For those of you who have grafted, designed, and crafted the small business that empowers you to be your own boss and get your products or services in front of your loyal customer base that you have built up from scratch, having protection in place when you need it most, is nothing short of essential.

I get that dealing with insurance on top of everything else that a small business needs to have in place can be overwhelming for you. It can feel like a distraction from your day job as an entrepreneur. Insurance really is an essential foundation that could free up your vital time and energy at a difficult time.

As we have seen in the last few years, expecting the unexpected and being ready for anything that can impact your business goals has become the new normal - insure your business in the right way.

Here are my top four tips to help you figure out what insurance will protect your small business!

1. Your business is unique, pick the right insurance cover that matches it. Your insurance cover will be different depending on: 

• The amount of money you make 
  
• Whether you have business premises
• How many people collaborate and work with you (you’re on your own, a couple of you, or a whole army)
• If you work directly with the public (face to face rather than online)
• What type of business you have (health and well-being or tech)

2. Insurance cover and the information about your policy can be confusing - there are many different types of insurance cover that small business owners should be aware of. Here are 3 that you might have heard about

• Professional indemnity (PI) insurance
• Employers’ liability (EL) insurance
• Public and product liability insurance
  

There are too many covers to list here, read our dedicated "every single business insurance cover on one page" blog to find out more.

3. Make sure everyone who works with you, for you or helps you out is covered by Employers’ liability insurance (but not your mum!):

• This is one type of small business insurance that is a must-have
• This insurance covers temporary workers, full-time, part-time and you will need to have evidence that you have covered all previous workers
• You are required by law to have at least £5 million of cover
• Not all small businesses with employees need Employers’ Liability insurance. If you have a family business where your kids, partners or parents work in your business you might not need the cover
• Employees are the bedrock to your business. Spend some time figuring out who and how much insurance cover makes sense to protect them, you and your business.

4. We love our customers, especially when they spend, spend, spend their hard earned money on our products and services. When you come face to face with your customers, you should spend extra attention on your Public Liability insurance:

• A personal trainer is an easy example of someone who could be sued by a client for or a slip, trip or fall that happens during a workout session, even if it is an accident
• This insurance covers any financial consequence that relates to your work whilst doing your work
• If you visit customers with your equipment or if your customers visit you, any damage or injury that occurs could be covered by this type of insurance policy

A word to the wise, not all insurance cover is created equal and just like your business your insurance cover is going to be unique. Get a quote with Lukango for a personalised product.