When you think of dangerous places that you could be working in, a construction site, a warehouse or an oil rig, an office environment doesn’t seem like the most hazardous place in the world, but danger can lurk around any corner.
To help protect you, your livelihood and your business, we have taken a look at some important insurance covers to protect an office based business.
No matter what kind of business you own, if you have employees, you must have employers' liability insurance by law. Employers’ liability insurance is designed to protect your legal liability if one of your employees is injured, becomes ill, contracts a disease or dies as a result of working for your business and you are found to be at fault.
If you work in an office, you may have regular visitors for meetings or visit your customers’ or partners’ premises. Whilst it is not a legal requirement, as you have a duty of care to members of the public and other third parties, it is prudent to take out public liability insurance. Again this will protect your legal liability, in the event that a third party raises a claim against you or your company for bodily injury or property damage as a result of a breach of that duty of care.
If you lease your building, you should have a tenancy agreement in place with your landlord detailing who is responsible for the up keep of the building during the tenancy. If you are responsible for the maintenance then you should consider arranging commercial buildings insurance for the property. Responsibility can fall on the property owner, but this depends on the details of the arrangement that you have with your landlord so it is important to understand what is in the agreement.
If the property that you are using as your office is your home residence, make sure that you have informed your home insurer, especially if you are working from a home office. Your regular home insurance policy may not cover your buildings, contents or liabilities when used for business.
When you work in an office, the things that you have around you are the tools that you have to complete the work that you need to do. If your tools were to disappear, it could be expensive and/or time consuming to get your business up and running again.
Some insurers will tell you to imagine your house turned upside down, and that anything that falls down would be classed as commercial contents. Make sure that you give your insurer or broker accurate information on how much it would cost to replace your contents as new in the event that you suffer a major event, such as a theft, fire or flood.
Business interruption insurance can cover the lost revenue caused by an interruption to your business in the event that you are unable to trade due to an unforeseen event, such as a fire or flood. It can also help you with the costs associated with getting your business back up and running again.
Some office based companies may offer advice or do design work for their customers as part of the services they provide, which has the potential to lead to a financial loss for their customers. Professional indemnity insurance can cover the civil liabilities incurred in connection with the conduct of a professional business i.e. breach of professional duty, libel and slander or breach of confidentiality to name but a few. It is also a legal requirement for solicitors to have Professional indemnity insurance, according to the Solicitors (Amendment) Act 1974, outlined in section 37.
If you are working from an office, the likelihood is that you will be working on a computer or electronic device. In fact, studies have shown that 98% of UK businesses and 95% of UK charities rely on digital communication or technology. With the introduction of GDPR, there has been a huge buzz around data protection and the serious ramifications that can happen if you don’t take these regulations seriously.
It is now, more important than ever, to protect your digital world just as much as your traditional risks. Whilst cyber-crime can’t always be prevented, you can look to protect your business with cyber insurance that should help you recover and guide you through the process to get you back up and running following a cyber-attack or data breach.
No matter what kind of office you work from, Premierline will help you find an insurance solution that suits your business.
Get in touch to speak with one of our trained insurance advisers, who will assess your business needs and find the right office insurance for your business. We work with some of the UK’s most well-known insurance providers, to ensure that your no obligation quote is as competitive and comprehensive as you require.
