Simply Business homepage
  • Business insurance

    • Business Insurance FAQs

    Business insurance covers

  • Support
  • Claims
  • Sign In
Call Us0333 0146 683
Our opening hours

Optician insurance

Join over 900,000 UK customers with cover from £3.19 per month*

Get tailored quotes in 7 minutes

Start your quote
  • UK-based expert support, online and on the phone
  • Get covered and all your documents the same day
  • Compare insurance for opticians from trusted brands

opticians.jpeg

Compare quotes from leading brands

  • Hiscox insurance
  • Axa insurance
  • Zurich insurance
  • AIG insurance
  • Churchill insurance
  • RSA insurance
Liked icon

Rated 4.7/5

Based on 39,755 reviews

Precise icon

Claims paid in 24 hours

For 80% of settled claims

What's on this page

  • Why is insurance important?
  • What does it cover?
  • How much does it cost?
  • How do I choose insurance?
  • How do claims work?
  • FAQs
  • Helpful articles

Why is opticians insurance important?

From using valuable optometry equipment to running a busy shop floor, opticians face a varied set of risks. Our cover helps to protect the unique needs of your business, letting you focus on your customers, rather than the what-ifs. When building your optician insurance policy, you can add cover for employee claims, stock, public liability, legal expenses, accidents, and more.

  • public liability insurance, from £1 million to £10 million
  • rated 4.7/5 based on 39K+ public and product liability customer reviews
  • stock, public liability, and employee cover – you choose what you need

Start your quote

Insurance for opticians – what’s covered?

A quote for optician insurance is often built around public liability insurance, to protect you against injury or damage claims. It’s likely that you’ll have specialist equipment such as retinal cameras and phropters, so it’s important these are covered.

Public liability for opticians insurance

In case your optician's practice causes an injury or property damage.

What’s typically covered by public liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:

  • damage to someone’s property
  • injury or illness caused by your opticians business
  • accidental damage or injury caused by your employees, if you have any

For example:

  • your client accidentally traps their finger in their chair during an appointment, causing a fracture
  • a client slips on your practice floor after you spill some water, falling and causing a lower back injury

**If you do employ anyone, you’re usually required by law to have employers’ liability insurance too.**

Read more about public liability insurance

Employers’ liability insurance

In case anyone gets ill or injured while working for your optician business.

What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:

  • an injury or illness that happens as a result of working for you (including temps and casual workers)

**Employers’ liability insurance is required by law if you have people working for you. Without it, you could be fined up to £2,500 a day for each employee.**

For example:

  • an employee suffers a head injury while reaching for a piece of equipment from a shelf
  • one of your employees trips over a vacuum cleaner cable on your premises floor, breaking her arm

Building insurance

In case something happens to your premises.

What’s typically covered by building insurance?

  • the cost of repairing damage to the structure of your building (or rebuilding it from scratch)
  • damage to fixtures and fittings
  • damage to underground pipes and cables you’re responsible for

For example:

  • a tree falls through one of your external walls, causing structural damage
  • your shop windows are smashed during a break-in, and need to be replaced

What you’ll need additional cover for

  • tenants’ improvements – changes to the property’s structure which you’ve organised and paid for yourself, like partition walls or wooden flooring

Read more about buildings insurance

Business and office equipment insurance

In case something happens to equipment like your laptop or phone.

What’s typically covered by business and office equipment insurance?

  • theft of the operational equipment you use to run your business, rather than tools of the trade
  • accidental loss of your equipment
  • flood, fire, or accidental damage

For example:

  • you lock your office up for the night and your employee calls to say a leak from the shop next door has damaged your equipment
  • you drop your phone onto the tarmac while unloading your car, cracking the screen and damaging the microphone

Read more about business and office equipment insurance

Stock insurance

In case something happens to your products.

What’s typically covered by stock insurance?

  • loss, damage, or theft of things like designer glasses, contact lenses, and other products you sell to customers

For example:

  • a fire destroys your stock, and you need to replace everything
  • someone breaks into your opticians and steals a large amount of product

Read more about stock insurance

Legal expenses insurance

In case you’re hit with legal expenses connected to your opticians.

