Frequently Asked Questions

Simply Business collects your information securely and rapidly to provide you with quotes from a panel of well known insurers. These quotes are firm and can be purchased online to give you immediate cover. Your policy documents will also be available online almost immediately for you to print off or view whenever you want.

Xbridge is the overall company name for Simply Business. Xbridge not only offers online insurance, it can also offer lending online and develops software solutions for a number of clients. To find out more visit our web site www.xbridge.com.

By telephone:
Please call the number most appropriate for your needs - or call customer services for general enquiries
New business - 0845 450 9959
Renewals - 0845 071 0270
Claims - Please go to www.Simplybusiness.co.uk "My Account" section. The claims number will be included in your policy documents.
Changes/ cancellation - 0845 071 0270

By e-mail
Please e-mail all queries to customerservices@simplybusiness.co.uk

For your convenience we do not post your policy documents to you. Instead they are available when you go to www.simplybusiness.co.uk and click on the "My Account" section. You will be asked for your e-mail address and password and will then be free to view and print your policy documents whenever it is convenient for you.

You can view your policy documents online by going to www.simplybusiness.co.uk and clicking on "my account". You will then be asked for your username and password. Once you have logged in you will be able to view and print your policy documents.

Our online card payment system is perfectly secure so you will be protected when making any credit card transaction through the site.

We accept direct debit payments for the majority of our policies. There is an interest charge and you will be asked for a 10% deposit that can be paid on your credit or debit card.

You chose your password when you originally registered on the site with your e-mail address. If you can't remember it then go to www.simplybusiness.co.uk and click on "My Account", then select "Forgotten your password?" Your password will be re-sent to your e-mail address.

If you still have problems logging in give us a call on 0845 071 0270.

We provide a free, no obligation, online quote service. Where we cannot quote online we will attempt to introduction you to an appropriate broker. Completing the 'Request For Quote' form will enable you to get a quote online or introduce you to an appropriate provider.

You will receive a welcome email reminding you of your username and password. You will then receive an email advising you of your quote details or giving information on which company will be contacting you, their contact details will be in this email. You should be contacted with a quote within 24 - 48 hours of submitting your form. Should you not hear, please refer to your email with the providers contact details.

Return to www.simplybusiness.co.uk click on the "My Account" section and input your email address and password. Then go to "View quotes".

To obtain or purchase a quote your information will be sent to this provider in order to quote or provide a policy for your business. We do not sell or trade customer information.

Yes, you start your policy immediately or up to 30 days in the future.

If your query is regarding tradesman, landlord, small office, home office or health and benefits insurance please call +44 (0160) 4824 4300.

If you are calling regarding any other service or issue please call +44 (020) 7920 8016.

Out opening times are 8am to 7pm Monday to Friday. We can also be contacted by e-mail at customerservices@simplybusiness.co.uk and someone will e-mail a response the next time the office is open.

During the policy you can alter various details including sums insured. This may lead to an increase or decrease in your premium and you will be refunded or charged as appropriate.

Quotes are valid for 30 days. After this time you will need to re-check your information and then re-generate a quote.

An excess is the amount that you pay towards any claim. For example if you have a £50 excess and make a valid claim for £1000 then the insurer will pay £950 and you will pay £50.

Excesses vary between insurers and may be different for different areas of the policy so ensure that you have read the excess details before you buy.

We provide you with the option for direct debit through a third party, for this service there is an additional cost to cover administration and interest on the money that covers the premium.

The direct debit doesn't require a credit check to set up. It is, however, important that you ensure that you have money in your account to pay each monthly instalment, as if a payment is attempted and fails this may impact your credit.

You have the right to cancel within the 14 day cooling off period. Should you cancel in this period you will be changed for the time on risk (the time you have been covered by the policy), but no cancellation fee will be in place.

Should you cancel outside the 14 day cooling off period you will be charged for time on risk and a cancellation fee will also be charged.

