Office insurance – are you fully covered?

18 Jun 2009

If you have a business that operates exclusively or mainly from an office, you may feel that you are at relatively little risk of major insurance claims. In fact, the risks may be larger than you think and it perhaps would be a good idea to consider office insurance.

What risks are you exposed to from the apparently safe environment of an office?

First of all, there is damage, for example:

• If you are renting your office premises, you may be liable for damage you cause to the property;
• Even if one of your customers damages the property - you may have to pay.

It's also worth remembering that if your office is burgled, you may suffer serious financial loss due to the theft of machinery or products. Burglars are not known as having great respect for property and they may also damage or vandalise that which they do not actually remove.

Then there are those people that like nothing better than rounding off a good night out by throwing bricks through windows on their way home. The costs of replacing large plate glass windows can be very high.

Employers' liability

Next, there is employers' liability. Although by law you will typically need to have employers' liability insurance if you employ staff, you may also find that you are responsible for the personal belongings of staff while they're on your office premises. If their property is stolen or damaged you may be liable.

Public liability

Another very real threat to your business finances is a claim against you by a third party for something such as injury or an accident that has happened on the work premises. If someone falls over, for example a business visitor, and injures themselves quite badly, your business could be liable for costs, which could run in to thousands. These costs could include legal costs, fees and expenses as well as those for hospital treatment, ambulance costs etc that the NHS may claim back from you.

None of this should distract from the usual suspects of natural disasters, which can happen to any property. The tree that comes crashing through the roof in a storm means that you'll be signing some very large cheques for repairs and contents replacement unless you have good office insurance cover in place.

Physical damage is not the only thing that could cost you money. Depending upon the nature of your business you may by law be obliged to provide toilet and related facilities for your staff and customers. The local drains blocking may sound funny, but in fact it could stop you working from your usual premises. You may need some form of business continuity cover to continue and / or even survive.

The list of above scenarios could continue indefinitely but the main point should be clear - the risks are real and diverse.

You could, of course, choose to do nothing other than hope that your luck holds. A perhaps safer alternative would be to contact a specialist provider of office insurance such as Your Insurance Group, and seek advice and guidance. Business insurance is a complex area and expertise and pre-purchase advice can help you get the right cover for your business.  Our professional and efficient offline service means that you can talk to one of our highly experienced team about an office insurance policy that can be tailor made to fit your needs. And, with our many affordable options available, protecting your business will not break the bank.

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