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Making sure you have the key Business insurance facts, like sums insured, rebuilding cost and other material facts

The Key Facts a business insurer wants to know

Arm yourself with the key facts you need at your fingertips when you speak to a broker or insurance company to arrange Business insurance


Package policies: Key Facts 1 – 8. Other policies: you’ll also need Facts 9 - 12. Check out the difference between package and other policies.

Property owners insurance: Skip to Key Facts for property owners


1. Name of your business


  • The name of your company if you are a limited company, or
  • Your name, together with any name you may trade under, if you are not a limited company.


    2. Address


    Your business address, including the full post code.


    3. Trade or business


    If what you do isn’t obvious from the name of the trade, be prepared to explain what your business involves - including specific processes. It’s better to be precise than to allow an insurer to assume the worst.


    4. Turnover (or total sales)


    This should be your estimate of turnover during the coming year of insurance.
    If your business is already trading, you can base this on last year’s turnover, and adjust it
  • to allow for inflation and
  • to take account of how your business is evolving.

    (If you run a small shop, office, hotel or similar, you may not be asked for your turnover.)


    5. Sums insured on your property - including rebuilding cost


    • The cost of replacing all your fixtures, fittings and any machinery so that they’re as close as possible to what you have at present. (More info on sums insured . . .)
    • The cost of replacing all your stock (if your business has its own stock), including any transport and handling costs. (More info on sums insured . . .)
    • If some of your stock would be especially attractive to thieves (e.g. cigarettes, wines and spirits, non-ferrous metals, electrical goods), a division of the stock sum insured between these goods and the remainder of your stock.
    • If you are responsible for insuring the building, the cost of rebuilding the whole building - so that it’s as close as possible to the current building, and so that – as nearly as possible – it provides the same facilities as at present. The total sum insured should make provision for professional fees, such as architect's fees.(More info on rebuilding cost . . .)


    6. Recent insurance claims and incidents


    Details of any business insurance claims during the past 5 years, including:
  • the cause of each claim
  • how much the claim was settled for
  • similar details for any incident that you were not insured against at the time, but is the kind of incident that you want to insure against now.


    7. Good features


    Any features of your business or your premises that lessen the risk of an insurance claim; e.g.
  • intruder alarm
  • fire extinguishers or a sprinkler system
  • concrete floors throughout the building
  • evidence of regular risk assessments and rectification of issues.


    8. Material facts


    Material facts are facts that:
  • mean you’re more likely to make an insurance claim
  • might influence either whether an insurer decides to insure you or not, or what premium the insurer will charge
  • could allow an insurer to avoid paying a claim if you hadn’t previously told the insurer about them.

    Unfortunately there’s no more precise a definition. So, to make sure your insurer does not have any opportunity to reject a future claim, it’s best to reveal any information that you think could be material.

    Examples are:
  • history of flooding or subsidence in the immediate area
  • presence of other tenants within the same building (if you occupy part of a multi-tenure building) – especially of those other tenants have more hazardous trades than you do
  • premises built mainly of combustible materials, e.g. timber
  • if any insurer had declined to insure you in the past or had only insured you subject to special terms.

    If you’re looking for a package policy, those are enough key facts!
    If a package policy us unlikely to suit your needs, please carry on . . .



    9. Wages


    Your estimate of the wages and salaries your business will pay during the coming year of insurance. If your business is already trading, you can base this on last year’s wages and salaries, and adjust it
  • to allow for inflation and
  • to take account of how your business is evolving.

    The figure you arrive at needs to be split between:
  • wages paid to managers and clerical staff, and
  • wages paid to manual workers.


    10. Business Interruption sum insured


    How you calculate this depends on the types of cover your business needs. More info . . .


    11. Money handled


    Your estimate of the total amount of money you will handle during the course of the coming year of insurance. Most businesses take the money they receive to the bank, or they draw money from the bank at regular intervals, so add up the total of all the sums of money you transport during the course of a year. If your business is already trading, you can base this on last year’s total, and adjust it
  • to allow for inflation and
  • to take account of how your business is evolving.

