Business Insurance

Boutique To You · Sep 26, 2006

My insurance policy is nearly up for renewal and looking at it I think it has been a waste of money this last year.
Does anyone know what I should be looking for?
I run a retail internet site from home office.
I keep minute amount of stock here ... most is droppshipped for me.

Any thoughts most appreciated.
Thanks,
Sharon

bwglaw · Sep 26, 2006

"business insurance" covering what exactly... office contents, public liability, employers liability, professional indemnity, etc

You will probably need the first two...

robknight · Sep 26, 2006

I'm in a similar situation. I am dropshipping 100% of my orders at the moment, but next week I am going to be shipping myself, holding my own stock.

What insurance do I need to protect myself from claims from the public etc? Public liability?

Thanks,
Rob.

bwglaw · Sep 26, 2006

robknight said:
I'm in a similar situation. I am dropshipping 100% of my orders at the moment, but next week I am going to be shipping myself, holding my own stock.

What insurance do I need to protect myself from claims from the public etc? Public liability?

Thanks,
Rob.

Speak to an Insurance broker because insurance is another industry. This is not always something that a lawyer or accountant can answer.

You may need insurance to cover items in stock, building, shipping and public liability

robknight · Sep 28, 2006

Yeah, I understand that. The question was to the community at large really.

Can anyone reccomend a good public liability insurer? Or broker?

Thanks

Jim · Sep 28, 2006

I have my full business insurance with NFU Mutual (Farmers Union)
They were a lot cheaper than the quotes I had from the usual insurance companies. They have branches all over the country.

Jim

JamieM · Sep 28, 2006

Boutique To You said:
My insurance policy is nearly up for renewal and looking at it I think it has been a waste of money this last year.
Does anyone know what I should be looking for?
I run a retail internet site from home office.
I keep minute amount of stock here ... most is droppshipped for me.

Any thoughts most appreciated.
Thanks,
Sharon

Hi Sharon,

Unless you are an employer then there are no compulsory insurances which will apply. It's entirely up to you if you want to insure your stock and office contents. Can you afford to lose them in a fire for instance? Depending on who insures your household contents you may be able to add office contents as an extension. Only some insurers will do this though.

If you work from home alone then there is really no need for public liability insurance unless maybe you are out and about a bit as well.

You may also want to consider Products Liability. Although this usually applies to a manufacturer, action can still be taken against the retailer in certain instances especially where goods are imported from overseas.

robknight said:
I'm in a similar situation. I am dropshipping 100% of my orders at the moment, but next week I am going to be shipping myself, holding my own stock.

What insurance do I need to protect myself from claims from the public etc? Public liability?

Thanks,
Rob.

Hi Rob,

As above really. If you are looking for an insurance broker I would recommend looking for someone local in the yellow pages. I wouldn't recommend using an insurer directly as they may 'sell' you cover which is not adequate or tailored to your needs. A broker will find you exactly what you need.

Matt1959 · Sep 28, 2006

JamieM said:
Hi Sharon,

If you work from home alone then there is really no need for public liability insurance unless maybe you are out and about a bit as well.

quote]

I'm not coming from a position of great knowledge here but isn't that advice a bit loose? I should have thought Public Liability insurance especially was a definate must have, WHATEVER the circumstances. Whilst someone may be able to lose their stock they can't afford to lose their house which is what may happen if someone sues as a result of a freak accident etc. Public liability cover, often, is cheap - certainly under £100PA

JamieM · Sep 29, 2006

Matt1959 said:
JamieM said:

Hi Sharon,

If you work from home alone then there is really no need for public liability insurance unless maybe you are out and about a bit as well.

quote]

I'm not coming from a position of great knowledge here but isn't that advice a bit loose? I should have thought Public Liability insurance especially was a definate must have, WHATEVER the circumstances. Whilst someone may be able to lose their stock they can't afford to lose their house which is what may happen if someone sues as a result of a freak accident etc. Public liability cover, often, is cheap - certainly under £100PA

Click to expand...

Hi,

If you have no public access then there is no need for PL cover. There is no risk of loss or damage to persons or public property from a self employed person working in a home office.

It's always best to seek professional advice though for your own business.

creospace · Sep 29, 2006

I worked in insurance for 10 years.

If they are still going which i'm sure they are I recomend Routen Chaplin Brokers in Nottingham, you'll get an old fashion customer service if they are still the same as when I worked there.

http://www.routenchaplin.co.uk/ speak to Steve Beeley and tell him Gary Dickenson refered you.

Matt1959 · Sep 29, 2006

JamieM said:
Matt1959 said:

Hi,

If you have no public access then there is no need for PL cover. There is no risk of loss or damage to persons or public property from a self employed person working in a home office.

It's always best to seek professional advice though for your own business.

Click to expand...

Yes I agree, if you can guarentee that not one single person will ever visit you in connection with your business then you obviosuly don't need Public Liability Insurance.

catltd · Sep 29, 2006

My company offers Laptop, PDA, Mobile Phone and GPS insurances at great prices take a look here if this helps let me know and I'll pm or email you the link.

fastfences · Sep 29, 2006

creospace said:
I worked in insurance for 10 years.

. . . speak to Steve Beeley and tell him Gary Dickenson refered you.

Still after a 'kickback' even after 10 years?

Nige

Rhyl Lightworks · Sep 30, 2006

I'm no expert on this, but if you are shipping goods to the public, what happens if a claim results from a defective product? Wouldn't you need public liability insurance to cover this, or is it covered by something else?
Incidentally, if you are a member of a trade association, they often offer an insurance package designed to suit that particular type of business, which is often much cheaper than a general package.
Barrie

JamieM · Sep 30, 2006

Rhyl Lightworks said:
I'm no expert on this, but if you are shipping goods to the public, what happens if a claim results from a defective product? Wouldn't you need public liability insurance to cover this, or is it covered by something else?

This should be covered by Products Liability which is actually often offered alongside Public Liability as a Combined product.

stephen-atbs · Oct 2, 2006

Try MoreThan - online

Boutique To You · Oct 2, 2006

Many thanks for evreyone's advice.
I know a bit more what to ask for now !

Sharon

4dhosting · Oct 2, 2006

If you offer advice to people on which product/service they should pick you might also want to look at Indemnity insurance incase you give the wrong advice and get sued

henryhughs · Oct 2, 2006

Hi,

We are a small company who have just started up. We're in a similar situation and have spent weeks trying to find the best and most competitive insurance policy.

After lots of calls and research we found a company called Brighter Business (0845 600 7107) who have been great.

Don't settle on the first price they quote you though. They referred our request to their underwriters and the next day they called back and it was about 30% less.

Hope that helps.

H

shopdesigners_ecommerce · Oct 4, 2006

I find Hiscox to be very helpful and competitive.

Merlin1 · Dec 19, 2006

Hello all,

Just came across this thread, I run a business / commercial insurance brokers and have been in the industry for around 18 years. If anyone is in need of advice then please give us a call, we will help where we can.

Just do a search on google for Merlin Facilities Limited.

Regards
Karl

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