COVID-19 and the resulting lockdowns and restrictions have completely changed the way the world has worked over the past year and a half. Businesses have had to change the services they offer or how they operate on a day to day basis to stay afloat and as a result, their needs and protections have had to change with it. From more or less cover than before to changing trades to ensure that everything is covered, businesses big and small need to determine whether, post-COVID, their business insurance policies are still valid. Here, we’ve put together a quick guide to help.
Has Anything Changed In Your Business?
Before determining whether or not your insurance policy is valid, you first need to decide whether anything has changed in your business over the past year or so. These changes can be as simple as a change in how many employees you have, to the services that you provide on a day to day basis. This is particularly important for small businesses, as the cover you already have may not be valid if things have changed too much.
Small Business insurance, for example, typically covers around 1-50 employees – if you now have more than this, or you previously had more and now fall into the small business category, this may affect how much cover you need. Similarly, if the majority of your staff are working from home or you’ve switched to remote working permanently, your insurer will need to know this and adjust your cover accordingly.
While we don’t operate strict criteria for Small Business policies, some insurers may have limits as to what they’ll cover so it’s important to know what is going on within your business now, and whether your existing policy covers this. Restaurants that now offer takeaway or delivery, for example, may need to increase their cover to include these services, as standard restaurant insurance policies may not always cover off-premises food services.
Check Your Insurance Policies
If you’re unsure whether your policy covers any new business ventures or employee numbers, the first thing you can do is look at your policy documents. These may have been mailed or emailed to you depending on your provider, or some may offer online access. Check what is and isn’t covered by your policy and whether anything that isn’t covered needs to be. If you’re still unsure, call your provider for more information and they may be able to advise you on what you need for your business. Once you have this information, you can determine whether or not you need a new and improved policy for your business. We can then help you find the best policies out there designed for your business.
What Should Your Policy Cover?
Your insurance policy should cover any and all public liability insurance claim possibilities, from injury and illness to third party damage and more. When applying for any kind of commercial or business insurance, it’s vital that your business description and all activities undertaken by your business are declared to ensure that the insurer is aware of how your business works. Any new services or activities not declared or included in the policy may not be covered in the event of a claim.
There may also be Limits of Indemnity which can change depending on how much is needed and often, the potential for causing lifelong injury or death as a result of your business. If you’ve changed your mode of operation or the services you offer, this could affect this limit.
Need To Renew Your Policy?
If you find that you need a new policy to adhere to your new business structure, the process of finding a quote is simple. We will do all of the leg work for you, compiling personalised quotes from insurers that we trust and have worked with for years. We will help you to find the best policy for your business by only providing relevant quotes, and can offer advice every step of the way so you can obtain a new and relevant insurance policy that you can trust.
If you’re still stuck on whether things need to change or what you need to do to improve your policy, our team is always on hand to help. We can offer advice or information about standard insurance policies or what you may need as a business if your operation has changed. Each insurer may offer a different policy according to your business description or other factors, but we may be able to help you determine which works best for you and your company. Just give Ashburnham Insurance a call on FREEPHONE 0800 169 6137 to speak to a member of our team and get started with your quote.