  • legal costs attributed to your opticians
  • property damage, nuisance, or trespass – specifically, the associated legal claims and compensation payouts
  • tax and compliance disputes and investigations you need help with
  • includes a tax advice helpline, a 24/7 confidential legal helpline, and crisis PR support to help you protect your reputation

For example:

  • you haven’t been registered correctly with HMRC, and need to pay associated legal costs
  • an employee’s wrongful termination lawsuit results in legal costs for your opticians

Read more about legal expenses insurance

This content has been created for general information purposes. Make sure you have the right level of business insurance by checking your policy documentation for details. Read our full Terms and Conditions

How much does opticians business insurance cost?

Find out how much you’ll pay by comparing prices from a range of trusted insurers. You choose what goes into your policy, so you only pay for what you need.

Prices start from £3.19 per month

Get your quotes in 7 minutes – prices are guaranteed for 30 days.

Get your tailored quotes in 7 minutes

Start your quote

10% of our customers paid up to £38.32 a year for a public liability insurance policy between 1st April 2023 - 30th June 2023. Equivalent to £3.19 per month based on a monthly cost when paying for the policy in one annual payment. Paying monthly is usually more expensive as you'll pay interest. Most customers pay more than this but some pay less.

Example optician insurance quotes, real prices

axa insurance

£51.49 /month

£457.65 /year

A small family run opticians located in a small retail space

  • 1-2 years' experience
  • Limited company
  • 1 employee
  • Based in Leeds
  • Public liability

    £2,000,000

  • Employers’ liability

    £10,000,000

  • Contents

    £5,000

  • Stock

    £5,000

zurich insurance

£68.84 /month

£611.90 /year

A large opticians located on a busy high street

  • 5+ years' experience
  • Limited company
  • 2 employees -
  • Aberdeen
  • Public liability

    £2,000,000

  • Employers’ liability

    £10,000,000

  • Contents

    £15,000

  • Stock

    £30,000

How we work out example quotes These examples are real quotes from our online system (created 16/08/2021). They’re based on a range of factors, like employees and location. Your own quote will be based on what you tell us about your business. Prices may go up or down from day to day, so the prices you’re quoted may differ to the ones you see here.

What kind of excess should I expect?

An excess is an amount you pay towards any claim you make on your insurance. For example, if your excess is £250 and you make a claim worth £1000, your payout will be a maximum of £750.

Insurance cover

Lowest excess

Highest excess

Public liability

£100

£2500

Employers' liability

No excess

No excess

Stock

£100

£500

Business and office equipment

£50

£750

The figures above are for guidance only and any excess applying to your quote may differ. You’ll get a breakdown of the excesses for each quote when you compare with us.

How it works

  • Pick what goes into your policy

    Only pay for what you need

  • Get prices from a range of insurers

    Choose the best fit for you

  • Buy online in minutes

    Get your documents the same day

Start your quote

Simply Business

Direct to
insurer

Highstreet
broker

Compare policies from a range of trusted insurers

Buy online or over the phone in minutes

How do I choose insurance?

Making sure you have the right type and level of business insurance can be the difference between getting a claim paid and having to cover the cost of an expensive accident yourself. Read our tips for guidance on what to consider when buying a policy.

Which type of workers do I need insurance for?

Employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement if you employ people.

If you have people working for you, including bona fide subcontractors (BFSC), labour-only subcontractors (LOSC), part-timers, or full-time staff, employers’ liability insurance is required by law.

Read on for our simplified guide to the difference between labour-only subcontractors and bona fide subcontractors.

Does opticians insurance cover my work correctly?

Make sure you're picking the right cover to protect you properly. It’s important to know that if you have another trade or job, you'll need additional cover. For example, do you need to consider bookkeeping insurance or recruitment consultant insurance?

Do I need cover for other types of work?

If you provide other services, make sure you’re covered

Other types of insurance

Which public liability cover limit should I choose?

Think about the maximum possible loss your business could face in the event of a claim, and make sure you take legal fees and damages into consideration. You can choose from three levels of coverage – £1 million, £2 million, or up to £5 million.

Talk to an expert

Our team of UK-based insurance experts are here to help, Mon 09.00am - 05.30pm, Tues 09.00am - 05.30pm, Weds 09.00am - 05.30pm, Thurs 09.30am - 05.30pm, Fri 09.00am - 05.30pm, Sat 09.00am - 02.00pm

Call our team

0333 043 8527

Online

Contact us on our website whenever suits you

Phone

Call our insurance experts during office hours (calls are charged at a local rate)

FAQs

Find answers to common insurance questions

How do claims work?

Unlike price comparison websites, we take the hassle out of claims for you. We know how important it is to get your business back on track quickly – and with a minimum of fuss. That’s why you get access to your dedicated claims any time, day or night. Call them on 0333 207 0560 or claim online. They’ll do their best to be fair and supportive.

