Business Insurance for beginners
Looking at business insurance can be overwhelming, luckily Chubb Life can provide a one stop shop for both your personal and business insurance needs. For small business owners, it can be hugely helpful to have all your insurance policies with one provider. Not to mention the comfort of knowing you’re covered for all eventualities in your home and work life too.
This article takes a deep dive into the world of business insurance - Chubb Life offers a range of policy options to suit different types of businesses - small or large, product or service based operations, owner operated or those with large teams, new businesses and those that are well established. No matter your business, Chubb Life has an insurance product to suit your specific business needs, but where do you begin?
What is business insurance?
Just like in your personal life, business insurance is there to protect your business in case the worst was to happen. Illness, injury, fire, major earthquake, death - we have it covered.
A business insurance policy will typically provide you with a cash injection to help get your business back on its feet, or provide an income to business owners who can no longer work.
Businesses will often have a Business Continuity plan in place to plan for unexpected events, but having the appropriate business insurance policy plans in place to cover you can mean the difference between your business surviving an unexpected event. It’s important to understand that your personal insurance policies can’t cover your business if it gets into trouble.
What is a business interruption?
A business interruption can refer to people related incidents or events outside your control (think fires, floods and earthquakes). Essentially, anything that could interfere with your usual business operations is considered a business interruption.
Business interruption insurance, another term for business insurance, can help protect you from events such as these, in terms of your ongoing financial security.
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Unexpected injury, illness or death
Imagine you’re an owner/operator of your business and you suffer a serious accident that necessitates you taking a significant period of time off work. Having business interruption insurance in place can ensure you continue to receive a steady income while you’re recovering. You can also get insurance policies to cover other key people in your business, where your business would suffer if they were to be injured, fall ill or pass away.
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Natural disasters
None of us are protected from the threat of a natural disaster - be it fire, flood, tornado or earthquake. A natural disaster could affect your business premises or your warehouse. Your business could also be impacted by the knock on effect of a key supplier being out of action due to a major event, or feel the effects of travel disruption in a key target market due to infrastructure issues.
Business owners should be prepared for unexpected issues, have business continuity plans in place to have an immediate response to an event, but also understand the appropriate business insurances in place to protect from such events.
What does business insurance cover?
Here’s a quick overview of the common business insurance policies you could look to put in place to protect yourself from the unexpected. These will ensure your business get back up and running as soon as possible, or provide you with an income while you get back on your feet.
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Life Cover
Life cover policies are available for business owners and key people in your business, and will provide financial support if you or a key person dies or is diagnosed with a terminal illness. It will allow your business to continue to operate while significant business decisions need to be made.
Chubb Life Cover may help your family (or the family of a key employee) cope financially in the short term, and into the future. See how Life Cover could support your loved ones. -
Monthly Disibility Cover
If you’re recovering from a severe illness or injury, Business Overheads Cover could literally help you keep the lights on. This insurance product provides a monthly payment to cover fixed cost overheads such as rent, electricity or vehicle expenses. It can also cover the costs of an interim manager if you or a key person is incapacitated.
Chubb Life Monthly Disability Cover can ease the operational or financial strain of running the day to day business while you recover from your illness or injury. Check out how Monhtly Disability Cover could support your business. -
Trauma Cover
If you or a key person in your business was to suffer from a defined serious illness or condition for the first time, Trauma Cover will ensure you get a lump sum payment. This can be a great way to ease the initial financial burden of needing to stop work suddenly, or pay for specialist medical care.
Chubb Life Trauma Cover can also help you with accommodation and transport costs for you and a support person during treatment. -
Premium Cover
If you think you might need an insurance policy to pay your insurance premiums while you’re physically unable to work, then Premium Cover could be worthwhile looking into.
Chubb Life Premium Cover will ensure your financial concern is eased while you’re off work, by covering an important expense on your behalf. See how you can be covered for various types of disability scenarios. -
Complete Disablement Cover
Everyone likes to think they’ll make a full recovery if they are injured or fall ill, but that’s not always the case. Consider Complete Disablement Cover to cover you or a key person in your business for this potential scenario. Complete Disablement Cover provides you with a lump sum payment, so your business can continue to operate, or provide you with options to buy or sell out of the business.
Chubb Life Complete Disablement Cover will provide peace of mind while you make plans for the future. Check out the support available to you under this policy, including finanical and legal advice.
Remember, every business is different, so do chat to a Chubb Life Insurance Adviser if you want to better understand your options, or chat through the best combination of products for your specific situation.
When do you need business insurance?
There are some specific stages in your business journey when it pays to look into business insurance, or review the insurance policies you currently have. Insurance should be a key pillar of your business continuity planning.
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When you’re starting a new business
Even new businesses need to consider contingency planning around protecting their business in the instance of the business owner or key person in a business falling ill, being injured or passing away. There are some great, flexible starter plans available for small or new businesses, such as Chubb Life Assurance Extra for Business
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When your business is growing
It can be difficult to stop and think about important things such as business insurance when you’re in the thick of business growth. When your business is experiencing lots of change, that is when a quick review of your business insurance is really important - don’t get caught out because you didn’t make the time!
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When your life circumstances change
Personal and business insurance policies are most definitely separate policies but if you own your own business, then all your policies should be considered together. Your personal circumstances can impact on your business so if you want to make sure your personal insurance policies aren’t doubling up with your business ones for things like Income Protection Insurance and other business insurances, a quick chat with your Insurance Adviser can help.
Just as you make a will to outline what should happen to your personal effects, a business owner needs to consider what will happen to their business in the event that they pass away, this includes things such as writing a Will. Succession planning, chatting with senior people in your team (and documenting those discussions) and ensuring your partner understands your wishes are all important parts of being prepared, should the worst happen.
How to get business insurance
It’s always an idea to do some planning up front and understand how your business is currently running, your goals for the future, and potential risks that might interrupt your business. You’re then set to do some research and understand how your business could best be protected. Once you’re feeling confident, we recommend you chat to an expert, such as a Chubb Life Insurance Adviser to make sure you’re making the right business insurance decisions.
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Make a business continuity plan
While most businesses will have a business strategy in place, it might have been a while since you reviewed your business continuity plan - if at all! This is a document that should be reviewed regularly, just like your business strategy, so you can ensure it is up to date as your business changes and grows. Thankfully there are some good resources available so you don’t need to start from scratch, like these step by step guides
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Find the right business insurance
Different businesses have different insurance requirements, so it’s important to find the right mix of insurance policies for your business. Chubb Life has a range of comprehensive business insurance cover with a range of cover options for all sorts of business scenarios.
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Talk to an Insurance Adviser
An Insurance Adviser’s job is to help you make the best insurance decisions. You don’t need to act on them - they are just recommendations at the end of the day. If you’re new to the world of business insurance, or have complex business requirements, talking with an insurance adviser can ensure you make the right insurance decision - and save you time and money too!
Chubb Life can support you to make the right insurance decisions. Are you keen to know more about protecting your business? A Chubb Life Insurance Adviser can provide advice about business insurance policies - contact us to talk to an insurance adviser or learn more about our insurance products.
