If you are a small business owner who owns or works from an office space, then it is most likely that you will have or be considering office insurance.

In many cases there are two options of cover when it comes to office insurance:

• Office buildings insurance – designed to protect your premises and the fixtures and fittings against risks such as fire or flood
• Office contents insurance – this type of policy will protect the contents of your office space, specifically your office equipment from perils such as loss, theft or damage. This could include computers through to office furniture.

Whilst these policies will cover your assets – the building if you own your premises, and your equipment, they may not necessarily provide cover against any interruption that your business faces as a result of the insurance claim. 

Interruption to the normal running of your business is often inevitable following a disaster which leads to an insurance claim. In fact, in many cases it is this business interruption which has a real impact on the business long term, rather than the physical damage. Not being able to trade for a length of time can have a significant impact and, in some situations, cause a business to go out of business completely.

Therefore, it is so important to understand exactly what your insurance policy does and doesn’t cover. In some cases, office insurance may include an element of Business Interruption insurance, others may not, and some may offer it as an extra which you can add on. This cover may then vary to a standalone Business Interruption insurance policy.

Business Interruption insurance exists to cover the loss of income that a business may face if they must cease trading for a period of time following a disaster. Yet it is often overlooked by many businesses who instead prioritise insurance for the physical assets which are important to the running of their business. This may not be a conscious decision; it could just be that this type of insurance is better known.

When it comes to Business Interruption insurance the important things to consider are what types of disaster could cause your business to close, and worst-case scenario how long your business could be closed for. An insurers view would be that it wouldn’t be unrealistic for a business to have to close for up to 2 years. Have a realistic think about your businesses revenue and what you could lose if this happened to you.

Ensuring that you have the right business insurance in place (of which there are many different types) as a small business owner can sometimes feel like an overwhelming responsibility. This is where a broker may come in useful. Brokers have a full understanding of the insurance market and the types of business insurance cover available. Coupled with this, a good broker will spend time getting to understand you and your business. This puts them in a good position to ensure that you are purchasing the right types and sufficient levels of business insurance cover.

Whilst having the right insurance in place is critical to protecting your business, you must also think about practical steps you can take to prepare if a disaster should strike. This should take the form of having robust disaster recovery measures in place – creating disaster recovery and business continuity plans are a good step and mean your business and employees will know what to do in the event of a disaster. Likewise, you can employ the services of a disaster recovery specialist such as First Recovery who can provide on the ground support in the aftermath of a disaster getting your business back up and running in a recovery centre within 24 hours. Something which could prove crucial in the success of your business long term.