Anyone who owns their own business whether big or small may be able to benefit from business insurance. In fact without taking out protection for your business you may be leaving yourself wide open for financial ruin if the worst were to happen. So what is insurance for businesses?

The many risks

As a business owner you are typically at risk from many areas. Examples of these include:

• damage to the contents or shell of the building you hold your business in;
• events such as fire and flooding.

These are just the more common risks associated with a business and some of the things that may be included in a standard business insurance policy. Of course, as with any type of insurance, what you actually get in the policy depends on the insurance provider, the type of business you are insuring, and the level of insurance you choose to take out.

Liability insurance

Bear in mind that if you run a business that involves the public coming into your shop or premises, then public liability insurance has to be considered. Imagine the costs that may be involved if a member of the public were to slip on the floor on your premises. The legal costs might add up to thousands of pounds and if you do not have insurance behind you, this money has to come out of your livelihood. In the worse case, it may even mean that you have to sell your business to come up with the money.

Employers’ liability insurance may also be legally required if you employ staff in the workplace. This typically works on the same principle. If a member of staff were to suffer an injury or death whilst on your premises legal costs may mount up. With this in mind when looking for business insurance you may wish to check whether you have both public liability insurance and employers’ liability insurance included, and if so that the policy limits are suitable.