For businesses with turnover from approximately £100,000 to £10 million
Anton Le Pore
Fortify Insurance Brokers helps UK SMEs arrange business and commercial property insurance for shops, restaurants, takeaways, offices, warehouses, manufacturers, salons, clinics, property companies and professional firms. This guide explains how to review property, stock, tenants’ improvements, liabilities, business interruption, cyber cover, management liability and policy endorsements.
Fortify Insurance is a small, independent insurance brokerage that Anton Le Pore works in personally every day. His aim is to provide a personal broker experience from someone who takes the time to understand the client’s business, explains the important details and remains accessible when advice or claim support is needed.
Anton’s experience began in property. His father was a portfolio landlord and owned an estate agency, which introduced him to property and business risk from a young age. Anton managed the family letting agency between the ages of 18 and 24, began buying and managing his own rental properties at 18, and later spent seven years in Dubai’s high-end real estate market, where he ran his own real estate business and sold property in developments including the Burj Khalifa.
He subsequently moved into insurance and founded Fortify to combine practical business and property experience with specialist insurance advice. His approach centres on clear, practical cover built around the reality of the risk, with price assessed alongside protection.
Business insurance is often purchased as a package. The client selects an occupation, provides figures for turnover, wages, stock and contents, and receives a schedule listing several sections of cover. That can make the process appear simpler than it really is.
The main task is ensuring the policy accurately reflects what the business owns, how it trades, what could interrupt it and which conditions must be followed.
A schedule might show stock and contents, but the business may also need separate cover for tenants’ improvements, computer equipment, machinery, refrigerated stock, deterioration of stock, goods in transit or seasonal increases. Business interruption may be included, but the declared figure or indemnity period may not be suitable.
Endorsements can materially affect the headline cover. Restaurant wordings may contain requirements concerning extraction cleaning, waste storage, deep-fat frying, fire extinguishing appliances or electrical inspections. Retail risks can attract minimum security standards, while warehouse terms may address battery charging, waste, storage heights or fire separation.
Anton’s Core Message
Business owners should regularly check the level and categorisation of their cover – including tenants’ improvements, stock, deterioration of stock, contents, computer equipment and business interruption. If figures are too low or placed under the wrong section, the business may face a serious shortfall and the Rule of Average may apply where the wording permits. Endorsements and conditions should be reviewed with the same care as the premium.
Underinsurance can affect total and partial losses. Depending on the wording, an Average clause may reduce a partial claim in the same proportion that the relevant property was underinsured.
Example | Amount |
Actual replacement value of insured property | £200,000 |
Sum insured | £150,000 |
Proportion insured | 75% |
Illustrative £80,000 loss after Average, before excess | £60,000 |
The figures provide a simple illustration. Average clauses, bases of settlement and remedies differ between policies and claims.
An occupation selected from a quotation list is only a starting point. Two businesses using the same label can have very different exposures.
A restaurant serving customers on site is different from a takeaway operating late at night through delivery platforms. A wholesaler storing packaged goods is different from one handling flammable liquids. An office-based consultant is different from a firm designing safety-critical systems.
Common Mistake
Failure to declare previous claims or CCJs when requested can undermine the presentation of the risk. Commercial policyholders are subject to a duty of fair presentation before the insurance contract is entered into. Accurate, complete information and a clear explanation of any uncertainty support a sound insurer presentation.
A business can change quickly. It might introduce online sales, start importing products, install new machinery, extend opening hours, take on employees, carry out work away from the premises or acquire another location.
The policy should be reviewed when material changes occur. At renewal, the schedule, statement of fact and endorsements should be checked against current business information.
Anton’s Advice
Describe what the business actually does in practical terms. A fuller explanation helps the broker identify the correct policy and helps the insurer understand the exposure. The presentation should be accurate and balanced.
Many smaller businesses are insured under a package policy designed for a particular trade, such as a shop, office, restaurant or salon. Larger or more complex businesses may require commercial combined insurance, where several sections are arranged within one tailored policy.
