When researching options for insuring a small business, most business owners tend to only consider the obvious factors like building, contents and business products. However, there are other risks associated with running a business, which may not immediately spring to mind, that can pose just as much, if not more, damage. Below we’ve explained 4 surprising but important inclusions that you should be looking for in your business insurance policy:
Ransom Demands
By ransom demands, we aren’t talking about a robber literally demanding money from the till. Instead what has, unfortunately, become much more common in small to medium businesses is data ransom. This refers to a cyber attack where a criminal gains access to your company and customer data and only agrees to return it (or remove the encryption they have placed on it) when they have received a payment. Fortunately, some business insurance providers now have cyber insurance inclusions to cover these kinds of cyberattacks, so make sure to look out for this inclusion when selecting your policy!
Tax Time Surprises
Even when your tax records are clean and completely up to scratch, the taxman may still come knocking in order to complete a full audit on your business. These audits can be stressful and compiling all of the necessary information and documentation can become a time-consuming task, distracting you from running daily operations. If you become the subject of a tax audit, you are responsible for the costs incurred by the audit – not the government and what’s more, the audit could take anywhere from days to months to complete.
This is where tax audit insurance becomes a very valuable inclusion to have in your business insurance policy. These kinds of policies may cover everything from bookkeeper and accountant fees to lawyer and documentation costs.
Machinery Issues
So many businesses, from manufacturers and laundry services to dentists and restaurants, rely on large and intricate pieces of machinery for their daily operations. If a necessary piece of equipment or machinery gets damaged or decides to randomly pack it in, a repair or a replacement can quickly become expensive and time-consuming, causing a lot of disruption to your services.
The good news is that some business insurance policies will cover these expenses, including the cost of hiring a temporary replacement and express postage or freight of parts in order to help get your business back up and running as quickly as possible.
Temporary Closure
Often when we think of business insurance, we only think about the protection of our physical assets. However, sometimes we end up more out of pocket after the physical damage due to recovery or disruption. Think about it – your business policy shouldn’t just assist you with the immediate cost of repairing flood damage but also with the time that your business has to be shut afterwards during repairs and construction etc. That’s why a lot of insurance providers will cover your business for business interruption and loss incurred by unforeseen events like a power outage or a lapse in your payment system.
At Allsafe Insurance Brokers, we don’t believe in ‘one size fits all’ policies when it comes to business insurance. We specialise in understanding the nuances of your industry and the risks that it could entail, before then setting out to find you the ideal solution that’s within your budget. To learn more about our services, get in touch with us today!
