Roger Downes of Andorran Chartered Accountants regularly writes for The Local Answer magazine, distributed around the Cotswolds. This month we are featuring an article he wrote on having adequate insurance protection for your business.
Protecting Yourself
When we meet people starting up their own businesses, particularly for the first time, we are always asked about the matters that they should be considering. Many of them are surprised, I’m not sure why, when we mention insurance as it’s a business protection that none of us can do without. It would be easy to get carried away and insure against every eventuality, but there are some risks against which adequate insurance is an absolute must. Some of them are actually a legal requirement.
A lifeline against financial wipe-out
Take Employers and Public Liability for example. Unless there is only you in the business, Employers Liability insurance is a mandatory requirement. Very few claims under these policies are made by small businesses but for those few who do suffer a claim it’s an absolute lifeline against financial wipe-out. Public liability is in the same category, if you have business premises or go to work at someone else’s property. There are small business policies readily available to cover these risks as well as office contents etc.
But what about slightly more specialist cover that might be needed for your particular business? Products Liability if you’re selling goods; Professional Indemnity if you are providing services. Without adequate cover you are again in wipe-out territory if a claim is successfully made. Although limited liability protection is available to those trading through a company, more and more cases are being taken against individuals rather than corporate entities.
Determine which of these risks really affect your situation
Most of us will take out travel insurance for our holidays, but does that cover business trips? Are our employees covered on their car insurance for using their vehicles for business? The list and questions go on and on. The key is to determine which of these risks really affect your situation and then make sure you have adequate protection in place for you and your loved ones.
M R Ratcliffe Consultants Ltd is a Commercial Insurance specialist in Cheltenham and will be happy to speak to you if you have any questions regarding the points raised in Roger’s article or if you are looking to arrange cover.
Image: Insurance by Pictures of Money (CC by 2.0)