Business legal protection insurance

Legal cover for your business

However carefully you run your business, there’s still a chance you’ll need legal help at some point. You can face steep legal costs even if the claim against you is unfounded.

Simply Business legal protection insurance, provided by ARAG, covers business legal expenses or prosecution fees for situations like employment tribunals, HMRC tax investigations, or civil actions brought under the Data Protection Act.

Thousands of employment tribunals take place each year, and the average cost for an employer to defend themselves is £8,500. Tax investigations can also hit businesses hard, lasting 18 months on average with fees of around £3,000.

Just start your quote below and choose legal expenses cover as part of your business insurance package. You’ll be covered up to £100,000 per claim, up to a total of £1 million per year.

Cover from £6.78 a month, get insured in minutes. (10% of direct debit customers repay their annual policy in 10 monthly payments of £6.78 or less across all our trades insured. Based on data from 1 January - 30 June 2019, for comparison only. Cancellation charges may apply, please refer to our full terms & conditions.)

What is business legal protection insurance?

Business legal protection insurance (LPI) - also known as business legal expenses insurance (LEI) or simply legal insurance - covers your commercial legal expenses and provides protection against the potential costs of legal action brought by or against your business.

You can add business legal protection to your business insurance. Create a tailored policy by adding it to core covers like professional indemnity and public liability insurance.

Business protection insurance can cover a range of commercial legal expenses resulting from your day-to-day business activities. This includes disputes with your past, present or prospective employees, and the cost of legal claims relating to property damage, nuisance or trespass.

It also includes a tax advice helpline, a 24/7 confidential legal helpline, and crisis PR support to help you deal with negative publicity and avoid damage to your brand’s reputation.

A quick claim example

One of your employees is injured at work. The HSE (Health and Safety Executive) charge you with breaching health and safety regulations. You notify us, and we instruct a specialist solicitor who successfully defends the charges and finds that the employee was actually at fault.

What is covered?

The solicitor’s fees of over £2,000.

What isn’t covered?

For any claim exceeding £100,000, you're only covered for the first £100,000 of any claim. Similarly, if total claims exceed £1 million, you're only covered for that £1 million.

Why Simply Business?

• We're the UK’s biggest business insurance provider
• 9/10 ratings say we’re good (or excellent)
• 500,000 customers (and counting)
• Claims handled by an award-winning team
• Quote comparisons available from multiple insurers
• We run things from an expert, UK-based contact centre

Business legal protection cover details

It’s very important to make sure you understand what you need from your insurance. Use the check points below to get you thinking.

• If you employ people, even in your own home, you’re legally obliged to take out employers’ liability insurance. Not doing this could lead to a heavy fine
• Make sure you read and understand any exclusions to your policy. Simply Business offers you the chance to read the policy documents in full before you buy
• Remember that conventional home insurance policies will not cover a buy-to-let property

You should state the rebuild cost of your property, not its market value, when buying buildings insurance.