Office insurance packages are designed to provide a wide range of suitable covers for a business in a complete bundle. This works quite well for both insurers and policyholders. Insurers can produce a single standardised product that will suit the vast majority of clients, saving on administration for both parties. It also helps spread the risk across a variety of different businesses and this helps keep premiums lower for customers and also more competitive for insurers. Combining a number of different covers into one package also adds value for customers, as not everyone will need certain covers and the price again drops.
Most companies follow the same standardised lines offering the following with different amounts of cover as a bare minimum:
Business Interruption - Stock and Contents - Public and Employer's Liability cover
Although this is quite basic, office policies will offer other covers as standard too, but the types and amounts will vary between insurer.
This is because, when an insurer underwrites the different risks that may crop up, they look to their own records and experiences before they decide how to make up a package or set a price on that package. Different insurers have different experiences and specialities, and so they will create their policies accordingly, all looking to take a slightly different share of the total market. Thus one insurer's office package may be far more suitable for your business than someone else's as the covers available will vary.
The following are also usually available:
Legal Expenses - Buildings Cover - Electronic Equipment - Tenants Improvements
That's the basics, but there are also other things to consider, such as how flexible is a policy? If your business is new, chances are it will grow (hopefully) quite rapidly. In such a case as this, are there any extra fees to pay, and how much are they, if you decided to change your policy by upping the level of cover mid way through the year?
With these things in mind, it's best to take a longer view, as the policy that initially looks the best value, may not be in the longer term.
For some reason it may also turn out that mid term the policy is no longer suitable and doesn't offer the cover the business requires. Should this occur, what sort of return premium, if any, does the insurer offer?
Of course it also depends what your trade is. Most standalone office policies do not provide liability cover for any work away from the premises, they are purely for the office. However, some insurers recognise that some sales staff may often need to leave the office to fulfil their duties. So long as they are not doing manual work, cover may still be offered for work away, useful for trades such as estate agencies and the like.
Taking everything into account, office insurance policies run for twelve months, so it's best to consider the position of your business over that twelve months before making a purchase.
Most companies follow the same standardised lines offering the following with different amounts of cover as a bare minimum:
Business Interruption - Stock and Contents - Public and Employer's Liability cover
Although this is quite basic, office policies will offer other covers as standard too, but the types and amounts will vary between insurer.
This is because, when an insurer underwrites the different risks that may crop up, they look to their own records and experiences before they decide how to make up a package or set a price on that package. Different insurers have different experiences and specialities, and so they will create their policies accordingly, all looking to take a slightly different share of the total market. Thus one insurer's office package may be far more suitable for your business than someone else's as the covers available will vary.
The following are also usually available:
Legal Expenses - Buildings Cover - Electronic Equipment - Tenants Improvements
That's the basics, but there are also other things to consider, such as how flexible is a policy? If your business is new, chances are it will grow (hopefully) quite rapidly. In such a case as this, are there any extra fees to pay, and how much are they, if you decided to change your policy by upping the level of cover mid way through the year?
With these things in mind, it's best to take a longer view, as the policy that initially looks the best value, may not be in the longer term.
For some reason it may also turn out that mid term the policy is no longer suitable and doesn't offer the cover the business requires. Should this occur, what sort of return premium, if any, does the insurer offer?
Of course it also depends what your trade is. Most standalone office policies do not provide liability cover for any work away from the premises, they are purely for the office. However, some insurers recognise that some sales staff may often need to leave the office to fulfil their duties. So long as they are not doing manual work, cover may still be offered for work away, useful for trades such as estate agencies and the like.
Taking everything into account, office insurance policies run for twelve months, so it's best to consider the position of your business over that twelve months before making a purchase.
About the Author:
M Withers is Marketing Manager for Coversure Insurance Services. For an office insurance quote or more information about any other kind of business insurance visit our site.
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