If you have a wholesalers insurance policy, the chances are that it is not a bespoke policy, it is more than likely that an insurer has based your cover on a commercial combined policy.

Most insurers will have packages for shops, pubs, hotels, offices, restaurants and takeaways, to name but a few. Other businesses which do not tend to necessarily fall into one of these categories will be placed, or underwritten, via a commercial combined insurance policy. It really is a case of doing what it says on the tin, it combines the usual covers that you need for a particular trade.

In addition to combining the different types of cover, insurers will apply individual warranties and conditions to each policy. For a wholesaler, there will be, somewhere in the wording a waste warranty.

Drive round any industrial estate and you will see large wheelie bins and pallets everywhere. A waste warranty says that you must remove all rubbish from the premises, either daily or weekly.

The reason you should check your warranty is, because in the case of a fire, if it can be proven that waste was not removed, in accordance with the warranty, then you could have your claim repudiated. Why? Because you are essentially leaving, or storing, combustible materials in the premises which will add fuel to the fire. Without that waste being stored in the building, would the fire have been so bad? It is of course very difficult to prove, but it is something that you need to be aware of.

When we mentioned pallets earlier on, most insurers who undertake surveys will mention to us, as the business insurance broker, that the customer is storing pallets too close to the building. This can cause two problems. Firstly, there is of course the risk that there is a fire, arsonists can wander around the esate and pallets, with their numerous air holes and dry wood, are very easy to burn. Secondly, there is an issue with people using them as ladders to gain access to a building.

As with all insurance policies, you do need to check through the wording from start to finish and make sure that you comply with all conditions, terms and warranties that apply.

UK business insurance companies will, in most cases, have a range of products depending on the type of business activities. They do not tend to have a single product that can cater for all types of business. You can get policies specifically designed for anything from pubs and restaurants to churches and schools.

The basic elements of cover are broadly the same, but each type of business will have slightly differing requirements. Other elements are similar, including the security requirements.

If you are looking for, or have just received, a wholesalers insurance quote, you need to look carefully at the whole quote and understand the implications of every part of it. Two of the major risks to wholesalers are damage to stock by ingress of water, either burst pipes or external flooding and secondly, by theft.

Most wholeasalers  have significant amounts of stock and the likelihood of losing all the the stock in one go, as a result of theft, is unlikely. Insurers will insist on certain levels, or types, of security depending on three main factors. The theft attractiveness of the stock, the location of the stock and the individual values of stock. This latter point means that if you have £50,000 of stock, but the single article limit is high, then the chance of a higher loss from a quick “smash and grab” is increased.

Depending on these different factors, they may require intruder alarms, bars or grilles and CCTV. These will be defined in the quote. But, in addition to any additional security, there will be a level of minimum protection, which must be met at all times. You can have the best intruder alarm in the land, but if you do not have good locks on the doors, the protection this provides is reduced.

You will need to look carefully at this minimum security because, if you do not meet it, your claim could be refused. For example, you may have to put in a digital communicator, fully monitored, intruder alarm. If you do this and have a theft, insurers may investigate not only whether you met this “increased” criteria, but also the minimum criteria.

They are quite within their rights to repudiate, or turn down, your claim if you do not comply with all of the security. If you are in any doubt, speak to the business insurance broker that provided you with the quote and/or cover.

Most UK wholesalers insurance policies will include cover for your own stock in transit. The reason for this cover is that, whilst you may use couriers, there is always the chance that you will need to deliver stock yourself. This could be as a “one off” or you may only use couriers whilst delivering outside of a certain radius.

You do need to think carefully, and review the policy wording, to see exactly what cover is provided. Usually, insurers will provide this as an “add on” cover. This is something that is usually included free of charge within the overall package policy. Because it is free, the limits of cover provided may not be that high. A usual limit would be around £2-£3,000 any one load.

If this limit is insufficient, you need to speak with your business insurance broker and get them to provide you with costs to increase this. Think about the busiest times of your year and then consider how much you could possibly have in any one of your business vehicles. It does not have to be in a van or car owned by the business, any vehicle being used by an employee of the business is usually covered.

Things to watch out for are whether there is a limit of the total loss. What this means is that if you have a few vehicles out on the road at any one time, the potential loss is a simple sum of the number of vehicles multiplied by the amount of stock in the vehicles. Whilst the likelihood of having two or more vehicles broken into on the same day, the risk is there. You  need to make sure that the aggregate loss limit is higher than the single vehicle limit.