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What is Office Insurance and why do I need it?

Every office has three key elements that any good insurance policy will keep at its heart:

Your premises and equipment (buildings and contents insurance)

Buildings insurance is only essential if you own the property and want to insure as part of your complete business insurance. if you do not own the buildings your landlord would be responsible for taking out this insurance cover, we would recommend checking this with them. Business contents insurance is a type of commercial cover designed to protect items kept in your work premises, including Business equipment,

Stock, Documents and even personal property belonging to employees and visitors. This cover protects these contents from Theft, loss and damage.

Your staff and customers (public and employer’s liability insurance)

Public liability insurance – This is to protect you and your customers. As the occupier it is your responsibility to make sure your office as risk free as possible but accidents can happen. Public liability insurance will cover loss, damage or injury to a third party on your premises.

Employer’s liability insurance - Employers’ liability insurance is mandatory and guarantees you have access to adequate funds should you need to compensate a member of your staff for an injury or damage from a situation you, as their employer, are liable for.

Protection of outgoing costs should you have to stop trading for a period of time (Business Interruption insurance)

If disaster strikes at your property Business Interruption protection covers you for loss of income during periods when you cannot carry out business as usual.

Loss of gross profit

A gross profit basis is the most common choice of business interruption cover in the UK. This will cover the loss of your net profit following a reduction in turnover and any increased cost of working. The gross profit basis is targeted for customers with many directly variable costs, such as those in the manufacturing and retail sectors.

What are some over optional extras?

Legal cover – This helps with fees if you are faced with taking legal action against a third party. This is not usually found as standard on most commercial insurance policies as it’s not a legal requirement.

Money cover – Admittedly rarer these days with the growth of online payments and banking, but you may need cover for cash you take on your premises.

All risks – Includes laptops, tablets and phones if these are owned by the business. You can cover them for travel UK only, EU wide or worldwide, depending on how far you take them.

Goods-in-transit – Sometimes you may take some samples out to client visits. Like 'all risks' above these can be covered whilst out on the road.

What are some typical exclusions?

Accidental damage – This cover allows you to claim for damages not caused by any other policy features such as fire, theft, flood etc. This cover doesn’t always come as standard so if this is something you would like to include, let your handler know.

Manual work away exclusion – An office policy is intended to cover you for the administration work carried out within the address noted on the policy. If you undertake any manual work, this would need to be insured on a separate policy, relevant to the work you carry out. If you attend Events and Exhibitions, your office policy may be able to extend to cover you whilst you’re there but you would need to mention this to your handler to see if this is possible to include.

Normal wear and tear caused over time.

Mechanical or electrical breakdowns of equipment.

What are some real-life claims examples?

An Exhibition organiser’s office was broken into overnight. Laptops and phone systems were stolen from the premises worth around £8,500. Furthermore, replacing the equipment and setting up once again took around four 14 days. The policy covered the cost of the lost equipment as well as the total lost income during the period of business interruption and the claim was settled for £12,000 in total.

An employee at an Event Contractor’s office had made a hot drink and whilst they were walking back to their desk tripped on a piece of carpet that is raised off the floor. The trip caused the employee to fall and break her arm and to suffer mild burns. She was treated in hospital and was signed off from work for several weeks. The claim made it to a court of law and the courts decided that the employees claim was a valid claim, and the claim was settled at £20,000 with insurer paying out compensation to the employee for injury, costs and other damages.

Another Exhibition Contractor’s office was swept by a massive flood with more than 8 inches of water. Although the customer had backup inventory, some of the products and materials in the affected storage space have suffered water damage. Furthermore, the property itself suffered mild water damage and would need some repairs and extensive clean up before it can be used again. The insurer paid out £38,000 in total.

Who do I contact to place my Office Insurance Cover?

Please contact - Rebecca Hulls – 01732 757624 or rebecca.hulls@inevexco.co.uk