Insurance

For SMEs facing squeezed margins, insurance premiums may seem like a grudge purchase. Some products may be regarded as a discretionary overhead among those who don’t fully understand their risks or how being underinsured could prove catastrophic to their business. Yet insurance can be key to SMEs’ ongoing survival by providing a financial safety net in unforeseen circumstances, when they are the least able to withstand substantial losses.

While Manufacturing comprises just 5% of the UK’s businesses, it accounts for 10% of employment and 14% of turnover. Of the 270,000 firms that make up this diverse sector, just over half (138,050) are micro and SME manufacturers. Find some practical risk management advice for small and midsize manufacturing businesses:

Many contracting businesses who do not specifically design anything for a fee will be unaware of the potential risks they may face in not carrying Professional Indemnity cover. In the increasingly litigious society we live in, where it would seem that everyone wants someone to blame, should you consider cover just to protect yourself if something goes wrong?

Suitable insurance forms a vital part of business continuity planning – but how can you be sure that you are buying the right amount of cover? Here we share some top tips from ‘How to avoid underinsurance – A guide for small and medium-sized businesses’ produced by the British Insurance Brokers’ Association.