Section | Typical purpose |
Buildings | Protects the building where the business is responsible for insuring it. |
Tenants’ improvements | Protects the tenant’s fixed alterations and fit-out. |
Contents | Protects furniture, equipment and other removable business property. |
Stock | Protects goods held for sale or use in the business. |
Money | Provides limited cover for cash, subject to security and transit conditions. |
Business interruption | Protects insured income following covered damage. |
Public and products liability | Responds to certain third-party injury and property-damage claims. |
Employers’ liability | Responds to employee injury or illness claims and is commonly compulsory. |
Legal expenses | Provides assistance for specified legal disputes, subject to the section wording. |
A package policy can be convenient, but convenience should not be confused with uniformity. Different insurers group property differently, apply different inner limits and use different definitions.
Broker Insight
A suitable package should insure every material part of the business in the correct section and at the correct value.
The distinction between tenants’ improvements and contents is one of the most common areas of confusion in commercial package insurance.
Tenants’ improvements are alterations, additions or fit-out works paid for by the tenant and attached to leased premises. The exact definition depends on the policy and lease.
Contents are generally movable items owned by the business, such as furniture, freestanding equipment and office items. However, some policies treat particular equipment separately.
Some insurers include computers within general contents. Others require computer or electronic equipment to be separately declared, sometimes with different cover, excesses or territorial limits.
Common Mistake
Seeing ‘contents’ on the schedule and assuming it includes every item. Some policies separate general contents, computer equipment, machinery and tenants’ improvements. A missing or inadequate section can create a gap even if the total value declared across the policy looks substantial.
The lease can help establish whether the landlord or tenant is responsible for the shopfront, glazing, air-conditioning, flooring and other fixed items. Fit-out invoices, landlord consents and contractor records can help prove who purchased and installed them.
Anton’s Advice
Walk through the premises and classify every major item by ownership, installer, degree of permanence, current replacement cost and policy section. Update original fit-out costs where replacement prices have increased.
Stock is often one of the most valuable and variable assets in a business. It may also be one of the easiest figures to underestimate.
Stock cover generally relates to goods held for sale, raw materials and work in progress, depending on the business and wording. The sum insured should reflect the maximum value at risk, not merely an average month.
Ordinary stock cover does not necessarily include deterioration caused by a change in temperature following refrigeration breakdown or failure. Restaurants, takeaways, grocers and food wholesalers may need a separate deterioration-of-stock section.
The policy may ask about the age, maintenance and alarm arrangements of refrigeration equipment, and may exclude failures arising from wear and tear, gradual deterioration or utility interruption unless specifically extended.
Common Mistake
Declaring all food as ordinary stock without checking whether deterioration cover is included. A freezer breakdown can make stock unusable even where there has been no fire, flood or theft.
Machinery may need to be insured separately from general contents, particularly in manufacturing, warehousing, refrigeration, printing and specialist trades.
Some plant is subject to statutory inspection requirements, and engineering insurance may provide inspection services and breakdown cover. The scope should be checked carefully because ordinary property insurance may cover external insured damage but not internal mechanical or electrical breakdown.
Property insurance repairs or replaces damaged assets. It does not, by itself, replace the income lost while the business is unable to trade normally.
Business interruption insurance is designed to protect specified financial results following an insured event, subject to the wording and the material-damage requirements of the policy.
Recovery times vary by sector. Restaurants can lose sales while essential kitchen equipment is replaced; retailers may need temporary premises; manufacturers may wait months for specialist machinery; and professional firms can lose access to records, systems or offices.
The gross profit used for insurance is often different from the gross profit shown in ordinary accounts. The policy wording defines the calculation, usually by reference to turnover, closing stock and specified uninsured working expenses.
Common Mistake
Using an accounting gross-profit figure without checking the insurance definition. This can produce a figure that is materially too low or otherwise unsuitable.
The indemnity period is the maximum period for which the policy can measure and pay the insured business-interruption loss. Common selections include 12, 24 and 36 months.
It should reflect the realistic time needed to return to the level of trading that would have existed without the damage – not merely the time needed to reopen the doors.
