Business contents insurance

Q: What is covered under commercial contents insurance?

When you work in a busy business premises, whether it’s an office, shop, or studio, there’s always a risk that something could get damaged or stolen. Business content insurance helps to cover replacement and repair costs for any furniture or equipment that your business premises relies on to operate.

Q: What are business contents?

Any specific contents that you rely on to run your business premises, including furniture like desks, freestanding items like filing cabinets, and office equipment like a scanner. Make sure to check exactly what’s covered with your insurer.

Q: u003cstrongu003eDoes business contents insurance cover stock and equipment in storage?u003c/strongu003e

It’s unlikely that your business insurance will cover stock stored away from your business premises or home. If you use a storage facility then please get in touch with our expert team to discuss adding this to your policy.

Q: u003cstrongu003eIs business contents insurance tax deductible?u003c/strongu003e

Insurance, including business contents insurance, is classed as an ‘allowable expense’. This means you can deduct the cost from your turnover when working out how much tax you owe as part of your Self Assessment. Our guide to tax deductible expenses explains more.

Q: u003cstrongu003eu003cstrongu003eIs business contents insurance a legal requirement?u003c/strongu003eu003c/strongu003e

Business contents insurance isn’t a legal requirement but many businesses consider it a worthwhile investment. If you think about how much it might cost to replace your business equipment and tools should anything get damaged or stolen, insurance can give you peace of mind that you could get back to work quickly and not be out of pocket.

Q: u003cstrongu003eu003cstrongu003eu003cstrongu003eDoes business contents insurance cover items outside my premises?u003c/strongu003eu003c/strongu003eu003c/strongu003e

Most of our contents insurance policies will only cover items while they’re in your business premises. If you operate in different locations or are on the road with your work laptop, for example, then you might need additional insurance. Please get in touch if you need to add portable items to your policy.

Q: u003cstrongu003eu003cstrongu003eu003cstrongu003eu003cstrongu003eCan I get business contents insurance on its own?u003c/strongu003eu003c/strongu003eu003c/strongu003eu003c/strongu003e

Business contents insurance is an optional cover you can add to our standard business insurance. It can’t be taken out as a standalone policy, but instead added to your public liability or professional indemnity policy.

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10% of customers pay the equivalent of £4.95 a month*

Why is business contents insurance important?

From furniture to appliances, most business premises rely on specific contents to operate. If there’s a risk that something will get damaged or stolen, business content insurance provides peace of mind. It’s designed to help cover replacement and repair costs, as an expert add-on to your business insurance policy – start a quote now and tell us about your business.

business contents insurance for commercial premises – covering break-ins, fire, and flood
rated 4.8/5 based on 39.9K public liability customer reviews
trusted by nearly a million customers small UK businesses for flexible, tailored cover

What does business content insurance cover?

Business contents insurance is designed to cover repair and replacement costs for office furniture including chairs and desks, as well as business equipment such as telephones.

Keep in mind, all insurers treat this cover differently. Check your policy wording carefully before you buy to make sure you’re clear on exactly what counts as business contents.

Theft
Vandalism
Flood
Fire

Theft

What does this cover?
- theft of items like your office furniture or business equipment like a photocopier
- cover for your contents, up to the insurance level you’ve selected
When would I need to make a claim?
- for example, someone breaks into your business premises and steals the office printer
Vandalism

What does this cover?
- damage and destruction caused by vandalism
- cover for your contents, up to the insurance level you’ve selected
When would I need to make a claim?
- for example, someone forces entry to your business premises and graffitis your office furniture
Flood

What does this cover?
- damage and destruction caused by flooding
- cover for your contents, up to the insurance level you’ve selected
When would I need to make a claim?
- for example, a leaking pipe floods the ground floor of your business premises, and you need to replace your damaged contents
Fire

What does this cover?
- damage and destruction caused by fire
- cover for your contents, up to the insurance level you’ve selected
When would I need to make a claim?
- for example, a fire caused by faulty electrics destroys your office furniture and other contents such as business equipment

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 business contents insurance cost?

Things like the size of your business and the type of equipment you want to insure can affect the cost of business contents insurance. For example, if you have a suite of expensive iMacs and camera equipment in your studio then your contents insurance is likely to cost more than for an office where staff bring their own laptops.