If you purchased your policy from an online then you can renew online from 21 days prior to your renewal date. Just go to Simplybusiness.co.uk and click on the "My Account" section. You will be asked for your e-mail address and password in order to log in. From here follow the on screen instructions to generate a renewal quote and buy online.

If you have any questions please call 0845 071 0270 or e-mail customerservices@simplybusiness.co.uk.

Don't worry if you are unsure of when your renewal date is - we will contact you to arrange your renewal quotes if you don't come online to get a quote.

If you purchased a policy directly from an insurer or a broker and not through Simply Business they will get in contact with you to arrange renewal quotes.

Claims should be made directly with the insurer. You can find the appropriate number to call by going to www.simplybusiness.co.uk and going to "My Account". The claims number will be within your policy documentation.

Should you have any issues please e-mail us at customerservices@simplybusiness.co.uk or call 0845 071 0270.

We understand that your insurance requirements may change. You may alter the number of employees or other areas of your cover during the policy year. Such changes may result in your premium increasing or decreasing. Please go to "My Account" and input the details of the change or call 0845 071 0270.

Loss of rent provides cover if your property cannot be lived in or if access is denied following insured damage. The cover is for loss of rent to you or reasonable alternative accommodation for your tenants. The cover aims to ensure that you do not suffer financial loss as a result of your property being uninhabitable, and makes sure that you fulfil your obligation to house your tenants.

The 20% loss of rent means that the maximum paid out in any one year for this cover will be 20% of the building sum insured. This will be an appropriate level of cover in most cases, however, in areas where rents are extremely high (for example London), a higher percentage of sum insured may be needed to make sure that all rent lost will be covered.

Legal Expenses provides cover for legal costs arising from a variety of incidents in connection with your property and may include property protection, repossession, tenant default, legal defense, contract disputes, debt recovery, tax protection, employment disputes and compensation awards, and bodily injury. Maximum cover is £50,000 in respect of any or all claims arising out of one cause.

Zurich cover is limited to legal expenses for the eviction of squatters, up to a limit of £50,000.

It is important that you read the policy information prior to purchase to ensure you understand the cover available. Please also check the differences in cover offered from insurer to insurer.

You will find the rebuild cost on your last valuation. The rebuild cost is not the value of your property, it is the amount it would cost if your property was demolished and had to be rebuilt from scratch.

No we only do just buildings or, building and contents landlord insurance unfortunately we don't do just contents.

Accidental damage cover is available to include cover for damage done accidentally by you or your tenants.

The distinction is that anything attached to the house is considered buildings and anything that can be taken away without unscrewing it is contents. A fitted kitchen or wardrobe would, therefore, be included in buildings; however a freestanding wardrobe or fridge would be considered contents.

The rebuild value of the property is the amount it would cost to reinstate your property to its current state if the whole building was destroyed NOT the purchase value of the property.

The rebuild value of your property can be calculated in a number of ways:

• The information will be on the survey if you recently purchased the property
• If you have an insurance renewal that index links the building sum insured this will indicate the sum insure
• Go to the building sum insured calculator at http://calculator.bcis.co.uk

Index linking is used to help you ensure that you always have appropriate sums insured on your policy. Inflation is assessed by insurers on an ongoing basis, they use this information in relation to the sums insured to increase them to make sure the cover you have is always appropriate.

For example on a landlord policy your building sum insured may be £100,000. The insurer will assess the marker and may assess the inflationary increase in rebuild costs as being 5%. This means that your rebuild value will be automatically increased by 5% to allow for the inflationary increase.

When you renew you will see that certain highlighted figures have been index linked - so that have been increased in line with inflation of that area.

Some insurer apply a minimum contents sum insured, if you request lower than this you will automatically have the sum insured set at this level.

If is important to read each quote carefully to ensure you are clear what level of contents cover you have and any excess that might apply.

You can have an interested party noted in the policy documents. Simply e-mail us at customerservices@simplybusiness.co.uk with the name and address of the interested party and where you would like any interested party notification sent. We will then note the interested party on the policy and sesend an interested party notification letter to the appropriate person.