The figure above is rounded across our range of products. Our claims process may vary for different products and operates on a ‘claim by claim’ basis.

£39 million in claims paid out in 2022

Paying 80% of settled claims within 24 hours in 2022

Example claim

Having opticians insurance through Simply Business has saved practitioners thousands of pounds when the unexpected happened.

Jenny saved more than £7,000

When reorganising the layout of her opticians, some of Jenny’s (not her real name) expensive stock and equipment got damaged. The stock, building, contents, and business equipment cover added to her opticians insurance policy helped to cover Jenny’s repair and replacement costs.

  • Insurance payout

    £7,210.00

    Covering the cost of accidental damage

  • Jenny's costs

    £100

    The excess amount stated in Jenny's policy terms

Chosen by 900,000 small businesses and landlords

We started out as a team of five back in 2005. We’ve grown since then with 900,000 customers across 1,500 trades now trusting us to provide their business insurance.

  • Compare and buy in minutes

    Documents arrive today

  • Rated 4.7/5

    Based on 39,755 reviews

  • Here to help

    Help from UK-based experts

  • 24/7 claims

    Make a claim any time

Opticians insurance FAQ

Whether you’re new to buying business insurance or you’ve been trading for a while, here are the answers to some commonly asked questions about opticians’ insurance. You can also check out our business insurance FAQs.

  • If you run an optician, having the right insurance in place is vital to protect yourself against risks such as accidental damage, theft, or employee claims. If you employ staff, you’re usually required by law to have employers’ liability insurance. Meanwhile, having the right level of cover for things like stock, business equipment, and contents can make sure your specialist equipment such as retinoscopes and expensive products are protected. This can allow you to focus on running your business, instead of worrying about how you’d cope if the worst happens.

  • If you change your business legal structure from sole trader to limited company mid-way through your policy, give us a call straight away on 0333 043 8527. It’ll only take us a few minutes to cancel your existing policy and replace it with one that correctly covers your new legal structure. It’s worth bearing in mind that your insurer and premium amount may need to change.

  • This will depend on whether you have employers’ liability insurance in place. Public liability insurance is designed to protect your business against the consequences of legal action brought by members of the public for injuries or damage to their belongings. But when it comes to your employees causing injury or damage, this protection only activates if you also have employers’ liability insurance.

    If you employ people, you’re required by law to have employers’ liability insurance.

    There’s one exception here. Family businesses that aren’t incorporated as a limited company are not legally required to have employers’ liability insurance. The government defines a “family business” as one where all your employees are closely related to you (as a spouse, civil partner, sibling, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, step-parent, stepchild or half-sibling). So if you run an unincorporated family business and you choose not to get employers’ liability insurance, it’s important to know that your public liability insurance wouldn’t cover you against damage or injury caused by your team.

We create this content for general information purposes and it should not be taken as advice. Always check policy documentation for details and seek professional advice. Read our full Terms and Conditions

Helpful articles for opticians

Man sat at a laptop calculating his business turnover

12 May 2021 • 2-minute read

What is turnover in business and how do you work it out?

Keep up to date with Simply Business. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter and follow us on social media.

Subscribe to our newsletter
Optician insurance

Insurance

Public liability insuranceBusiness insuranceProfessional indemnity insuranceEmployers’ liability insuranceLandlord insuranceTradesman insuranceSelf-employed insuranceRestaurant insuranceVan insuranceInsurers

About

About usOur teamAwardsPress releasesPartners & affiliatesOur charitable workModern Slavery ActSection 172 statementSocial mediaSite map

Customer support

Contact & supportPolicy renewalMake a claimProof of policyComplaintsAccessibility

Address

6th Floor99 Gresham StreetLondonEC2V 7NG

Northampton 900900 Pavilion DriveNorthamptonNN4 7RG

Careers

Careers at Simply BusinessTech careersCurrent opportunities

Benefits

BenefitsRefer a friendFinance

Legal

Terms & conditionsPrivacy policyCookie policyVuln Disclosure policy

Knowledge

Knowledge centreOpinionsMicrosites

© Copyright 2024 Simply Business. All Rights Reserved. Simply Business is a trading name of Xbridge Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Financial Services Registration No: 313348). Xbridge Limited (No: 3967717) has its registered office at 6th Floor, 99 Gresham Street, London, EC2V 7NG.