Anton’s Advice
Twelve months can look adequate until a major loss involves planning, building works or specialist replacement equipment. Work backwards from a serious recovery scenario and select an indemnity period that reflects the realistic timescale.
Extensions are subject to specific triggers, limits, distances and exclusions. They should not be assumed to operate in the same way as the main damage-based section.
Public liability and professional indemnity address different types of allegation and frequently require separate policy sections.
Cover | Typical allegation |
Public liability | A customer, visitor or third party suffers injury or property damage because of the business’s activities. |
Professional indemnity | A client alleges financial loss arising from professional advice, design, specification or services. |
Where the business is legally liable for third-party bodily injury or property damage, the public liability section may respond.
UK law generally leaves public liability optional, while landlords, clients, councils, event organisers and contracts may require a specified limit.
Professional indemnity is relevant where a business provides advice, design, consultancy, specification or other professional services that could cause a client financial loss.
Anton’s Advice
Ask what the client is paying the business to know or decide. If the service includes advice, design, specification, certification or professional judgement, public liability alone may not address the resulting financial-loss exposure.
Professional indemnity policies are commonly written on a claims-made basis. This generally means the policy in force when the claim is made and notified is relevant, subject to the retroactive date and other terms. Continuous cover and prompt notification of circumstances can therefore be important.
Professional firms should not be treated as one generic category. Solicitors, accountants, surveyors, architects and consultants have different regulatory, contractual and claims exposures. The pillar guide should link to dedicated trade pages for each profession.
Employers’ liability insurance helps protect a business against certain claims from employees who are injured or become ill because of their work.
In Great Britain, employers generally need employers’ liability insurance as soon as they become an employer, with cover of at least £5 million from an authorised insurer, subject to limited exemptions.
The label used by the business is not always decisive. The insurer may consider the practical working relationship, including control, hours, tools, supervision and integration into the business.
Insurers commonly rate employers’ liability by wages split between clerical, manual and other categories. The figures should reflect the real annual exposure.
Common Mistake
Reducing wage figures to lower the premium can leave the insurer with an inaccurate picture of the business. It can lead to additional premium, policy disputes or claim complications.
Insurance does not replace the duty to manage workplace risk. Businesses should maintain suitable risk assessments, training, supervision, equipment maintenance and accident records.
Product liability may respond where a product supplied, sold, manufactured or imported by the business causes third-party injury or property damage.
The policy may not cover the cost of replacing the defective product itself, contractual guarantees or recall costs unless specific extensions apply.
Goods in transit insurance protects specified goods while being transported, subject to vehicle, security, packaging and overnight conditions. It should reflect whether goods are carried in the business’s own vehicles or by third-party carriers.
Money cover can include cash at the premises, in safes and in transit to the bank, but limits and security conditions often vary by location and time of day.
Commercial legal-expenses insurance may provide advice and cover for specified disputes such as employment matters, tax investigations, property disputes, contract disputes or debt recovery. Each section has eligibility rules, reporting requirements and prospects-of-success tests.
Direct financial loss caused by employee fraud or dishonesty may require a crime, fidelity or management-liability extension. Ordinary theft cover should not be assumed to include employee dishonesty.
Cyber insurance is no longer relevant only to technology companies. Restaurants, retailers, offices, clinics, manufacturers and professional firms all rely on email, payment systems, cloud services and digital records.
Response area | Possible support |
Incident response | Access to forensic, legal and specialist response teams. |
Data restoration | Costs of restoring systems and data, subject to the wording. |
Cyber interruption | Specified lost income and increased costs following a covered cyber event. |
Privacy response | Legal advice, notification and monitoring costs where covered. |
Extortion | Negotiation and certain response costs, subject to law, sanctions and insurer approval. |
Liability | Certain claims from customers or third parties affected by a breach. |
Crisis management | Communications and reputation-management support. |
A cyber policy should never be read as a promise that a ransom will be paid. Any payment or reimbursement depends on the wording, insurer consent, applicable law, sanctions restrictions and the circumstances of the incident.
The National Cyber Security Centre advises organisations to prepare, maintain protected backups, control access and respond through experienced incident specialists. Paying a ransom does not guarantee that data will be restored or that criminals will not retain or publish it.
