Stock insurance
Join over 900k UK customers like you – we offer public liability cover from £4.74*
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- Get covered and all your documents the same day
- Get tailored quotes in less than 7 minutes
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Rated 4.8/5
Based on 39,800 reviews
Claims paid in 24 hours
For 80% of settled claims
Business stock insurance – why is it important?
When setting up insurance, stock is a key consideration for thousands of UK businesses. It can help cover loss or damage to the essential items you need to trade – if it’s not in place and you lose your stock in a fire, for example, or a break-in, business as usual can be impossible. Our expert stock insurance is designed to cover these risks, plus other crises like flood and malicious damage.
- 24/7 UK-based claims support from an expert team
- rated 4.7/5 based on 39K+ public liability customer reviews
- cover for break-ins, flood and fire for peace of mind while you work
What’s covered by a stock insurance policy?
Stock insurance can cover the cost of replacing the stock you use to run your business, if it’s destroyed, lost, or damaged. It makes the difference between staying open and business closures for thousands of traders every year, helping manage crises like fire, theft, flooding, and malicious damage. From food and drink products to branded materials and sellable items, if you need it to do business, stock may be worth covering.
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Theft
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Fire
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Flood
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Malicious damage
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 stock 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 £4.74 per month
Get your quotes in 7 minutes – prices are guaranteed for 30 days.
Get your tailored quotes in 7 minutes
The price is for up to £2 million of public liability insurance – 10% of customers paid £56.82 or less annually between 1st Jan – 31st May 2024. Equivalent to £4.74 a month (and excludes the extra costs for paying monthly). 76% of customers have a £1 million limit and 24% £2 million. If you complete a quote, more types of cover will be available. These all have additional costs.
Example stock insurance quotes, real prices
£20.13 /month
£178.92 /year
A small clothes shop run by owner and located in a small retail space
- 2-3 years’ experience
- Sole trader
- No employees
- Based in Luton
Public liability
£2,000,000
Contents & business equipment
£5,000
Stock
£5,000
£84.85 /month
£754.22 /year
A large off licence located on a busy high street and have an ATM
- 5+ years’ experience
- Limited company
- 2 employees
- Based in Aberdeen
Public liability
£5,000,000
Contents & business equipment
£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 property. 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 |
Tools | £60 | £500 |
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.
Looking for something else?
Depending on your set-up, clients and business type, these expert covers might be helpful too:
- Business insurance
- Public liability insurance
- Professional indemnity insurance
- Employers liability insurance
- Business buildings insurance
- Business contents insurance
- Business equipment insurance
- Business interruption insurance
- Business legal protection insurance
- Contract works insurance
- Limited company insurance
- Office premises insurance
- Personal liability insurance
- Product liability insurance
- Professional liability insurance
When you run a quote you can select from a range of covers.
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
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Get your documents the same day
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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
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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.
£51 million in claims paid out in 2023
83% of claims were settled in 2023.
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 24/04/2024.
Example claim
Having a stock insurance policy with Simply Business has saved small business owners thousands of pounds when the unexpected happened.
Nicole saved more than £8,000
Nicole (not her real name) called our claims team to report a malicious damage incident in her shop, after a man came into the premises and intentionally destroyed a large amount of display stock. The optional stock insurance added to Nicole’s business policy helped cover her replacement costs.
Insurance payout
£8,000.50
Covering the cost of malicious damage
Insurance payout
Covering the cost of malicious damage
Covering the cost of malicious damage
Stock 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 our stock insurance quotes and set-up.
You can also check out our business insurance FAQs.
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 instalments.
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 0146 683. 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
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