Office Insurance

What is office insurance?

Office insurance is a combination of various lines of insurance cover designed to protect your business should an unexpected event occur. Rather than one fixed product, it is a package you build around the risks your office faces.

Policies can include, but are not limited to, commercial property insurance, employer's liability insurance, public liability insurance and business interruption insurance. Typical office insurance policies give you different options so you can shape the policy to your requirements.

Why do you need office insurance?

You need office insurance because an office-based workplace will always be open to certain dangers and risks, and sufficient cover is the only proper way of protecting yourself and your company against them. Your office is bound to play an integral role in running your business, so it is vital you are covered in case of fire, theft, flood or any other unexpected event.

Without insurance, such an event could have genuinely catastrophic results. Whether you are a small start-up or an international enterprise, cover can be tailored to your particular business.

What does office insurance cover?

Office insurance can cover your building, your contents, your liability to others and the running of your business, but no two businesses are the same, so you should only include cover that applies to yours. The key options are:

• Buildings insurance protects you from unexpected disasters such as fires and floods.
• Office contents insurance protects against damage, theft or loss and usually covers items such as computers, desks and chairs.
• Professional indemnity insurance covers you for any loss of client money resulting from negligence, plus the cost of compensation and any legal expenses.
• Fixtures and fittings insurance covers units, shelves, carpets and other items.
• Computer breakdown cover protects your computer equipment and loss of data.

You can also take out business interruption insurance, legal cover, public liability insurance and many other policies to keep your office and business safe.

Does your business need public liability insurance?

If you have guests, customers or clients visiting your office, public liability insurance will protect you in the event of an accident on your premises. You might think it unlikely that a visitor will hurt themselves, but accidents happen.

Public liability insurance covers you for any compensation or legal costs, so it is an essential add-on for any business with regular visitors.

Is office insurance a legal requirement?

Aside from employer's liability insurance, there is no legal requirement for office insurance, so what you take out depends on what your business needs. Employer's liability insurance is the one element you must hold if you employ staff.

The rest of the policy is a matter of judgement: weigh up what your office relies on, from the building and its contents to the computers and data you work with, and insure the things you could not afford to lose or replace.

What is not covered by office insurance?

Office insurance only covers the lines of cover you have chosen to include, so anything you leave out of the policy is not protected. If you take buildings and contents cover but not professional indemnity, for example, a claim of negligence from a client would not be covered.

That is why it is worth taking your time and understanding what you need before you compare quotes. Review each option against the risks your office faces and add the cover that applies.

How do you compare office insurance quotes?

Fill in one short form with your details and you can compare live quotes online from a panel of UK business insurers. Quote Goat provides access to a comparison service that brings quotes together in one place, whatever the size or nature of your business.

Take your time, understand what you need, and then compare the quotes to find a policy that is tailored to your office and ensures your business is adequately insured.