Any sensible person starting up their own business, whatever their niche, needs to create a workable business plan. The one area that stumps many people is determining exactly what kind of insurance they need and where to find it at a reasonable cost.

If you are a one man (or woman) concern you may not think you need any insurance at all. Unfortunately, in this day and age that is far from the case. What would you do if your premises were broke into and your computer, possibly the lifeblood of your company, was damaged or stolen? Even if you work out of your own home your regular homeowners insurance might not cover the loss.

Then there is the question of health and disability insurance. You may have been well covered in both areas when you still worked for an employer but now that you are your own boss how would you manage if you were to become ill or injured and what would happen to your business while you recovered? (more…)

Over the past decade, the internet has asserted itself as an almighty tool for the masses. With consumers now able to purchase everything from clothing to groceries online, it should not come as a surprise that one is now able to use the internet to shop for that perfect insurance policy.

Requiring only a few clicks of the mouse and the input of any necessary information, one can easily find and purchase insurance online. And while some may be in need of such policies as auto or home, even policies regarding businesses can be found online. In fact, being able to compare business insurance policies online gives consumers a lot of flexibility and power. (more…)

Could your retail business benefit from supermarket insurance? If you run your own supermarket(s) then you are probably aware of just how important a business insurance policy can be to protect you and your livelihood. However, the retail sector may be perceived by some insurance providers as being a high risk as so much can potentially go wrong. This might actually make it harder for you to find suitable cover.

So, why is the retail trade held to be risky by some insurers? It is to do with their assessment of what can and does go wrong with this kind of business. Insuring an office, for example, may be relatively easy by comparison.

Supermarkets, on the other hand, may employ more staff, will have a regular footfall of customers and visitors; and may be more vulnerable to theft and vandalism. (more…)

As a shop owner you may realise that whilst you share many common factors with other retailers, your own shop may have its own particular needs in many ways. You may also find that this is the case with the different kinds of retail insurance available, as not all of the options on offer will necessarily provide the same features and benefits.

For example, if you go to a traditional insurance source you may be offered commercial insurance, and in some cases this may well cover your own individual needs but, in many cases, it may only go so far. A standard business insurance policy may not offer you all the industry-specific elements that you need. (more…)

As a publican looking for public house insurance you may think that a standard commercial insurance policy will do the right job for you. With a little investigation, however, you may find that there are better options out there for you.

Pubs are difficult businesses in the eyes of some insurers. The fact that your business revolves around bringing in the general public and allowing them to drink alcohol can sometimes make you seem like a high insurance risk. Whilst standard insurance sources may give you basic cover you may find that this isn’t quite enough for your own particular needs and that it doesn’t allow for the way that you run your own pub. (more…)

Buying the right levels of hotel insurance cover can be hard. But making the right decisions in terms of the features and benefits that you get might mean the difference between having adequate cover and having to pay to make something right yourself which might put your very business at risk.

One of the problems that many hotel owners come across is that a lot of general commercial insurance policies might not actually be set up to work from a hotelier’s perspective. They may offer a range of general features and benefits such as buildings and contents cover as standard, but not much else.

You may, of course, be able to add on specialist features and benefits to a basic standard policy but this may not be the most efficient or cost effective route to take. In addition, you may not find all the options you need in any case. So, could a specialist hotel insurance policy work better for you? In many cases you may find that it comes with other advantages. (more…)

If you run your own business then you probably already realise that the insurance policy you take out to protect you and your business will be different to regular domestic insurance cover. In this kind of scenario your needs may actually be met by a specialist commercial insurance policy.

This may seem quite straightforward but finding the right kind of commercial cover may not be as easy as it seems at first. Not all businesses are the same – they operate in different sectors and have different insurance risks and needs. If your business is considered a high risk, for example, by insurance companies, then the cover on offer may not actually meet all of your needs and may fail to give you adequate levels of protection. (more…)

Many people get their first experience of buying insurance when they insure their homes. So when insuring their business, they might assume that the same rules apply and they should simply look for the same kind of policy that gives them basic buildings and contents cover. That isn’t always the case. For a start, as a cafe owner, you need to look at commercial not domestic insurance and not just a standard business insurance policy either. Cafe insurance cover offers unique features and benefits specific to your business.

Of course, the standard business insurance cover you get is important but you may also want to consider what advantages the features and benefits of a cafe insurance policy could give you as well. This might help you better protect your interests and your business if something untoward does happen. (more…)

If you take even a quick look at most standard commercial insurance policies, then you may think that they all offer pretty much the same levels of cover. This may be true with the more common types of features and benefits but, if you run your own restaurant, will this be enough for you? You probably know yourself that your business is a lot different to other businesses out there. Therefore, a specialist restaurant insurance policy could be the way to make sure that you and your livelihood are properly protected against the unexpected.

Think about your needs. Running a restaurant may have similarities to running a shop or a café but it isn’t exactly the same and maybe your insurance cover should reflect this fact. The kinds of things that cause insurance claims in the first place may, in some cases, have a more serious impact on your business than they would on businesses operating in other sectors.

So what might be important to you? Firstly, you may need to think about getting maximum protection in case something does go wrong.

* How might you cope if your restaurant was targeted by a group of kids who found it funny to break your windows? Glass replacement cover could help with the emergency boarding up and window replacement if this happens;
* What if you have a major power cut when your restaurant is closed and you lose all the contents of your fridges and freezers? Freezer cover could be a sensible option to consider; (more…)

Running your own shop really isn’t like running any other business. The commitment you need to put in (as well as the hours!) to get up and running ahead of the competition is immense and there are all kinds of matters you’ll need to deal with. One of the most important issues here is probably your shop insurance. Many shop owners will simply take out a standard business/commercial policy here but you might be better with specialist cover. Let’s take a look at why you might need these specialist benefits.

* Shop closure – let’s say you have a fire and you have to close your shop down. A standard policy might help you make good the damage but what about your income? Business interruption cover might be extremely useful to you in this case;
* Vandalism – retail outlets are often attractive to vandals and many shop owners will suffer from damage to their windows, shutters and doors on a repeated basis. A glass replacement feature could take care of any problems you have; (more…)