Business Insurance
All businesses face risks, but when you’ve put your heart and soul into a venture there are some chances that are just not worth taking. Business insurance, also known as commercial insurance, means peace of mind for all kinds of unexpected events.
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Business insurance explained
Every business is different, so your business insurance policy should be tailored to meet the demands of your industry. Hiscox provides customised policies for both small businesses and large, across a wide range of sectors with professional indemnity cover to protect your business and reputation, expert help with compensation claims, advice on recovering from cyber attacks and quick solutions for damaged equipment. We’ll help you to decide what cover you need, so you can get on with building your business.
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About business insurance
What does business cover do?
Your commercial insurance policy protects your business when things go wrong. If a client injures themselves on your work premises, public liability cover will protect you if they decide to claim compensation. If you’re hacked, cyber insurance will help you deal with the fallout. If a client isn’t happy and takes legal action, professional indemnity insurance makes sure you’re covered. We’ll help you decide on the types of cover you need to protect your small business, creating a comprehensive, tailored business insurance policy.
When to get business insurance?
Any small business that employs at least one person is legally required to have employers’ liability insurance as a minimum and some professional bodies and regulators insist on other types of insurance. But you should also think about the risks you face when it comes to the success and survival of your business. From the equipment you use to disgruntled employees, it pays to know you’re protected against unexpected and costly events.
How much business cover will I need?
The type of business insurance and the level of cover will depend on the nature of what you do. Do you deal with members of the public on a daily basis? Are you a freelancer who relies on expensive portable equipment? Or does your company handle sensitive data? Whatever you do, we’ll ensure that you have the right level of cover with a business insurance policy that protects you against the risks you face.
All you need to know about business insurance
Watch our short video guide on securing the right commercial cover for you; join 300,000 small business insurance customers and build your cover today.
Where business insurance can help
Compensation claims
A client could injure themselves on your premises, an employee might claim they’re ill as a result of the work they do for you, or a customer might feel you’ve made a mistake in your work. Even if you know your business isn’t to blame, the process of fighting compensation claims is costly. Our liability insurance policies have got you covered.
Cyber attacks
If a cyber criminal gains access to your clients’ private data, or freezes your trading website, you may have to pay to get your data back, or get your site up and running again. That’s on top of the cost of lost hours spent rectifying the damage inflicted on a small business. Our cyber insurance will protect you if you fall victim to an attack.
Equipment damage
Almost all businesses rely on at least some expensive equipment to keep up and running, so it’s good to know there’s protection in place should something happen to it. Whether you’re a photographer with a broken camera or a fitness studio with fire damage, we can get you back in business.
What’s included in your business cover
We’ll cover you if:
- Someone in your business gets it wrong and ends up costing your client time and money.
- You use intellectual property rights like trademarks without permission – it’s easy to do without realising.
- You say the wrong thing. You’re covered when clients feel you’ve made or supported negative statements.
- You accidentally share sensitive client information without realising, or without permission.
Key types of business insurance
Professional indemnity insurance
Professional indemnity insurance is there to offer protection and support if you or an employee makes a mistake, or if a client believes you got something wrong that led to financial or reputational damage. If something goes wrong and it ends up costing your client time and money, whoever’s at fault, we’ll be there to help with compensation costs and legal fees so you can get on with running your business.
Public liability insurance
Public liability insurance protects you and your business if someone claims their property has been damaged, or that they were injured or fell ill because of you or one of your employees. Whatever you do for a living, accidents can happen and they don’t have to be directly related to the job. if someone’s hurt on your premises or you damage something in theirs, public liability insurance will help to cover the legal and compensation costs of dealing with a claim.
Employers' liability insurance
Employers' liability insurance makes sure you’re protected if an employee is injured or becomes ill and they claim it’s because of something that happened to them at work. It could be a full-time employee, but you also need to be covered if someone works part time, volunteers or just helps out at your small business venture on weekends. It helps with the costs of defending or settling a legal claim, keeping any disruption to a minimum.
About Hiscox Business Insurance
Why choose Hiscox? Because when things go wrong, we’re the experts in putting it right. You work hard to build your business, so we work hard to help you look after it and protect your good name.
Whatever you do for a living, we offer superior service and continual innovation, like our CyberClear Academy. We provide award-winning service too, in 2023, we won the Feefo Platinum Service award, an independent seal of excellence, rated by real customers. In the last eleven years, Defaqto has given us a five-star rating.
With a range of cover limits and specialist claims teams on hand to get you back up and running, you can rest assured, you’ve got the right cover in place. But don’t just take our word for it – we're rated 4.8/5 on Feefo over the past year, with 3550 total reviews.
You can also read our own review page to see how our customers feel about working with us and take a look at our business case studies for some real-life examples of how we can help your business.
We cover a huge range of different business types and sizes. We’ll tailor your quote to meet your needs.
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