What kind of excess should I expect on a policy?

An excess is the amount you pay towards any claim. Lowest typical excesses include £100 for public liability, £60 for tools, and £50 for business equipment. Employers' liability insurance typically has no excess.

Business insurance

Q: Can I get business insurance before registering my business?

Yes, you can buy business insurance before registering your business with Companies House or HMRC, and even before you’ve started trading. You’ll just need to provide details like your business address, your trade type, and your projected turnover.

Q: Does business insurance cover me if I work from home?

Standard home insurance rarely covers business activities. If you run your business from home and have clients visit, hold stock, or employ staff, you’ll likely need commercial property insurance, public liability, and employers' liability cover.

Q: Is my business insurance premium tax-deductible?

Yes, business insurance is usually tax-deductible. HMRC considers commercial insurance to be an "allowable expense", meaning you can deduct the cost of your premium from your taxable profit to reduce your tax bill.

Q: Does public liability insurance cover my business for the actions of my employees?

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.

Join nearly a million customers (including 575,000 SMEs like you) – we offer business insurance cover from £5.76* a month

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claims paid in 24 hours for over 95% of settled claims**

*10% of customers pay the equivalent of £5.76 a month

What is business insurance?

Business insurance is a type of commercial cover designed to help financially protect your business against compensation claims and other daily risks. Simply Business is a broker that helps you compare quotes from leading insurers, so you can find a tailored online quote in 7 minutes.

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Why choose Simply Business?

We help business owners to choose the right cover by allowing them to compare quotes from leading insurers in one place.

£57 million in claims paid out in 2025**
instant documents: get covered and all your documents the same day
highly rated: rated 4.5/5 on Feefo based on 40k reviews

**The figure above is rounded across our range of products. Our specialist partner Sedgwick will pay the claims on behalf of the insure.

What does small business insurance cover?

Our business insurance policies can be built from a range of different covers to suit your individual needs. Below are just some of the covers you could choose (but we have a range of others available too). More information will be provided after you request a quote.

Most business insurance policies will include one or a combination of the following core covers:

Public liability insurance

What it covers: it helps protect your business if a member of the public is injured or their property is damaged as a result of your business activities.

Who may need it: any business that interacts with the public, clients, or customers.

Examples of a claim:

your coffee shop is held responsible for damage to a neighbouring shop’s front window.
the business building you own receives a third party injury claim, after a member of the public trips and falls over their tool kit, breaking their knee.

Is it a legal requirement? No, but it’s often required by client contracts.

Employers’ liability insurance

What it covers: it covers a range of compensation claims from employees who’ve been injured or become seriously ill as a result of working for you.

Who may need it: any business that employs staff, including casual workers or temporary staff.

Example of a claim: an apprentice training with you slips on a wet floor while cleaning, injuring their lower back.

Is it a legal requirement? In most cases, if you employ people, you’re required by law to have employers’ liability insurance. Without it, you could be fined up to £2,500 a day. You may not need it if you only employ family members or people based outside of England, Scotland, and Wales.

Professional indemnity insurance

What it covers: it covers legal fees and compensation if your business gives faulty advice that causes financial loss to a client.

Who may need it: businesses that provide professional advice, design, or services to clients.

Example of a claim:

you issue certification to a client which contains an error, and your client suffers a financial loss.
you provide investment advice to your client and they hold you responsible for a subsequent financial loss.

Is it a legal requirement? No, but regulatory bodies for certain professions (like accountants or architects) require it.

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 is business insurance?

The cost of your business insurance depends on the nature of your work, the type of insurance you need, and your cover levels. Business insurers calculate how likely you are to make a claim and how much a claim could cost, meaning businesses that face higher levels of risk will usually pay higher premiums.

Business insurance quotes from £5.76 per month

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*The price is for up to £2 million of public liability insurance – 10% of customers paid £69.10 or less annually between 1st Oct 2025 – 31st March 2026. Equivalent to £5.76 a month (and excludes the extra costs for paying monthly). 84% of customers have a £1 million limit and 16% £2 million. If you complete a quote, more types of cover will be available. These all have additional costs.

Real business insurance quote examples

Mobile hairdresser (Nottingham)

cost: £11.82 /month (£103.24 /year)
business profile: 1-2 years’ experience, sole trader, with no employees, who works in clients’ homes and rents a chair in a local salon.
included cover: public liability (£1,000,000 limit)

Small building company (Glasgow)

cost: £123.92 /month (£1,239.23 /year)
business profile: 5+ years’ experience, limited company, with 2 employees who specialises in repairs to residential and commercial properties.
included cover: public liability (£2,000,000), employers’ liability (£10,000,000), contract works (£50,000)

How we work out example quotes: These examples are real quotes from our online system (created 09/03/2026). 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.

Who needs business insurance?

Business insurance can be important for all types of businesses, whether you employ staff, interact with the public, or provide professional services. We offer insurance quotes for over 1,500 trades, including:

If you have multiple trades, you may be able to get a business insurance policy that covers all of your operations under one single plan. If you have a complex business, it’s usually worth speaking to an insurance expert to help you get the right cover.

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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 the insurance claims process works

If the unexpected happens, having business insurance can help save your company thousands of pounds.

£57 million in claims paid out in 2025

The figure above is rounded across our range of products. Our specialist partner Sedgwick will pay the claims on behalf of the insurer. Reviewed on 13/03/2026.

To make a claim, these are the key steps in the process:

Contact the claims team: report what’s happened as soon as you can, either online or by phone.
Fill in the gaps: a dedicated claims handler will work closely with you to understand the details of your claim.
Claim is reviewed: your claim will be reviewed, and you can track its progress through an online claims portal.
Decision: with all the details provided, your claim will be reviewed and a decision and any options will be given.

A UK-based claims helpline is available 24/7 from specialist claims partner, Sedgwick. These steps are an overview of the main stages of the claims process and do not reflect all the details of the claims process. Find out more about the claims process.

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Business insurance FAQs

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 business insurance for SMEs. You can also check out our business insurance FAQs.

Is business insurance a legal requirement?

While general business insurance isn’t a legal requirement, employers’ liability insurance is mandatory under UK law for most businesses if you have staff (you don’t need it if you only employ family members or people based outside of England, Scotland, and Wales). Regulatory bodies for certain professions or client contracts may also require you to have specific covers, like public liability or professional indemnity, in order to operate.

Can I get business insurance before registering my business?

What kind of excess should I expect on a policy?

Does business insurance cover me if I work from home?

Is my business insurance premium tax-deductible?

Does public liability insurance cover my business for the actions of my employees?

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