    You also need to work out the maximum sum of money that you would handle at any one time.


    12. Goods in transit


  • If you transport stock (or customer's goods) in your own vehicle(s), the highest amount that – at any time during the year – you’ll ever transport in one journey.
  • If you send goods by post, rail, etc, the maximum value of any consignment, and also your estimate of the total amount of goods that you will send during the coming year of insurance.


    This is not an exhaustive list.


  • It only allows for the types of insurance that the majority of businesses need.
  • The answers you give to some questions may trigger other questions in the insurer’s mind.
    But these key facts should form a sound basis for any discussions with an insurer or broker – and allow you to feel confident in getting a good deal for your business.


    Back to top


    Property owners insurance: Key Facts for property owners



    1. Name of your business


  • The name of your company if you are a limited company, or
  • Your name, together with any name you may trade under, if you are not a limited company.


    2. Address of your business


    Your business address, including the full post code.


    3. Address of the premises


    The address of the property you want to insure, including the full post code.


    4. How the premises are occupied


    The trades or businesses that the tenant(s) undertake. If the building is in multi-tenure, list all the tenants’ trades.


    5. Unoccupancy


    If some or all of the building is currently unoccupied, make sure you mention this. Explain:
  • how much of the building is empty
  • what precautions are being taken to deter intruders
  • what your longer term plans are for the building.


    6. Rebuilding cost of the property


    The cost of rebuilding the whole building - so that it’s as close as possible to the current building, and so that – as nearly as possible – it provides the same facilities as at present. The total sum insured should make provision for professional fees, such as architect's fees. (More info on rebuilding cost . . .)


    7. Rent


    The amount of rent that you need to insure.
  • Think about how long it would take to rebuild the premises (and then if necessary to find a new tenant). If in doubt, assume this could take 24 months for a small property, and 36 months for a larger building.
  • What is the current annual rent? Multiply it by the length of time needed to rebuild and find a tenant.
  • The figure you have calculated so far is based on current rent. If necessary, adjust this to allow for any increase in rent you think is likely either during the coming year of insurance or during the time it takes to rebuild and find a tenant.
  • Consider the lease - are you responsible for insuring the rent under the terms of the lease? If so, ensure the number of months is at least as long as that required by the lease.


    8. The perils you want to insure against


    The lease may stipulate particular perils, such as fire, explosion, etc. The best bet is to insure against “all risks”, which includes fire and the other perils that are likely to be listed in a lease.


    9. Recent insurance claims and incidents


    Details of any business insurance claims during the past 5 years, including:
  • the cause of each claim
  • how much the claim was settled for
  • similar details for any incident that you were not insured against at the time, but is the kind of incident that you want to insure against now.


    10. Good features


    Any features of your business or your premises that lessen the risk of an insurance claim; e.g.
  • fire extinguishers or a sprinkler system
  • concrete floors throughout the building
    evidence of regular risk assessments and action plans to minimise issues identified.



    • 11. Material facts


    Material facts are facts that:
  • mean you’re more likely to make an insurance claim
  • might influence either whether an insurer decides to insure you or not, or what premium the insurer will charge
  • could allow an insurer to avoid paying a claim if you hadn’t previously told the insurer.

    Unfortunately there’s no more precise a definition. So, to make sure your insurer does not have any opportunity to reject a future claim, it’s best to reveal any information that you think could be material.

    Examples are:
  • history of flooding or subsidence in the immediate area
  • premises built mainly of combustible materials, e.g. timber
  • declinatures or terms imposed by other insurers.




    This is not an exhaustive list.


  • It only allows for the types of insurance that the majority of property owners need.
  • The answers you give to some questions may trigger other questions in the insurer’s mind.

    • But these key facts should form a sound basis for any discussions with an insurer or broker – and allow you to feel confident in getting a good deal for your business.


    Property owners insurance: Back to the start of Key Facts for property owners

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