Getting the right business insurance quote

 With the Internet and telephone now dominating the selling of most financial services, it is easier than ever before to get yourself a business insurance quote , as quick as you want.

                                  


There are over 2,000 business insurance broking firms, of one sort or another, in the UK, all of them vying to offer you their services. If we go back to before the dot.com boom, the only way you could really contact a broker, was over the telephone. You tended to stick to your local area and deal with one that was within your own geographic location.

If a commercial insurer, say in London, received an enquiry from a business in Wales, Cornwall or Scotland etc, they would question why they are being asked to quote for business that is "out of area". They used to think that is was an issue that the client company was trying to hide something.

However, with the advent of the Internet, it is no longer an issue now that a business in Exeter deals with a broker in Glasgow who places the insurance with a company in London.

There are two ways of obtaining a quote from an online broker. Firstly, the website is used purely as a sales tool to gain new enquirers. After that initial enquiry, you will be dealt with in the traditional manner. This is where the broker phones you, discusses your requirements, gathers information and then seeks the best cover at the best price. At all times during this process, they are acting on your behalf, as your legal agent. They have to prove, if required, that at all times they have acted in your best interests.

The second option is to use a "quote engine". What this means is a website where you input the information and then you get a list of prices. Effectively, the service they are offering is to compare business insurance quotes. However, are they doing it in the true sense? At no point in this process do you get, or have access to, independent advice? How do you know if your building is of standard construction? What claims should you declare? Do you have the right business category? There are hundreds of potential questions, depending on the type of business you run, that you may possible need to ask. These websites are not the answer.

In some cases, the cover they offer is a pared down version of what you could get, from the same insurer, through a broker. There are also potentially, higher excesses and more onerous terms and conditions buried deep in the policy wording.

You need to get proper advice, at the earliest stage possible. If not, you have none to turn to when the insurers turn down your £100,000 claim two years later because of something minor that you declared at quote stage wrongly or carelessly.

Moreover, broker too makes mistakes. If you can prove that you were misinformed, you have complete rights of recourse either against the brokers professional indemnity insurance or to follow a full complaint to the Financial Ombudsman.

There will never, be a reason why you should not take professional and free advice, when your business is at stake through the potential of an inadequate insurance policy.