speak to a business insurance broker and let them do all the work for you.

You have just decided to take the plunge. The signs are that the end of the recession is nearing and getting a commercial property rent is not going to be cheaper than it is today. You have found the premises you want, you have a product that you think will sell but you read on one of the business advice websites that you need to have shop insurance.

You have never had to get a business insurance quote before and you are sitting there wondering where to go to get a quote and whether or not the policy you buy will be suitable.

The first thing you need to do is to decide what are the legal requirements relating to commercial insurance. There is only one insurance cover that you need to have by law, and that is employers liability insurance. If you don’t have any employees, then you don’t need the cover. But, you have to be careful about what an employee is. If you have a member of your family, or a friend, helping you out, but not getting paid, you should still have employers liability in place. The good thing is that most UK commercial insurance companies have packaged shop insurance policies, which include this cover as standard. You can get fined up to £1,000 per day that you do not have the cover. That is not something you want to face when you have just opened your brand new shop!

When deciding what insurance you need, you should work out if the business where burned to the ground how much would it cost to put the business back in to the same position it was before the fire. So, you need to decide how much stock, contents, fixtures and fittings and electronic equipment you own and what it would cost to get it back again.

If you lease the shop, you will probably pay for buildings insurance through the landlord, usually once a year. In a small number of cases though you may have a full insuring and repairing lease, which means you insure the buildings. Shop insurance packages can include this cover if required.

In addition to employers liability, you also have to consider other liabilities such as public liability insurance and products liability insurance. Liability cover is if you (or your business) cause any injury, illness, disease, damage or loss to third party property or persons. If someone visits your shop and slips on a loose carpet this is public liability. If someone eats a sandwich from your shop and is ill, this is products liability. Whilst not a legal requirement, you need to have this cover in place. Again, the packaged policies from insurers will include this cover.

The heading of this blog is what insurance do I need? We have put some detail behind this, but it is still a confusing process. Help is at hand though, you do not have to do all the searching around yourself. In the UK there are nearly 2,000 registered insurance brokers that are authorised to advise and sell business and commercial insurance.

The best thing you can do is to search on the internet for the following phrases: shop insurance, retail insurance or shop insurance quote.

Firstly, make sure that any website you click through to is a .co.uk site. The UK has different insurance requirements to other countries.

Secondly, make sure the broker is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The home page of the website should state this clearly, if it does not then do not use it.

Lastly, make sure that the broker is independent. This means that they can get quotes from a number of different insurers. Also, make sure you can actually speak to someone about your insurance. This does not have to be face to face, over the phone is just as good. Do not under any circumstances use one of the sites that offers to compare business insurance. You are not receiving any advice from these sites. If you buy the wrong product or don’t buy wide enough cover, you will get no help whatsoever if a claim is turned down. Speaking to an independent business insurance broker means that they have to advise you on a suitable product. Although unlikely, if they mis-sell to you, then you have rights of recourse against them if your claim is turned down.

Most UK insurers will have a nice, easy to understand, shop insurance package, but only buy this through a broker.

There are many rules and regulations that businesses should follow. Some are well known and others can be described as a grey area, businesses are not sure whether they should comply or not.

One question we get asked on a regular basis by businesses is whether they need to undertake portable appliance testing or PAT testing. This is a relatively new thing in the UK. Nearly every single business will have portable appliances. This does not mean “hands free” appliances but those which are plugged into a mains socket and can, if needed, be moved around.

A lot of businesses will have large machinery that is permanently connected to a live electrical source. These machines are not covered by PAT testing. As part of their commercial insurance coverage, larger businesses may need to have their items of plant annual inspected. For example, in motor trade insurance it is a requirement to have in place engineering inspection insurance cover for large items of plant such as lifting platforms.

It is not a legal requirement that every business has a portable appliance test undertaken. However, the Health & Safety Executive say that nearly 25% of all reportable electrical incidents involve portable appliances. The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 place a legal responsibility on employers to comply and to take reasonably practicable steps to ensure that no danger results from the use of such equipment.

Reading into these rules you should have an annual PAT test undertaken. If there is an accident at work, and someone is injured through using a portable appliance, this could cause problems for your business.

Portable appliances are used most in offices. A typical office will have at least 5 portable appliances per employee. You can face prosecution from the Health and Safety Executive for having unsafe machinery or appliances. Most office insurance policies will include this cover. Although it is worth checking with your business insurance broker to ensure you have this cover.

Office insurance, or commercial insurance policies, will not include annual portable appliance testing. However, it is recommended that this undertaken. Surprisingly, it is not an expensive process. For a small office with around 40 appliances you would be looking at an annual charge of about £200. Whilst every penny counts in this day and age, it is a worthwhile spend to ensure you are complying with relevant legislation.

In the UK, and indeed worldwide, we are still firmly in recession. The politicians in power would love you to believe that we are firmly on the way out of this economic malaise. One the ground though, the UK business owner would agree that the grass roots of recovery haven’t even seen the light of day yet.

Every business is finding it tough and are having to consider all of their costs. Most industries have been hit hard, but some more than most. The UK leisure industry has been hit with a triple whammy of people spending less, their costs increasing and increased competition from the larger chains.

