Compare commercial combined insurance

A combined policy puts several business covers under one contract, with one renewal date and one insurer to deal with. It usually joins property cover, such as buildings, contents and stock, with liability and business interruption.

business.gov.uk notes that many business policies are sold as bundles of several covers (business.gov.uk). With Quotezone, a single short form puts your details in front of UK providers who offer combined policies.

What does commercial combined insurance cover?

Each policy is built from sections, and you choose the ones your business needs. Common sections include:

• Buildings: damage to premises you own, or must insure under your lease, from events like fire, flood or vandalism (business.gov.uk)
• Contents and stock: equipment, fixtures and goods (see business contents insurance)
• Business interruption: loss of income when an insured event, like a fire or flood, halts trading (business.gov.uk)
• Employers’ liability: the cover the law requires once you employ staff (GOV.UK)
• Public and products liability: claims for injury or damage to customers and the public, and for goods you make or sell (business.gov.uk)
• Money and goods in transit: cash on the premises or on its way to the bank, and stock on the move
• Legal expenses: help with the cost of some legal disputes, on some policies

Not every section suits every business, so leave out what you don’t need. If something isn’t mentioned in the policy, business.gov.uk says it won’t be covered (business.gov.uk).

Who is a combined policy for?

Commercial combined insurance tends to suit businesses that have premises and stock as well as staff and customers. Typical examples are:

• shops and showrooms that own or lease their unit (shop insurance)
• small manufacturers and workshops with machinery and raw materials
• wholesalers and distributors holding stock for customers
• offices with several staff and their own equipment (office insurance)
• garages, salons and other trades that see customers on site

A sole trader working from home, or a consultant with no premises, may find separate policies simpler. Our self-employed and sole trader insurance and home business insurance pages cover those cases.

Combined policy or separate policies?

A single policy can mean one set of documents, one renewal date and fewer gaps between covers. With separate policies, you pick the insurer and limit for each cover yourself.

Which works better depends on how many covers you need. If you’d buy property, liability and business interruption anyway, a combined quote is worth comparing.

If you only need liability cover, you could compare public liability insurance or a combined public and employers’ liability policy instead.

Which parts of a combined policy are compulsory?

Only some of them. The legally required list on business.gov.uk has two entries: employers’ liability where people work for you, plus motor cover for business vehicles, including a personal car used for work (business.gov.uk).

Employers’ liability has a £5 million minimum, and GOV.UK warns of a £2,500 fine for each day a business goes without proper cover (GOV.UK).

Motor cover is usually arranged separately, so check how your vans and cars are insured (GOV.UK). Buildings cover can also be a condition of your lease or mortgage (business.gov.uk).

How limits and excesses work

Each section of a combined policy usually has its own sum insured or limit, and often its own excess. A high buildings sum does not usually raise the limit for stock, so check every section separately.

Liability sections normally have a limit for any one claim, such as £5 million, while property sections use the values you declare. If those values are too low, a claim may not be paid in full.

How much does commercial combined insurance cost?

Each section is priced on its own and then added together. Typical rating factors are:

• the trade you’re in and what happens on site
• the rebuild cost of any buildings and the value of contents and stock
• your turnover, wage roll and number of staff
• the business interruption period you choose
• the liability limits and excesses for each section
• security, fire protection and your claims history

Insurance Premium Tax at 12%, the standard rate, is added to each quote (HMRC).

Policy conditions matter too. The Insurance Act 2015 limits when an insurer can rely on a broken term. If the breach could not have increased the risk of the loss that happened, it cannot use it to refuse the claim (legislation.gov.uk).

An example

As an illustration, an engineering workshop owns its unit, employs six staff and sends parts to customers. A combined policy could cover the building, machinery and stock, plus employers’ and public liability.

Business interruption would help if a fire closed the workshop for repairs. The delivery van still needs its own motor insurance (GOV.UK).

Business interruption cover in a combined policy

Business interruption insurance pays for lost income if a covered event stops you trading. The business.gov.uk site gives fire and flood as examples, and says you need it if a shutdown would significantly harm your business (business.gov.uk).

It usually pays only after a claim on another section, such as damage to your premises or stock. That’s why it is often sold within a combined or property policy rather than on its own.

The main choices when you compare quotes are:

• the indemnity period, which is how long the cover pays while you recover, and a longer period gives more time to rebuild and win customers back
• the basis of cover, such as gross profit, gross revenue or the extra cost of keeping going
• the sum insured, which should match the income you could lose over the whole indemnity period
• extensions for events away from your premises, such as damage at a key supplier or a power cut

Do business interruption policies cover a pandemic?

Usually only if the wording says so. The FCA ran a test case on common wordings during Covid-19, and the Supreme Court gave its judgment on 15 January 2021 (FCA).

That case turned on the exact clauses in each policy. Read the disease and denial of access sections before you buy, and ask the insurer to explain anything unclear.

What to have ready before you compare

• the rebuild cost of any building you own or must insure
• the replacement value of contents, machinery and stock
• your annual turnover and wage roll
• how long it could take to get back to normal after a fire or flood
• details of alarms, locks and fire protection
• any claims in the last five years
• the insurance clauses in your lease, if you rent

Comparing combined quotes

Compare like for like. Line up the sections, limits and excesses in each quote, along with any conditions, such as alarm requirements.

Check the business interruption section closely. Look at how long it pays for, what it pays for, and whether it covers loss caused by damage at a key supplier or customer.

business.gov.uk also suggests checking what each policy excludes and any conditions that could cancel it (business.gov.uk).

On Quotezone, one short form about your business goes to UK providers, who then contact you with quotes. Compare commercial combined quotes.

You might also need

If your business runs vehicles, compare van insurance. Company directors can also protect themselves with directors and officers insurance.