Your insurance needs as your business evolves

Whether you took over your parent's business or started one from scratch, it’s likely to have changed while you’ve been running it.

New products or services, larger premises and more staff to help with expansion are all signs of success, but also signs that your business may need to adjust its insurance.

Why does a business need insurance?

Taking out insurance for your business can protect it from all sorts of risks, ensuring that if something unexpected does happen, you will be covered.

As well as risks like your premises or stock being damaged in a flood or fire, or the equipment you use for work being stolen, business insurance also covers your legal liabilities.

Types of business insurance

Given these additional risks, a variety of business insurance products are available. These include:

Public liability insurance

This covers you if a member of the public or a customer claims your business has damaged their property or caused them an injury.

Legal protection

This covers legal representation and the expenses of taking a claim to court.

Employer’s liability insurance

This covers you if an employee is injured, has an accident or becomes ill as a result of working for your business.

It is possible to take out separate policies, but businesses can benefit from packaged insurance products. These allow you to take out one policy that includes elements of all the different covers that are relevant to you.

These packaged products are often tailored to the specific needs of a business sector or type of company. At Co-op Insurance, we offer shop and salon insurance that is designed for businesses with one or more shops or salons.

As businesses have different needs, policies can be tailored to suit them. A hairdresser may want to include treatment liability to protect their business if a client complains they’ve suffered an injury as a result of a treatment. Or a builder may want to add cover for stock if they keep hold of supplies.

The level of cover you take out can also be flexed, allowing you to add extra cover as your business grows.

Do I need to change my business insurance?

Thinking about the risks your business faces will help you take out the right cover, but it’s important to be aware that your insurance needs can change.

These are some of the common triggers that could mean you need to reassess your business insurance:

Changes to what you do

You might have branched out into a new area, such as adding home delivery to your cafe, or started offering advice to clients or having meetings with them in your home. If it alters your business risk profile, think about your insurance needs.

Changes to your customers

If you start selling internationally, you might need to think about the legal implications of this and update your cover. Different countries have different regulations, so you might find you need more cover. Similarly, an update may be necessary if you start providing your services to businesses rather than individuals.

Moving business premises

Together with ensuring your insurance is updated to reflect your new address, consider whether you’re using the premises in a different way. Perhaps you’re holding a lot more stock there, or you’ve moved to accommodate the new machinery you’re invested in. It might require additional cover.

Taking on employees

It’s a legal requirement in the UK to have employers’ liability insurance. You might not need it if you only employ family members or overseas employees, but if you don’t have the right cover you could be fined £2,500 a day.

As your business grows and evolves, it’s important to have the right protection in place. Visit our business insurance page to find out how we can help you.