What Business Insurance Do I Need? UK Guide

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The One Cover Almost Everyone With Staff Needs

Before anything else, there's one question that has a legal answer, not just a risk-based one.

💡 Do you employ anyone? If yes — even one part-time or casual worker — employers' liability insurance is a legal requirement under the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969, with a statutory minimum of £5 million cover. This is one of the very few business insurances that isn't optional.

Everything else below depends on how your business actually operates — there's no universal second answer.

Decision Guide

Match Your Business Activity to the Right Cover

Most businesses need a combination of two or three covers, not a single policy.

🤝

You deal with the public or clients on-site

If customers visit your premises, or you work on a client's site, public liability insurance covers claims that someone was injured or their property damaged because of your business.

📋

You give advice or provide a professional service

If a client could claim financial loss from your advice, design, or service, professional indemnity insurance covers negligence and errors claims — often a professional body requirement, not just good practice.

📦

You make, import or sell physical products

Product liability insurance covers claims that a product caused injury or damage — UK law can hold you strictly liable regardless of whether you were negligent.

🏢

You own, rent, or hold stock or equipment

Buildings, contents, stock and equipment cover protects your physical assets against fire, flood, theft and accidental damage — separate from any liability cover, which only responds to third-party claims.

🚗

You or staff drive for work

Commercial motor insurance is needed for vehicles used for business purposes — a personal car policy generally won't respond to a claim if you're using the vehicle for work, including deliveries or site visits.

💻

You hold customer data or trade online

Cyber insurance covers data breaches, ransomware and related costs — increasingly relevant given UK GDPR obligations and the financial impact of even a short outage for online-dependent businesses.

Getting It Right

Common Mistakes When Choosing Cover

Getting the right covers is only half the job — the detail inside each one matters just as much.

Assuming one policy covers everything, when most businesses genuinely need two or three separate covers working together
Buying the minimum limit without checking what your contracts, landlord, or clients actually require
Not realising professional indemnity works on a "claims-made" basis, meaning past work isn't automatically protected once a policy lapses
Forgetting run-off cover when closing a business or changing insurer for professional indemnity
Assuming a personal vehicle policy covers business use, when it typically doesn't
Not checking whether a specific professional body sets its own minimum requirement above what you'd otherwise choose to buy

⚠️ This page is general guidance only. It's a starting point for thinking through what you might need, not a substitute for advice tailored to your specific business, contracts, and regulatory obligations.

Choosing Cover

What to Look for When Comparing Business Cover

A few things worth checking before you buy, whichever UK insurer or broker you compare.

📐

Indemnity limit

Check the limit matches what your contracts, landlord or clients require — common tiers are £1m, £2m, £5m and £10m depending on trade and risk.

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Claims basis

Professional and liability covers are often "claims-made" — cover depends on holding a live policy when a claim is made, not just when the work happened.

🔍

Exclusions

Read what's excluded, not just what's covered. Sub-contractor work, specific activities, or work carried out overseas are common gaps.

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FCA authorisation

Before buying, confirm any insurer or broker is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority — check the register at register.fca.org.uk.

🤝 We're finalising partnerships with FCA-authorised UK insurers so you can compare real quotes here soon. Check back shortly, or get in touch if you'd like to be notified when comparisons go live.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Employers' liability insurance, if you employ anyone — including part-time and casual staff. It's required under the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969, with a statutory minimum of £5 million cover. Almost everything else depends on your specific business activities rather than a blanket legal rule.

It depends on whether clients or the public visit you, or whether you work on their premises. Many home-based service businesses still take out public liability because client contracts require it, even without a legal obligation to hold it.

Many insurers offer combined business policies bundling public liability, professional indemnity, and other covers together, which can be more convenient and sometimes cheaper than buying separately — but always check exactly what's included rather than assuming a "combined" policy covers everything you need.

Start with any legal minimums (employers' liability), then check what your contracts, clients, landlord, or professional body require. Many businesses under-insure by taking the cheapest available limit without checking whether it actually meets what they're contractually obliged to hold.

If you're taking on staff from day one, employers' liability is required immediately. Beyond that, it depends on what you're doing — many new businesses start with public liability and, where relevant, professional indemnity, then add cover as the business grows.

Business insurance is generally about protecting the business against claims from others — it isn't the same as personal protection like income protection or life insurance, which cover you directly if you're unable to work.

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