Your insurance needs will vary hugely depending on your business but there are a few basics.
This is essential. You need to be protected if a client or member of your team trips over the front door step or takes a tumble down the stairs.
Office contents insurance is another essential. This will cover your business for all equipment within the building and provide some protection if you are out on the road with samples, laptop computers etc.
Make sure there is adequate protection - new for old could be a good idea for computer equipment. Computers tend to devalue quickly but you would probably want to spend about the same again as the original outlay to ensure you have bought the latest technology.
If you do travel a lot, make sure that the contents are insured for wherever you go. This could include overseas trips as well as trips around the UK. If you have staff who might take equipment home to finish work off, for example, make sure it will be protected for out of office use.
Make sure you are fairly generous with your limits - a few old desks and filing cabinets may not appear to be worth much. But if you had to replace them in a hurry, the cost would be hard for many businesses to handle.
Whether or not you need to cover the actual office will depend firstly on whether or not you own the building - if it is yours then it will have to be insured.
If you lease the premises, check with your landlord. Nine times out of ten, insurance will be bought by the landlord and the cost passed on within your rent.
Either way any insurance for the building must be adequate to cover the cost of rebuilding it to an equivalent standard and remember the cost of rebuilding does climb. A regular check on the value of the building is always a good idea.
Generally insurers will build in an inflation factor but it is always a good idea to double check so that you are not caught short.