It’s important to work out the value of your contents carefully so you have the right level of cover – this is the ‘sum insured’ and is based on how much it would cost you to replace the items listed on your cover.

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

Prices start from £4.95 per month

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The price is for up to £2 million of public liability insurance – 10% of customers paid £59.34 or less annually between 1st Feb – 30th April 2025. Equivalent to £4.95 a month (and excludes the extra costs for paying monthly). 82% of customers have a £1 million limit and 18% £2 million. If you complete a quote, more types of cover will be available. These all have additional costs.

Example business contents insurance quotes, real prices

£24.02 /month

£240.24 /year

A self-employed caterer specialising in small events such as weddings and parties (exc. mobile van)

Less than 1 years’ experience
Sole trader
No employees
Based in Leeds

Public liability

£1,000,000

Employers’ liability

Not included

Contents & business equipment

£5,000

£157.83 /month

£1,578.35 /year

A family run beauty salon based in a shopping centre and provide treatments away from the business premises

5+ years’ experience
Limited company
3 employees
Based in Watford

Public liability

£2,000,000

Employers’ liability

£10,000,000

Contents & business equipment

£15,000

How we work out example quotes: These examples are real quotes from our online system (created 01/10/2024). 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.

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

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Contact us on our website whenever suits you

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

FAQs

Find answers to common insurance questions

How do business contents insurance 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.

£68 million in claims paid out in 2024

76% of claims were settled in 2024.

The figure above is rounded across our range of products. “Settled” covers paid, declined or withdrawn. Our claims process may vary for different products and operates on a ‘claim by claim’ basis. Our specialist partner Sedgwick will pay the claims on behalf of the insurer. Reviewed on 26/02/2025.

Example claim

Having business contents insurance through Simply Business has saved small business owners thousands of pounds when the unexpected happened.

Annie saved more than £37,900

Annie (not her real name) called our claims team to report a flood from the flat above her business premises, due to a blocked pipe. The escape of water caused extensive damage to her carpet and fridge/freezer, as well as the electrics. The optional commercial content insurance added to Annie’s business policy helped cover her repair and replacement costs.

Insurance payout

£37,911.96

Covering the cost of escape of water

Insurance payout

Covering the cost of escape of water

How we work out example quotes These examples are real quotes from our online system (created 03/03/2023). 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.

Business contents insurance FAQ

Whether you’re new to buying insurance or you’ve been operating your business for a while, here are the answers to some commonly asked questions about commercial contents insurance.

You can also check out our business insurance FAQs.

What is covered under commercial contents insurance?

What are business contents?

Is content insurance worth having?

Business premises contents insurance is a cover specifically designed for commercial property – it’s different to your own home contents insurance. Replacing or repairing essential business items can take significant time and money – resources you’d prefer to allocate elsewhere in your budget. From fire and flood to theft and vandalism, business contents insurance can set your mind at rest, knowing the support is there in a crisis.

u003cstrongu003eDo I need business contents insurance if I work from home?u003c/strongu003e

If you have home contents insurance then you’ll probably just need to let your provider know about any additional equipment you use to run your business. It’s important to let your insurer know that you’re running your business from home so you can be sure you’re covered.

If your business premises is officially your home – for example you’re a massage therapist or run an online shop – then you may want to look into specific business contents cover if your existing home contents cover doesn’t extend to this.

u003cstrongu003eDoes business contents insurance cover stock and equipment in storage?u003c/strongu003e

u003cstrongu003eIs business contents insurance tax deductible?u003c/strongu003e

u003cstrongu003eu003cstrongu003eIs business contents insurance a legal requirement?u003c/strongu003eu003c/strongu003e

u003cstrongu003eu003cstrongu003eu003cstrongu003eDoes business contents insurance cover items outside my premises?u003c/strongu003eu003c/strongu003eu003c/strongu003e

u003cstrongu003eu003cstrongu003eu003cstrongu003eu003cstrongu003eCan I get business contents insurance on its own?u003c/strongu003eu003c/strongu003eu003c/strongu003eu003c/strongu003e

Looking for something else?

Depending on your set-up, clients and business type, these expert covers might be helpful too:

When you run a quote you can select from a range of covers.

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