Commercial combined insurance
February 7, 2024If you are running a small to medium-sized business, you will be aware of all the perils and risks that threaten its smooth and profitable operation.
You’ll also know that the best way of protecting your enterprise against those risks is through appropriately targeted insurance. Along the way, you’ve probably noticed that it’s possible to insure against each one of those risks. But wouldn’t it be helpful to arrange a single, tailor-made package that covers all the elements of insurance needed by your business?
The good news is that just such combined insurance packages are indeed available.
How commercial combined insurance policies developed
The insurance industry has developed over time. New products were added as and when the need was identified, and the market demanded.
Once upon a time, therefore, a business might insure against various separate risks with a policy for each – a policy for storm damage, another policy against the risk of fire, a further policy for damage caused by an escape of water, and so on.
Before long, it was realised that the most efficient way of selling the insurance that businesses needed was by way of a single package – a combined commercial insurance policy, put together by the business according to its particular needs.
Choosing your combined insurance policy
A single, combined insurance policy means that you will have just the one annual renewal date – and, so, avoid the risk of overlooking or forgetting to renew one or another of your otherwise individual policies.
If an incident occurs and you need to make a claim, of course, there will be only one point of contact for the combined policy as a whole.
When choosing your combined policy, you will need to make sure that it comprises all the elements of cover that you and your business are likely to need. Elements might include – or be available as an add-on – for:
- premises insurance – cover against loss or damage to your business premises by way of building insurance along with the relevant contents insurance to protect any installed plant, machinery, office equipment, and stock;
- employers’ liability insurance – cover for a minimum of £5 million will be a legal requirement if you employ others (on a full-time, part-time, or even temporary basis, and with very few exceptions) to help run your business;
- public liability insurance – as a protection against visitors to your premises or others with whom your business has contact who are injured or have their property damaged and hold you responsible for their losses;
- product liability insurance – which protects manufacturing and distributive businesses against claims by those who allege your products have caused illness, physical injury, or damage;
- business interruption insurance – to defend your business, by way of financial compensation, against incidents which halt production or prevent you from trading.
These are simply examples of some of the elements of cover you might want to include in your commercial combined insurance policy. It is worth emphasising, however, that you can tailor most policies to suit the specific needs and requirements of your particular business – elements may be added or left out, depending on the nature and scale of the business you are running.