As a small business, insurance might be the last thing on your to-do list. It’s costly, it’s complicated and you probably won’t need it, right? Wrong. Business insurance is incredibly important and as a small business, you’ll need to think about several different types of insurance to ensure that you’re adequately covered against a range of unforeseen circumstances, losses and even injury.

Here are a few reason why adequate business insurance for your small business is so important.

Liability

Consider what would happen if, as a result of your work, a member of the public (or another business) suffered injury, loss or even death. It’s imperative that you’re covered for these things, as legal battles, PR and settlements can bankrupt a business if events are not covered with adequate public liability insurance.

Continuity and interruption to business

Often overlooked, business continuity insurance (also known as business interruption insurance) can be a lifesaver in the event of a disaster. You never think it will happen to you…until it actually does. A fire, a flood, a break-in or the inability to get stock from your main supplier. Continuity insurance is an essential insurance to ensure that you still receive at least a portion of lost revenue during any downtime. Without it, unforeseen circumstances can cause a business to fail, through no fault of its own. Ensuring you have adequate and accurate building value insurance is also essential, in the case of disaster; you need to ensure that the cost of rebuilding your premises is fully covered if the unthinkable happens.

Loss of stock

Businesses that trade in stock items are at high risk of devastating losses if they’re not adequately insured. Goods in transit, as well as the contents of your warehouse and manufacturing premises, should be insured to their full (or maximum) value, either through the courier or through your own tradesman insurance policy and contents insurance, to ensure that damaged, stolen or lost stock is covered and the business’s profits are protected. Without it, you leave yourself open to being unable to fulfill orders and falling into serious debt trying to re buy stock.