The big question is, who do you actually go to for a quote? If you have a couple of spare weeks, you could approach the first three pages worth of companies on the search engines. But hey, in reality this is not really going to happen. The usual scenario is that you get your existing renewal through, which has increased, and you say to yourself you must do something about this. Then, two days before renewal you realise you haven’t done anything and then it is a mad panic to get an alternative sorted out.

To decide who to go to, you need to think of a few things. Firstly, do you need to have a local business insurance broker dealing with your cover? If so, this would surprise us as in 2010 you can deal with a broker anywhere in the country and still get a similar service. If you do need a local one, then search for the correct insurance related phrase, but put in your town as well. This should throw up the main ones operating nearby.

Secondly, do you want absolute basic cover (not recommended) or the level of protection that a professional adviser thinks you should have. If you want the latter, then you need to speak to a specialist, maybe one that can offer separate, specific, takeaway, restaurant and fish and chip shop insurance quotes. If you speak to a company that tries to offer a basic commercial policy, you should spend a bit more time looking for a more specific one. The reason being that if an insurer has a bespoke policy, then they will know and understand the market better.

Lastly, check on the instalments. You may have a competitive quote, but if you add in an excessive monthly instalment chsarge of 8, 9 or 10%, the competitive quote may cost you more money.

In summary, you need to spend as much time as you can possibly afford getting a quote. Whilst you can get one at the last minute, you should try and set aside some time before renewal to sort this out.

So, what can we do for takeaways and chippies to make their job easier? We have many years of experience in doing the donkey work for you and if you are looking to compare business insurance, whatever you do, then you need to give us a call.

If you think across most aspects of business life, there are intermediaries or third parties who can help you access the services and products you want. Insurance is no different, You have the choice of going direct (= no choice and no independent advice) or going to a broker (= lots of choice and independent advice).

The good thing for the chip shop owner is, when they receive their annual renewal, all they need to do is give us a quick call, any day of the week is fine(!) and we will do the rest for you.

Our job is to look around for alternatives, we are legally obliged to get you a good deal. If you go direct, you only get one product from one insurer, what is the point of that? Go to a broker and at least you know you are getting a few options.

They will balance their insurance needs with the range of different premiums that are available. 2008, 2009 and 2010 are proving to be difficult years for any type of business trading in the UK. Everyone is penny-pinching and looking to save money at every turn.

For most of UK plc this translates into their usual customers not being in a position to spend as much money as they used, so pubs, restaurants, shops and hotels, to name but a few, are suffering.

Most of these types of business will, as a consequence of the squeeze on their income, be looking to make their own cost savings, and this goes on all the way up and back down the ladder. One area where a real saving can be made, is in your annual commercial insurance premium.

The usual scenario is that you receive your annual renewal, in 2010 this is likely to include an increase in the cost. You finally decide that it is time to do something about this and sit down at your PC, with time to spare, and decide that you will get a better quote.

Many insurers offer different types of cover, usually though the basic cover, contents, stock , liabilities, money etc is the same. The difference is usually in the additional covers which may or may not be available as part of the package.

One of these covers is commercial legal expenses. This is usually provided by a third party insurer (in the main this is DAS legal). What you need to do is to find out if this cover is included as standard, because you do need it. It is not a legal requirement but, with the UK being so litigious nowadays, you are never that far from a claim. For example, fending off a basic employment tribunal claim could easily cost £5,000, and this is if you are 100% in the right!

When looking for a cheaper alternative, beware that if you find a saving, if this is a result of a cover reduction, then you need to balance whether this is a risk worth taking.

As an example, a simple basic fish and chip shop insurance policy, with commercial legal expenses, can be purchased for less than £500 per year, you just need to know where to look.

One of the main managing general agencies in the UK for the past few years have just announced that, with immediate effect, they are no longer underwriting takeaway insurance, which includes the traditional chippie.

But why is this happening? Simply put, it is all down to two things. Basic economic supply and demand and insurers inability to gain critical mass. One of the main principles of business insurance is that the premiums of the many help to pay for the claims of the few. If an insurer insurers enough of a particular type of risk (ie houses, cars, hotels, office etc) then across a 12 month period the premiums all put together should cover the claims that come in. There will be good, excellent, poor and terrible years. Over the years though, the rough and the smooth balance and everyone is happy.

But, fast food insurance does have it’s fair share of claims and many insurers have dipped their toe in the water (because there are so many takeaways and they just see the £ signs) and decided to start insuring them. But, if they are not getting the correct price and enough of them (to get the critical mass) then they will simply not make money, year in year out. This means it is uneconomic and it does not take a rocket scientist to work out that if you stop insuring them, you will start to lose less money.

These things happen throughout the insurance cycle, it is not a problem or an issue as there will always, without fail, be someone else willing to provide cover for a similar type of premium and cover, you just need to spend a bit more time looking.

Business insurance, as with other insurance, is a contract of utmost good faith or uberrima fides. This means that insurers trust that you will give them the correct information and they will in turn use that to provide you with a quote.

As part of your preparation work you need to calculate how much it would cost to put your business back in it’s current condition in the event of a catastrophic, total loss, fire for example.

Many people buy fish & chip shops or takeaways as a going concern with fixtures and fittings included. There is a danger in using these amounts when getting an insurance quote.

The sum insured for your contents needs to reflect the replacement cost as of the present day. You should split the contents into four areas. Stock, tenants improvements (improvements you have made to the building ie fixed flooring), any fixed frying range and then all other contents.

Frying ranges, in particular, to replace as new can be three or four times the figure declared when buying a business. Amounts up to £40,000 are commonplace for a full frying range with ducting. If this figure is not corrctly declared, any subsequent claim you make, whilst valid, could be reduced by a significant percentage due to under-insurance.

As always, speak to your broker for advice about how to calculate the correct figures.

Companies are slowly starting to increase their prices, not only for existing policy holder, but for new enquiries. Traditionally, it used to be that a new customer in financial services would always get the best deal and best discounts. Nowadays though, things are slowly changing.

As ever, the big companies like to emulate oil tankers turning. It takes them a long, long time to change. As far as getting a competitive fish and chip shop insurance quote is concerned we are seeing a double whammy on the price front.

Some insurers that have always fought for this business are now increasing their rates and their minimum premiums. So, a takeaway that had an annual premium of £750, will now be faced with a renewal in excess of £1,000.

The skill, for us as business insurance brokers, is to seek out the more competitive alternatives. The good news is that, for every insurance company increasing their prices, there is usually one that is not doing this. Joe or Joanna Public looking for a quote may be faced with a “needle in a haystack” scenario. To save you the grief and the trouble, speak to an independent broker to do the searching for you.

In every town and city the length and breadth of the land, there are business insurance brokers screaming out for your business. You may have been with the same broker for years and accept the 5/6/7% increase they apply, year in year out, now though is the time for change.

Your insurance is high because there are businesses that are run with less professionalism, they are the ones that have the fires and the liability claims, if you have a good claims experience, use it to your advantage.

Other pointers are to let your broker know if you have shutters on your windows, do you live in, how often is your frying range serviced, do you have a formal health and safety policy etc. All of these things make a big difference in insurers understanding what is good about your business and giving you a better price.

The tip we do not recommend, is going to a website that “promises” to compare business insurance. Quite simply, don’t bother. There is not one of these sites in the UK that actually compares ALL insurers. They charge so much commission to insurers that only certain insurers can afford to deal with them.