Bitsy

When you’re starting a business, there’s so much to do that organising the right insurance often gets pushed onto the backburner. But in just a few minutes you can make sure that you have all the cover required by law and that you are properly protected in your new venture.

Here are some things to think about:

1. Will you be using your car for your new business? If so, you’ll need to amend your private motor insurance to include business use. You’ll need to do this, even if you only use your car to travel to and from meetings.
2. You might also want to make sure your phone and laptop are covered against theft, in case they’re stolen from your car when you’re out and about. You can do this through either your car insurance, household insurance or business insurance.
3. Will you be working from home or from an office attached to your home and will you be keeping stock in your spare room or garage? Don’t assume that your household insurance will cover this. You may need to extend your household policy or take out business insurance to cover the contents of your home office and your stock.
4. If you’ve valuable equipment and individual items that you use for your business, you may need to list these items separately to make sure they’re covered for their full value.
5. As soon as you take someone on as an employee you are legally required to have Employer’s liability insurance.  This will protect you and your business from the costs of claims if your employees have an accident or become ill as a result of working for you. You should  keep your current Certificate of Employer’s liability insurance on display where employees and visitors can see it.
6. Public liability insurance protects your business from the cost of claims for injury or damage to property from a third party, which could be your clients, customers or members of the public.  The kinds of events that are covered by Public liability insurance include things like a client tripping and being injured when they’re visiting your home office for a meeting, or you breaking an expensive vase while you’re visiting a customer’s house or office where you are legally liable for the damage.
7. If your business provides advice or services you may want to consider Professional Indemnity insurance. For some professions, it’s compulsory. It protects your business against the cost of claims if you make a mistake or are negligent when providing a service and your client suffers as a result. Some professions, like solicitors and architects, are required to have Professional Indemnity insurance as part of their professional authorisation, others choose to have this cover so that they are protected.

This sounds like a lot to think about, doesn’t it? But many insurance companies offer package policies for homeworkers or small businesses that cover all of your business insurance requirements. A few minutes spent organising your business insurance at the start of your new venture will give you peace of mind for the future and let you get on with building your business.

Good luck!

Photo credit: lintmachine