Anton’s Advice
The most valuable part of cyber insurance can be immediate access to people who know what to do. During an attack, the business may need forensic, legal, communications and recovery support before it can even quantify the financial loss.
A personal data breach can involve loss, destruction, alteration, unauthorised disclosure or loss of availability of personal data. Businesses should assess incidents promptly and notify the Information Commissioner’s Office within the applicable timeframe where notification is required.
Management liability protects different aspects of the company and its management against specified allegations and legal actions. It is increasingly relevant to SMEs and professional firms.
Directors’ and officers’ cover can protect individual directors and senior managers against certain claims alleging wrongful acts committed in their managerial capacity.
Corporate legal liability may protect the company itself against certain allegations and defence costs, subject to the policy’s insured events and exclusions.
Employment practices cover may respond to specified allegations such as discrimination, harassment, wrongful dismissal or other employment-related claims.
Crime cover can address certain direct financial losses caused by employee dishonesty or third-party fraud. The scope varies significantly, particularly for social engineering and voluntary payments.
Why professional firms should consider it
Solicitors and other professional firms may have regulated responsibilities, employees, client money, sensitive information and directors who can be personally named in allegations. Professional indemnity protects the professional service exposure; management liability addresses different management and corporate risks.
Insurers assess the business activity and the controls used to manage the likelihood and severity of a loss.
UK fire-safety guidance requires the responsible person to identify hazards, identify people at risk, reduce the risk, record findings, plan for emergencies and review the assessment.
Warehouse insurers may examine housekeeping, storage arrangements, vehicle movements, waste, fire separation and battery charging.
Waste should be removed regularly and stored safely away from buildings, ignition sources and escape routes. External bins and combustible packaging can increase both accidental-fire and arson exposure.
Anton’s Advice
Good housekeeping is not cosmetic. Waste, blocked routes, poor charging arrangements and uncontrolled storage can turn a manageable incident into a major loss. The controls should match the actual premises and processes, and any policy endorsement should be built into the business’s routine procedures.
Restaurants and takeaways combine property, cooking, stock, liability and business-interruption exposures. The cover should reflect the cooking methods, opening hours, delivery model and fit-out.
Restaurant policies often contain detailed conditions relating to cleaning intervals, professional cleaning records, ducting, filters, fire extinguishers, gas isolation and waste.
These conditions should be diarised and evidenced. A generic statement that the extraction is ‘cleaned regularly’ may be insufficient if the endorsement specifies a particular frequency or standard.
Common Mistake
Insuring food stock but omitting deterioration cover, or insuring kitchen equipment as general contents while overlooking fixed fit-out and tenants’ improvements.
Retail insurance should reflect the shopfront, tenants’ improvements, stock peaks, theft exposure, money, public liability and interruption risk.
Wholesalers and warehouses often require more detailed information on stock type, racking, stacking heights, forklift use, charging arrangements, fire separation and goods in transit.
Manufacturing businesses may need machinery, engineering breakdown, deterioration, product liability, product recall, business interruption and supply-chain extensions.
Anton’s Advice
For a warehouse or manufacturer, the headline turnover rarely explains the real risk. The stock concentration, machinery dependency, fire load, transit exposure and time needed to replace equipment can be more important to the eventual claim.
Office packages may include contents, computers, liability and business interruption, but the business should consider remote equipment, home working, data, cyber risk and professional services.
Professional firms require sector-specific consideration. Dedicated supporting pages should be created for solicitors, accountants, surveyors, architects, consultants, estate agents, recruitment firms and media businesses.
Clinics and treatment businesses may require medical malpractice or treatment liability alongside or in place of public liability. The insurer must understand every treatment, qualification, practitioner arrangement and any sale of products.
Salons and barbers may require treatment liability, contents, stock, tenants’ improvements, business interruption and deterioration cover for certain products. Patch testing and treatment conditions may be important.
Property companies may need office cover, management liability, professional indemnity where advice or management services are provided, cyber cover and separate insurance for owned properties.
