Independent Advice on Commercial Insurance Policies

Protecting your business from losses arising from things like damage to property or injury to employees is more important than ever before. Commercial insurance comes in many forms and what you’ll need will depend entirely upon your business. From professional tradesmen and small business owners to global corporate conglomerates, every type of business needs commercial insurance in some form.

Below are just some of the commercial insurance lines we offer:

One of the most common types of cover, public liability insurance covers the cost of legal action and compensation claims made against your business if a third party is injured or their property suffers damage while at your premises. It also covers you when you are working in someone’s home, office or business property and can include the cost of medical treatment and transportation costs incurred by the NHS should hey choose to claim this amount from you.

Things not included in public liability insurance include accidents that happen to you or your employees as well as any of your own property or their belongings which is usually covered separately by your general business insurance. This type of insurance isn’t compulsory and the amount of cover you should take out depends on the level of risk your business undertakes on a daily basis. There is usually an accepted minimum standard in each particular industry and there may also be requirements specified by your clients in this area.

 

 

In the UK, the vast majority of businesses that employ one or more people are required by law to have employers’ liability cover in place to protect the health and safety of employees during working hours. Businesses are required to have a minimum of £5m in cover should an employee fall ill or suffer an injury due to their work for you and a fine of £2500 could be charged for every day that you are uninsured.

Employers’ liability insurance covers all types of workers including full and part time staff, self-employed contractors you hire, temporary staff, apprentices, volunteers and people taking part in work experience or training schemes. On average, a workplace injury claim on behalf of a small business will result in a pay-out of £14,300 but larger insurance companies will settle claims that run into several million pounds. The amount of cover you need will again depend on the amount of risks in your workplace and the number of people you employ.

 

 

No matter how experienced your business is, the possibility of you or an employee making a mistake is always there. Professional indemnity insurance protects you if you are alleged to have provided inadequate advice, services or designs to a client and covers the legal costs and expenses in defending the claim as well as the compensation payable to the client. Some of the common scenarios you are covered against include:

  • Professional negligence

  • Defamation & libel

  • Loss of goods or money

  • Loss of documents or data

  • Unintentional break of copyright and/or confidentiality

Many business sectors such as accountants and surveyors are required by their industry bodies’ regulatory requirements to have PI insurance and many professionals working on a contract basis will need it to be awarded a contract.  However, even if you aren’t required by law to have PI insurance, without it you could end up spending thousands of pounds in compensation and legal fees to defend a claim in addition to the opportunity cost of time spent defending yourself.

Whatever size business you own, no professional indemnity cover leaves you in a vulnerable financial position. The minimum amount of cover you need will usually be specified by your industry body or if you need it for a specific contract the client will usually specify this. Otherwise, you need to estimate the cost of a “worst case scenario” and estimate the costs involved not forgetting an legal fees and losses that could be incurred by the client as a result of the error.

 

 

Whether you own commercial property or residential homes, landlord insurance is a must to protect you against the various problems that can arise. The range of cover on offer is extensive with everything from the basic level of protection through to policies that cover almost every eventuality. Nearly every bank is likely to insist you take out building insurance as a condition of a mortgage, particularly with buy-to-let mortgages. And, even if you do own a rented property outright, you’ll still want at least a basic level of cover to protect such a valuable asset. Your building insurance should be worth at least the rebuild value of the property and cover you against environmental damage (flood, storms, falling trees etc), subsidence, damage to any installations and vandalism. Landlord building insurance usually covers malicious damage by tenants too, but you should check any policy to be sure.

In addition to covering the building, you can protect yourself against a number of other things including loss of rent insurance. This covers the income you’ve lost if something happens to your property (such as fire or water damage) that makes it uninhabitable for the existing tenants forcing them to move out. This doesn’t cover you if your tenants simply default on rent payments, which is covered separately under tenant default insurance, also known as rent guarantee insurance. You may also want to add contents insurance to your policy, particularly if you are letting out a furnished property.

 

 

Tradesmen and building professionals often need much more than standard, off-the-shelf insurance policies; instead needing a policy that is built around their risks and priorities. The exact insurance you need will depend on your specific type of business and the individual risks it faces, but some of the most popular types of cover for tradesmen are:

  • Public liability insurance

  • Personal accident insurance

  • Tool insurance

  • Plant & machinery insurance

  • Business interruption insurance

Our expert team will guide you through all the available options and compare the entire market to find you the perfect policy.

 

 

These policies cover a wide range of areas including sales and servicing, motor mechanics, breakdown services, car traders and much more. You will need one or more of these policies if your company has any customers’ vehicles under your control, care or custody. It will also be needed for businesses dealing in sales, to cover things like the collecting and delivering of vehicles.  

Please note, you must be a genuine motor trader to qualify for these policies.

 

Anyone running a business either from home or a separate building will most likely need some form of office insurance. This type of policy can provide cover for office contents, business interruption or your actual premises. We also understand every business is different, and will need specific policies to suit their individual requirements, even if you need specialist policies such as portable equipment cover.

All shop owners need to cover the key areas of their business with the right policies. The types of cover needed vary from business to business, but most shop insurance policies will cover the following:

  • Public liability insurance

  • Employers’ liability insurance

  • Contents and stock insurance

Other additional cover is also available which are more relevant to your trade, so feel free to arrange a meeting with one of our experts today.

 

Anyone who has run a pub or restaurant will know that it comes with a unique set of challenges. We can help find the right insurance to help you deal with these. Most packages will include the following:

  • License cover

  • Deterioration of stock

  • Public liability insurance

  • Employers’ liability insurance

  • Personal accident & assault cover

Additional levels of cover are available, but whether you run a local pub or have a chain of restaurants, Mapps can help you find the perfect pub and restaurant insurance policies.

 

When it comes to the hospitality sector, we understand that every business is unique. From buildings and contents cover through to business interruption and loss of licence, we can help you find the ideal policy designed specifically for your business.

 

As one of the leading insurance specialists in County Durham, we can help you find the right deal whatever kind of insurance you are looking for.

You are more than welcome to call in or arrange a meeting with us for more information.