Steps to renewing Business insurance
Get the best insurance deal when renewing Business insurance each year.
Skip now to steps for
Renew - or switch insurer?
Checking out the competition
Surveys and risk improvements
Receiving all the right documents
Switch insurer or stay where you are?
It’s your call
1. Renewing Business insurance each year
Your insurance will only last for a year – and then it must be renewed. So note when your policy is renewable – either by waiting for the insurance company to send you a renewal notice, or by keeping your own diary note.
It's best to make your own reminder - renewal notices may not get sent or may get lost in the post. It's your insurance, your protection and your responsibility to renew.
2. Take stock of the situation
- Has your business changed since last year?
- Do you still need the same covers?
More info on the covers your business needs.
- Does the business description shown in your policy still accurately reflect what you do?
- Do you still need the same amount of covers – sums insured etc – or do you now need more cover?
- Tell your broker or insurer about any important changes and all material information.
3. How satisfied are you with your broker or insurer?
How has your broker or insurer treated you over past year? If you’ve been with the same broker or insurer for two or more years, how did last renewal go? Have you had any need to contact them since? How was their customer service?
If you’re not satisfied, think seriously about switching to someone else.
But remember too there are benefits in establishing a longer term relationship with an insurer and/or broker (and not swapping from one to another each year). Switching insurers involves a cost to you – telephone conversations, meetings, filling in forms, filing new documents, and perhaps another surveyor’s visit and possible further risk improvements. And, if you make a claim, although it’s largely based on fact, the insurer may look at the length of time you’ve been with them, and how profitable your business has been to them.
If you’re happy with your present insurer - move on to Step 4.
See the steps for getting new Business Insurance if you’re interested in finding a new broker or insurance company.
Check out the competition - to get the best insurance deal
4. Make sure you're not being charged too much
Even if you are happy, it’s useful to get confirmation that the premium you’re being charged is reasonable compared with the figures other insurers would quote. So get some comparative quotes – or make sure your broker gets several quotes for you.
Compare the premiums you are quoted to make sure your insurer is giving you value for money. To do this, you need to compare like with like - so make sure each insurer is offering you the same amount of cover.
- If you’re happy with your present insurer, but another insurer has offered you a lower premium – move on to Step 5.
- If you’re happy with your present insurer, and have already got a good deal – move on to Step 7.
5. Sell the good features of your business
Remind the broker or insurer of any features that make your business better than the average. The kind of things to stress are:
- your pro-active approach to risk management
- your Health and Safety record
- how few claims you’ve made in the last 5 years (ideally none!), or how insignificant any claims have been
- any claims in the past that have been caused by factors beyond your control or by circumstances that could not arise again
- any features of your premises that would help to limit any damage or loss – intruder alarm, fire extinguishers, concrete floors, etc.
6. Ask for a reduction in your premium
Even if you haven’t managed to check out the competition, you can still ask your broker or insurer for a reduction in premium this year. There’s always a lot of competition between insurers, so this is not as ridiculous as it may sound. Alternatively, it may be possible to negotiate additional covers for the same overall cost – so giving you better value for money.
Surveys and Risk Improvements
7. If the insurer wishes to survey your premises:
- The insurer’s surveyor should arrange an appointment with you.
- It’s best not to do anything special to prepare for the visit – so the insurers can see how your business operates on a daily basis and, if appropriate, give you some tips for making improvements.
- When the insurance surveyor arrives at your premises, ask to see his/her proof of identity and keep his/her business card so you know the contact details of the person who visited you.
- The surveyor should inspect your premises in a friendly and professional way, and provide you with constructive advice for improving risks in your business.
- Before the surveyor leaves, ask for his/her opinion. Find out what – if any – risk improvements he/she believes are necessary. Make sure you understand exactly what the surveyor has in mind.
- If you think any risk improvements are likely to be particularly expensive, ask the surveyor for advice on how the cost could be reduced. For example, are there any alternative measures that would be cheaper but just as effective? Ask if the surveyor can recommend a supplier to help you.
- Ask when you will get confirmation in writing of any risk improvements. This is always useful to make sure you have properly understood what is required.
- Ask how long you will have to carry out the work. Make sure you are allowed a reasonable period – this can often be negotiated, especially if you will be dependent on suppliers or installers. Make sure too that you are fully insured throughout this period.
- Sometimes, when you get down to actually carrying out the work, you find that a risk improvement is impossible to implement, or at least extremely difficult. If so, explain this to the broker or insurer. Ask the insurer to lift their requirement for the risk improvement to be implemented.
Receiving all the right documents
8. Check that you receive all the appropriate renewal documents:
- A renewal notice showing the premium you need to pay
- Many insurers provide a new schedule at each renewal, showing key information such as limits and sums insured
- If you have requested a change in the cover as from renewal date – such as an increase in the sum insured – the insurer should issue a document noting this. It may be the new schedule. Or it may be a document (sometimes called an “endorsement”) specifically noting the change.
9. Employers' Liability
Make sure you get this year’s Employers’ Liability certificate within 30 days of the renewal date. And display it on your premises!
At the end of each insurance year, hold on to your old certificate. Employers' Liability certificates must be retained for a minimum of 40 years.
10. Declaring your wages, turnover, etc for the past year
In a few cases, you may be asked to inform the insurer of, for example, your turnover or the wages you’ve paid during the year of insurance that's just expiring. This will be because, at the beginning of last year, the insurer charged you a provisional premium based on an estimate of, for example, turnover or wages, and now wants to work out what the exact premium should be.
You should provide the figures the broker or insurer asks for as soon as you can. You may then be asked to pay an additional premium, or receive a refund of some of the premium you paid last year – depending on whether the actual turnover or wages you declare are greater or less than the estimate.
More info . . .
on taking out new Business Insurance
on making changes to the cover under your current Business Insurance policy
Back to top