Public Liability and Professional Indemnity Cover Different Risks
A professional firm can have a perfectly safe office and still face a substantial claim because of advice, design, missed deadlines or alleged professional error. Public liability does not replace professional indemnity.
A well-managed claim begins before the incident. Accurate schedules, inventories, leases, maintenance records and photographs can make it easier to prove ownership, value and responsibility.
Fortify is assisting with an ongoing restaurant claim after vandals started a fire outside the rear door of the premises.
Firefighters forced entry and discharged firefighting chemicals into the kitchen as a precaution. Damage affected the air-conditioning system, kitchen equipment, stock and flooring, leaving the restaurant unable to trade for several days while essential equipment was replaced.
This incident involved several policy sections, including physical property, stock, tenants’ improvements and potential business interruption. Emergency action caused the main internal damage even though the fire originated outside.
To establish responsibility for the shopfront, glazing and air-conditioning, the insurer requested the lease and supporting fit-out evidence.
After reviewing the lease, the insurer required written confirmation from the landlord that the air-conditioning was not included as part of the leased premises. The air-conditioning was being considered as a tenant’s improvement, and the tenants’ improvements sum insured appeared inadequate.
The documents have been provided and the claim is currently with the insurer’s validation team. The final coverage and settlement position has not been confirmed.
Lessons from the ongoing claim
Keep the lease, fit-out invoices, landlord approvals and proof of who installed fixed equipment. Review tenants’ improvements separately from general contents. Check business interruption even where the expected closure seems short. Do not describe an ongoing claim as paid or accepted until the insurer has confirmed its position.
A claim is often the first time a detailed classification is tested. If air-conditioning, flooring, shopfronts or machinery are under the wrong section or inadequately insured, a shortfall may emerge.
Legal requirements depend on the cover and the business. Employers’ liability is generally required where a business employs staff, subject to limited exemptions, and motor insurance is compulsory for vehicles used on the road. A landlord, lender, regulator, customer or contract may require additional cover.
Contents are generally movable business property. Tenants’ improvements are fixed alterations and fit-out paid for by the tenant. The policy and lease definitions should be checked because classification can affect which section responds.
Ordinary stock cover may exclude deterioration following a refrigeration or freezer failure, so a separate deterioration-of-stock section may be required.
Where the wording contains an Average clause, a claim may be reduced in proportion to the level of underinsurance. The effect depends on the relevant section and policy wording.
It should reflect the realistic time needed to restore the business to its expected trading level, including investigation, approvals, building work, equipment lead times and customer recovery. Twelve months may not be sufficient for every business.
Public liability addresses certain third-party injury and property-damage claims. Professional indemnity addresses certain claims arising from advice, design or professional services. Some businesses need both.
Ransom-related cover depends on the wording, insurer consent, law, sanctions restrictions and the circumstances. Cyber insurance may also provide forensic, legal, recovery and interruption support.
Insurers may treat them as material to underwriting. Inaccurate or incomplete information can lead to policy or claim complications. Provide the information requested and explain the circumstances.
Package policies vary in their definitions, inner limits, extensions, endorsements and excesses. One policy may separate computers or tenants’ improvements while another groups them differently.
At least at renewal and whenever the business changes, including new activities, premises, machinery, stock values, staff, products, contracts or professional services.
Fortify Insurance Brokers helps UK SMEs arrange business and commercial property insurance for shops, restaurants, takeaways, offices, warehouses, manufacturers, salons, clinics and professional firms. A review can cover tenants’ improvements, contents, stock, computer equipment, liabilities, business interruption, cyber risks and endorsements. Terms remain subject to insurer appetite and the individual business.
Fortify is built around a personal broker experience. Anton works in the business every day, giving clients direct contact with someone who understands their circumstances and the detail of their cover.
The process begins with understanding the business, checking how assets and income are categorised, explaining significant endorsements and helping the client make an informed decision.
Request a business insurance review
A review can compare the current schedule with the way the business actually operates, identify missing or inadequate sections and highlight endorsements that require action. Insurer appetite, policy terms and claim validation remain separate considerations.
