The moment you start selling a product or service, your company is out there in the wild. Simply by existing, your business is at risk from things like fires, floods, lawsuits, cyber attacks and so much more. Hopefully you’ll never have to deal with any of these things, but many business owners choose to protect against them just in case.
With so many options out there, it can be hard to know where to start. Commercial combined insurance can take away some of that stress, by allowing you to buy multiple types of coverage for your business in one go. That’s why it’s called “combined” insurance, in that you can handle lots of different problems with a single policy, like an insurance Swiss Army knife.
Definition: Commercial Combined Insurance is a package policy designed to include multiple types of insurance cover within one policy which is tailored to your specific business’s needs.
How does commercial combined insurance work?
You could compare commercial combined insurance policies to package holidays too. By buying various types of business cover together, the idea is that you’ll save money and effort in the long run, with something that’s also tailored to your needs.
Let’s say you run a manufacturing business that makes aeroplane parts. You’ll have a factory space, where you have all your equipment, machinery and the people who work for you. You’ll probably have somewhere you store the aircraft components you’ve made too, along with vehicles to transport those finished aircraft parts to paying customers.
Each of those areas – staff, stock, warehouse, equipment, goods in transit – can all be insured. If you wanted, you could go to different insurers to buy a separate policy for cover against each specific risk. Or you could just speak to a single provider and get everything sorted in one fell swoop.
The actual process of taking out commercial combined insurance is like other types of business insurance. Providers will look at your business, consider what’ll need insuring and assess how risky your operation is overall, by examining things like your turnover, claims history and industry sector. Then they’ll use that information to come up with a policy that suits you, which you can work with them to fine-tune.
What does commercial combined business insurance cover?
If you’re in the market for a type of commercial insurance, the chances are you’ll be able to weave it into a combined policy. So there’s a pretty broad range of coverage available, but a typical package of policies might include one or more of the following:
- Public liability insurance: Coverage in case a customer or member of the public takes your business to court for a personal injury or property damage claim
- Employers liability insurance: A type of insurance you’re legally required to have, which protects your business against compensation claims if your employees get ill or injured through work
- Products liability insurance: Coverage which relates to the products your business makes, fixes or supplies, and insures against them being faulty and causing harm
- Warehouse insurance: With this type of cover, you can safeguard against the theft or damage of stock held within your warehouse
- Business interruption insurance: Insurance that covers against financial losses from a fire, flood or other unexpected events
- Director and Officers’ Insurance: Protects senior members of the business from legal action taken against them. Sometimes, a business might choose ‘Key Person Insurance‘ as well.
- Personal accident: This cover will protect you if an employee becomes sick or gets injured at your place of work
You might also look to protect against things like loss of licence, deterioration of stock and even terrorism. The same goes for insuring your computers, other equipment, the cash you keep on your premises and so many other areas. It all depends on the line of business you’re in and what events could cause you to lose money, stop trading or end up in court.
Why do businesses take out commercial combined insurance?
One of the main draws with combined policies is that they’re flexible. Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, combined commercial insurance allows you to get something more personalised, with elements you can usually adapt, add on and remove as you see fit.
Another reason businesses seek out quotes for a package policy is to save money, like buying in bulk. But it goes further than that too, by giving you peace of mind as a business owner. Having all the bases covered means your business can benefit from far-reaching protection.
Commercial combined insurance isn’t a one-off purchase either, since you’ll be paying your premiums each month, possibly for decades to come. By bundling all of your insurance policies together, you take away the bother of dealing with multiple providers and payments. So perhaps the biggest benefit of all is that you’ll save yourself a whole lot of admin headaches.
What kinds of businesses take out commercial combined insurance?
Since combined insurance can incorporate such a broad range of insurance coverage, it appeals to a wide range of industry sectors. It all depends on what your business does, and the type of coverage you’re after. Your need could also be influenced by your location and market reach.
That said, if you run a pretty limited operation, you may not need something so exhaustive. Commercial combined insurance works best for companies with lots of moving parts, which would benefit from grouping all of their premiums together under one umbrella. Builders and developers are a great example, since they deal with property, contractors, employees, transportation, equipment and more, sometimes in potentially dangerous working conditions. 360-degree insurance protection can be a vital part of any development project.
But there’s many other complicated businesses that can benefit from a commercial combined insurance policy too. You might run a wholesaling business, an accounting firm, a restaurant group, or something else entirely. Whatever you do, it’ll help to speak to a broker or somebody from an insurance company first, who can help you figure out what’s right for your business.
If my business has previous claims, can I still get commercial combined insurance?
When an insurer puts together a combined policy, they’ll look at the potential risk you present to their firm. A big part of that could be the claims you’ve made in the past.
If you have made historical claims, that’s by no means a deal-breaker – but you can do yourself a favour by showing that you’ve taken action to reduce the likelihood of something similar happening again. You might introduce enhanced security, change the way you work or improve company processes. Either way, showing that you’ve learned from the past certainly won’t hurt.
Ultimately, the best insurance deals are a two-way street, with advice from your provider and careful thought from you. In the same way that a parent may take out life insurance to protect their family, commercial insurance is all about safeguarding. By dealing with every potential risk at once, you can put that protection in place in a far easier way.
Find commercial combined insurance now
Now that we’ve examined why commercial combined insurance might be useful for your business, you may have realised you want to get protection or evaluate your current cover.
If you’re looking for business insurance and aren’t sure where to begin, why not use our free quote tool to find a tailored commercial combined policy that will cover all your needs.
Simply fill in our free quote-finding form and answer a few questions about your business (it takes less than a minute).
