How Can an Insurance Broker Help Your Business?
From everyday risks to major changes, insurance arrangements can be reviewed and adapted as your business develops.
Running a business means making decisions about risks every day. Some are obvious, such as damage to premises or a vehicle accident. Others can be less visible – a contractual obligation, a cyber incident, a professional error or an unexpected interruption to trading.
As your business develops, those risks can change too. An insurance broker can help you make sense of those exposures, structure appropriate insurance arrangements and review them as your circumstances evolve.
Start With Understanding How Your Business Operates
Insurance should reflect the way your business actually works.
A broker can take time to understand your activities, premises, people, assets, customers and suppliers before considering the insurance requirements. This can be particularly important for businesses operating in specialist sectors where standard insurance arrangements may not address every consideration.
For example, a manufacturer may need to consider machinery, stock, product liability and business interruption alongside its premises and employees. A professional services firm may have different concerns, including Professional Indemnity, Cyber and contractual requirements.
Looking at the business as a whole can help identify exposures that might otherwise be overlooked.
Contractual Insurance Requirements
Contracts can introduce specific insurance requirements. A new customer might require certain liability limits, while a landlord, lender or business partner could have particular conditions relating to insurance.
It is important that businesses make their broker aware of these requirements so that they can be considered as part of the wider insurance programme. This can be especially useful when a business is taking on a major new contract and needs to understand whether its existing arrangements need to change.
Arranging Suitable Business Insurance
Depending on the nature of the business, insurance requirements may include:
- Employers’ Liability – relevant to businesses with employees, subject to applicable legal requirements.
- Public Liability – can respond to certain claims involving injury or damage to third parties.
- Professional Indemnity – commonly relevant to businesses providing professional advice or services.
- Cyber Insurance – may be considered where businesses face risks relating to cyber incidents and data.
- Property Insurance – can address specified risks affecting commercial buildings, contents or other assets, depending on the policy.
- Directors’ and Officers’ Liability – can be relevant to certain claims made against directors and officers arising from their management responsibilities.
- Motor Fleet – may be appropriate for businesses operating multiple vehicles.
- Trade Credit – can be considered by businesses exposed to the financial failure of customers.
Not every business needs every type of insurance. The relevant arrangements depend on the nature, size and circumstances of the organisation.
Rather than simply looking for a policy, a broker can work with you to understand your needs and circumstances, and help organise insurance solutions around the way your business operates. The scope of cover varies between policies and may include exclusions, we will provide clear explanations of any that apply when we provide a quote.
What Happens When Your Business Grows?
Growth can change your insurance requirements surprisingly quickly.
Imagine your business starts with one premises and ten employees. Two years later, you have opened another location, doubled your workforce and started supplying customers overseas.
Your original insurance arrangements may not automatically reflect those changes.
A broker can review the programme when circumstances change and consider issues such as:
- New locations or premises
- Additional employees
- New contracts
- International operations
- Acquisitions
- Changes to turnover
- New products or services
- Additional vehicles or equipment
Keeping insurance arrangements aligned with the business can be an important part of managing risk as you grow. It is important that businesses keep their broker informed when circumstances change, so any impact on insurance arrangements can be considered.
Support When Things Go Wrong
Insurance becomes particularly important when a business experiences a loss.
Depending on the service agreed with your broker, theymay help organise the information required for a claim, present it to the insurer and liaise with relevant parties during the process.
For example, after significant damage to commercial premises, a broker may help structure the initial information for the insurer and maintain communication while the claim is considered.
The insurer remains responsible for assessing the claim and determining what is payable under the policy.
Looking Beyond The Policy
Insurance is one part of a wider approach to business risk management.
A broker can discuss measures that may help reduce the likelihood or impact of certain losses. This could include reviewing claims trends, considering contractual risks or identifying areas where additional risk management resources may be useful.
For a business with several locations, this might mean considering how security, fire prevention or business continuity measures are organised. For a technology company, it could involve discussing cyber risk management alongside its insurance arrangements.
The aim is not simply to arrange a policy and wait until renewal. Risk can change throughout the year, so regular conversations can be valuable.
How Brown & Brown Can Help Support Your Business
At Brown & Brown, local UK teams are strengthened by our wider resources and market relationships, as we are one of the biggest global insurance brokers.
The combination of Brown & Brown UK teams, together with access to the wider Brown & Brown network where appropriate, can be useful for businesses with both UK operations and international interests or specific insurance requirements. Depending on the circumstances, access to wider market relationships and resources across the Brown & Brown group can help inform the insurance options available.
The starting point is always understanding the business itself – how it operates, where its risks sit and what is changing.
When Should a Business Speak to a Broker?
You do not necessarily need to wait until renewal. A conversation can be useful when you are:
- Starting or acquiring a business
- Opening a new premises
- Taking on a major contract
- Expanding overseas
- Buying another company
- Increasing your workforce
- Purchasing significant assets
- Introducing new products or services
- Reviewing existing insurance arrangements
Changes like these can affect several areas of your insurance programme at once. These are just some examples and are not an exhaustive list. Other changes to your business or circumstances may also be worth discussing with your broker.
Your Questions, Answered
At Brown & Brown we work with businesses of different sizes. For a smaller business, we can help identify relevant risks, arrange appropriate insurance solutions and review arrangements as the business develops.
There is no single point at which every business should use a broker. It can be particularly useful when risks are complex, the business is growing, specialist insurance is required or several policies need to work together.
This depends on the business and the insurance being considered. Information may include business activities, turnover, premises, employees, assets, vehicles, contracts, previous claims and existing insurance arrangements. Providing accurate and up-to-date information helps insurers assess the risk and determine the terms available.
Summary
An insurance broker can help businesses understand risks, arrange suitable cover, review changing requirements, support claims and consider risk management as operations, contracts, people and assets develop.