Commercial insurance

Get tailored quotes in 7 minutes

  • UK-based expert support, online and on the phone
  • Get covered and all your documents the same day
  • Compare tailored commercial insurance quotes from trusted brands
Commercial insurer talking to a client in an office

Commercial insurance – why is it important?

Commercial insurance protects businesses against losses that happen as a result of normal business activities – particularly when a compensation claim is made. There are different types of cover for different types of risk, from legal liability, to property damage, to employee-related issues.

Our commercial insurance is specially designed for small businesses and all their unique needs. We’re here to help you make sense of the different types of cover and find the right policy for you, leaving you free to focus on making a success of your business.

From injuries to legal costs, if you were hit with a claim, would you have the funds to handle it? Business insurance is there to protect you against unexpected costs.

  • compare cover from expert UK brands and protect your business
  • rated 4.7/5 based on 39K+ public liability customer reviews
  • trusted by over 900,000 small UK businesses for flexible, tailored cover


What does commercial insurance cover?

You can build your policy from a range of different covers to suit your individual needs. It’s up to you to decide what cover works best for your line of work. Most businesses usually start with public liability insurance when building a policy. It protects your business against injury, illness, and property damage claims from members of the public. Beyond that, you can tailor your policy to cover the different risks your business faces.

Simply Business also offers professional indemnity, employers’ liability, commercial combined insurance and a range of other types of commercial insurances.


How much does commercial insurance cost?

This depends on different factors like the type of work you do, what kind of insurance you need, and the level of cover you need. The riskier insurers think your business is, the more you’re likely to pay for your policy. 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 £4.74 per month

Get your tailored quotes in 7 minutes

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

No excess

£750

Employers’ liability

No excess

No excess

Contents

£200

£4,000

Stock

£200

£4,000

Main building

£200

£400


How it works

Pick what goes into your policy

Get prices from a range of insurers

Buy online in minutes

Direct to
insurer

Highstreet
broker


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 insurance claims work for commercial businesses?

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 team any time, day or night. Call them on 0333 207 0560 or claim online. They’ll do their best to be fair and supportive.

£51 million in claims paid out in 2023

Chosen by nearly 1 million small businesses and landlords

Commercial 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 insurance for off licences. You can also check out our business insurance FAQs.

While it isn’t illegal to have no commercial insurance in place, some regulators may require you to have it before you can operate. The only type of commercial insurance that’s compulsory by law is employers’ liability insurance. If you have staff, it’s likely that you’ll need this cover.

Most businesses with employees need to have at least £5 million of employers’ liability insurance. Other covers depend on the type of work your business does, and whether clients, contracts or regulatory bodies need you to have a certain level of cover. You can think about it in terms of how much you might need to pay out in claims if something goes wrong. Simply Business offers £10 million of employers’ liability insurance.

Yes, you can buy commercial insurance before registering your business, and even before you’ve started trading. Keep in mind that when buying an insurance policy, insurers will ask for details like your business address, the type of work you do, and your actual or expected turnover.

You can buy commercial insurance before you start trading, but some types of business will need a trade licence to operate. If you need a licence and begin trading without it, your insurance may be invalid. Trade licences are usually issued by the relevant licensing authority or by the local authority.

Yes. You may start offering additional services that require you to use different skills or carry out different tasks. If you find yourself in this situation, it’s important to give us a call on 0333 0146 683 to update your policy before you take on this new work.

If you don’t have the correct type of cover in place for the work you do, you may be unable to claim on your policy if something goes wrong.

Each insurer looks at CCJs and IVAs differently – some apply stricter rules than others, but having a CCJ or IVA doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t be able to buy insurance.

You can choose the payment type that suits your business and cash flow best. Some customers prefer to pay in one go, while others prefer to pay a regular monthly amount, like you do with lots of other bills. Simply Business offer three ways to pay for your policy:

  • one-off credit or debit card payment
  • BACS payment
  • Direct Debit

If you choose to pay by Direct Debit, our credit provider, Premium Credit, pays Simply Business the full amount for your policy up front. You then repay Premium Credit in 10 monthly installments.

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.


Helpful articles for commercial businesses