Insurance
Business Insurance: Your 6 point plan to get covered!
Business Insurance: Your 6 point plan to get covered!
Managing Director of Burke Insurances Ltd and owner of www.publicliability.ie and www.piinsurance.ie, Sean Burke has been working as an insurance broker for nearly 30 years. He is accredited by the CII (Chartered Institute of Ireland) and is a Chartered Insurance Broker. The firm is a member of the IBA.
Many would say that when contemplating setting up a new business, the last thing you want to be thinking about is insurance! But the good thing about insurance is that once you have the right cover in place and you are working with people you trust, you can have some peace of mind!
Typically, the six main insurances purchased by start up business, apart from the obvious motor insurance, would be:
1.Property Insurance:
To protect the buildings, equipment and stock of the business against the likes of fire, storm, flood, burst pipes, explosion or theft, amongst other risks.
2.Business Interruption Insurance:
This effectively is insurance to replace the loss in income your business would suffer following a fire, flood etc at your premises.
3.Employers Liability:
This is an insurance which protects you (the employer) should an employee bring a case against you for being injured in the course of their employment by you.
4.Public Liability:
This is an insurance which protect you should a member of the public bring a claim against you for being injured as a result of your negligence. A claim can be brought against you whether you operate at or away from your premise. Over the last few months, we’ve launched our new website www.publicliability.ie where public liability insurance can be purchased in a matter of minutes. Based on the excellent response we have been getting to the website, it’s evident that this type of insurance is a priority in the business start up plan.
5.Products Liability:
This insurance is usually purchased along with public liability insurance. If you make, alter, repair or supply products to the public, there is a danger that the products themselves may cause injury or damage to the public. You have a duty under common law and under statute to ensure that someone is not injured as a result of the use /consumption of your product.
6.Professional Indemnity or Professional Negligence:
If your business involves advice for a fee, then you need this type of insurance. Everyone owes a duty of care to show reasonable attention and skill when they are engaged to provide a service to someone. If someone fails to exercise this duty (i.e. is negligent) they may be liable for losses incurred by their client, and/or third parties. It’s a very detailed and occupation specific area of insurance but once you are fully aware of how it works, all questions are answered. We’ve tried our best to explain this type of insurance as simply as possible – on both our homepage www.burkeins.ie and our Professional Indemnity website www.piinsurance.ie.
The information above is just a brief summary of insurance covers and does not take into consideration terms and conditions that may be in place. But don’t be worried or become bogged down in detail – helping you through the maze of terms and conditions is what we are good at.
For more information on the insurances mentioned above, feel free to visit our websites – www.burkeins.ie / www.publicliability.ie / www.piinsurance.ie. We have been advising on business insurance for forty five years plus and we’ve worked with more start up companies and clients than we can remember so we know what we’re talking about! Make sure to check out our Youtube Channel as we are constantly updating our videos to make insurance that little bit easier – http://www.youtube.com/user/BurkeInsurances
Having the right level of Insurance in place is critical for your new business. For the same reason that you would not drive your new car without insurance, do not open any business without insurance in place – Mr. Murphy’s law could be just around the corner. Most of the below insurance is more relevant to retail type businesses but employees are more and more aware of their rights and the courts are very intolerant of any business that have not followed the correct procedures when hiring, firing etc. With people ever more protective of their jobs and employers under more pressure to cut overheads (Read: people) the liklihood that you will find yourself being sued is on the increase.
Types of Insurance
Employers Liability Insurance
Employers Liability Insurance protects your business from claims made by staff who have suffered injury or illness at work through the fault of your business.
Public Liability Insurance
Public liability insurance protects your business from claims made by customers who suffer injury on your premises.
For example, a customer is likely to claim compensation if he / she suffered injury by slipping on a wet floor, tripping on a discarded box etc
Public Liability Insurance covers the total cost of such claims including the associated legal expenses.
Stock Protection
Most retail businesses will have a significant level of stock on the premises you should arrange cover for your stock to protect it against fire, flood and theft etc.
Contents & fittings Insurance
It is important to cover your contents, fixtures & fittings such as counters, shelving etc.
Money & Cash Cover
Money & Cash at your premises can be insured againts break ins and money being robbed in transit to the bank. The limits available depend on your security arrangements, type of business etc
Buildings
If you own the premises that you operate from you can include cover for the premises and also,
‘All Risks’ on specified items
Cover for specified items for loss or damage away from your business premise
Business Interruption
Covers the loss of profits from your business, arising from insured events.
For example, if you were unable to trade because of a major fire at your premises, business interruption insurance could pay for your lost earnings and costs during the period of interruption.