The licensed trade industry, whilst at a low point, is still fighting and many businesses are surviving by paring down their costs. One of the bigger costs that they will face is their annual pub insurance premiums. Pubs of course range in size from the small village pub to the larger brand name groups that are springing up throughout the country. The larger chains will have their own corporate commercial insurance arrangements in place. For the smaller pub, bar or inn they do not have the luxury of a specialist insurance employee, they have to seek their own business insurance quotes.

Traditionally, the business owner would have spoken to a local commercial insurance broker and had a face to face visit from them. This of course takes up valuable time. In this age of increased telephone and internet technology there is now the option of dealing with a broker without the need for a personal visit.

The key is to find an internet based business insurance broker that has the option of going to more than one commercial insurer. You must speak to the broker and ask them whether they have access to a number of commercial insurers. If they do not, and only work for one insurer, walk away as they are not giving you any choice.

You want a broker that is going to be able to compare business insurance for you, let them do all the work. Most insurers have certain packaged pub insurance policies. At the very least, the insurance broker you speak to should be able to get three or more quotes for you.

Licensed trade insurance premiums vary from £500 to many £1,000’s. Whatever premium you are paying, you should take the time at renewal to obtain a few alternative quotes. Not only are you checking that you are paying the market rate, a good business insurance broker will be able to see whether you have the widest cover available.

A word of caution though, there are a few business insurance comparison websites popping up. Many of these do have pub insurance or licensed trade insurance policies available. They may potentially offer to save you money but there are three things to consider. Firstly, are they offering cover on a like for like basis. Secondly, are they making up for the reduced premium by charging high monthly instalments. And thirdly, are you actually receiving any advice about the suitability of their product. Just because a policy has pub insurance stamped all over it, this does not mean it is good for you.

Pubs, bars, inns, restaurants, takeaways can all save money on their insurance premium. It just takes a bit of time but it will be worthwhile.

Most UK businesses, whatever trade and whatever size, will either be providing a service or supplying a product in return for a fee, or income. The vast majority will undertake 90% of their trade within the UK or EU.

When supplying to other companies, businesses are being asked to complete tender documents or contracts outlining what they will, or will not do, as part of that contract to supply goods or services.

Increasingly, within these documents companies are asked to provide additional information regarding their commercial insurance cover.

A typical insurance tender document will ask the supplying company for details of their public liability, employers liability, products liability, professional indemnity and contract works cover.

We find that many of our clients phone to confirm their levels of cover so that they can fill in the tender document. If you have a business insurance policy in force, your insurance schedule should contain all of the required information for you to complete a tender document.

But, many larger companies send out their standard tender document which will ask for details on insurance cover you may not actually need. As a business insurance broker, we advise people on what cover they require for their day to day trading. It may well be that the tender document asks for you to prove cover for professional indemnity and contractors all risks insurance. You may not actually need to have this cover in place though.

Our advice is to speak to your insurance broker for advice about what to put in the tender document. The best thing to do is to send a copy of the tender document to your broker and let them fill it in on your behalf. You could also speak to the company you are working for and ask if you really need cover in addition to the standard public, products and employers liability insurance.

The other issue is that you may be asked to prove you have higher than average limits of indemnity for public liability. A limit of indemnity of £2,000,000 is normal. £5,000,000 may be required for supplying to larger companies and/or government bodies such as the NHS. If you are asked to prove a limit in excess of £5,000,000, and you do not have that cover currently, you really should ask if it is necessary. Some customers are asked to prove a limit of £10,000,000. We advise our customers to ask if this is actually required and in many cases £5,000,000 is confirmed as sufficient.

If the company you are supplying to insist on £10,000,000 then you will need to obtain a separate business insurance quote for this amount. The key thing is to work out if the additional insurance premium for this cover can be built in to your contract price. If so, then there is no real reason not to have the cover. If you cannot build it in then you have to work out if the additional premium is worthwhile.

In the news recently is a take-away shop in Wrexham which is alleged to be the cause of a quite serious outbreak of E.Coli.

It is very difficult for members of the public, when going to a take-away, to decide if it is clean enough to buy food from. Everyone has read reports over the years in their local papers about a local takeaway or restaurant that had a hygiene problem. The big thing is that it can happen to the “best looking” take-away as well as ones that look like they need a bit of tlc.

With us being in more litigious times with solicitors advertising everywhere to fight your claim for nothing, this makes it even more important to have adequate takeaway insurance. If you don’t have adequate products liability cover you could be faced with a massive bill, or financial ruin if you suffer a similar outbreak.

Of course, we are not advocating that suitable business insurance is a substitute for cleanliness. But, even the cleanest of premises face that risk of a claim being made against them. Any takeaway or restaurant owner must make sure that firstly they have a policy in force and secondly that it has products liability.

Products liability insurance, in summary, covers any injury, illness, disease or damage caused by the products supplied. The other benefit is that it will also cover costs of fighting any spurious or opportunistic claims, without the takeaway owner paying all the legal costs.

If you own a takeaway, to protect your business and your bank account, please ensure you have a quality takeaway insurance policy in force.