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Business insurance

Posted: Sun 19 Feb, 2017 6:55 pm
by drpeej
Has anyone got any advice about getting business insurance for a new framing business?

I work from home and have no employees but need liability insurance fot handling customers' artwork etc.

Re: Business insurance

Posted: Sun 19 Feb, 2017 7:38 pm
by drpeej
Sorry this should probably have been in the Business section

Re: Business insurance

Posted: Sun 19 Feb, 2017 8:03 pm
by YPF
I used to run the business from home and managed to get a combined home and business policy from NFU at a very good rate.

Re: Business insurance

Posted: Mon 20 Feb, 2017 8:23 am
by Steve N
You probably will not get insurance for handling customers work, only for storage of said work, also If customers visit you, you will probably need Public Liability insurance, plus you might like to insure your equipment

Re: Business insurance

Posted: Mon 20 Feb, 2017 9:44 am
by Jamesnkr
Ask whoever provides your home insurance. You may find that you're already covered if you're not doing much.

Otherwise, try a broker.

Re: Business insurance

Posted: Mon 20 Feb, 2017 3:33 pm
by David McCormack
I work from home and got my insurance through a local broker. They set me up with Commercial Guard Homeworkers from Ageas. As far as working on customer's work, you may not get insurance for damage caused through negligence, say a big crease from a mounting press or spilling your favourite cuppa over a watercolour. If the artwork is damaged in a fire or stolen from your workshop then that should be covered under goods held in trust. But I am no expert in these matters except for making a good brew of Yorkshire tea... not spilt a drop yet :sweating:

Re: Business insurance

Posted: Mon 20 Feb, 2017 7:05 pm
by prospero
Insurance companies are very slippery so it's best to get everything nailed down as to what is covered or not.

If you assume that a customer's work will be covered by your home and contents you will most likely be
disappointed if you ever had to make a claim. You should have a base level of cover which only you can
decide how much. A decent company should allow you to increase the cover temporarily, to cover any extra
valuable items in your care for a set period.

There is also Public Liability. If you have people visiting your premises on business and they trip over something
and break a leg (their own leg :lol: ) then they could sue you.

FWIW. I'm with the NFU and find them very accommodating. I've never made a claim though so I can't vouch for that. :wink:

Re: Business insurance

Posted: Tue 21 Feb, 2017 11:01 am
by Jamesnkr
Consider very carefully whether you need insurance for customers' things.

Add up everything you've ever spent on insurance. And add up every claim you have made. If it's going to cost you £500 per annum to insure against the theft of things that nobody is ever going to steal (as degree certificates aren't worth much) then it's only fire you need worry about, and you might wonder what insurance is worth paying for. It will also discourage you from keeping customers' work too long.

You may well find that your home insurance will cover you for public liability insurance for £10,000 of turnover.

Re: Business insurance

Posted: Tue 21 Feb, 2017 12:42 pm
by prospero
There is a lot of wisdom in James' words. :D

Unless you regularly store artworks worth tens of 1000s it's probably not worth having cover.
The key word is 'probably'. This is the core principle of the insurance industry.

As far as insuring your equipment, think of it this way.... What's the worst that can happen?
Theft? When was the last time a frame shop was raided and thieves made off with a Morso?
Most expensive equipment is heavy and not easy to shift. No one is going to make off with it
in a hurry. And if they did succeed what are they going to do with it? There isn't a big black
market for knocked-off framing kit that I'm aware of. It's not impossible, but quite improbable.
This is what insurance companies work on.
Thing is, It may cost you £1000 a year to insure your equipment/stock. A situation where you
could make a claim is more unlikely than you think. The policy will be peppered with get-out
clauses.
"You left the back door unlocked and someone nicked your CMC? Sorry...."
"The cat jumped on a painting? Tough. Sue the cat".

But having said that, a gallery not too far away had a 5x4ft glazed picture lifted in broad daylight by
a lad who made off with it on his bike. He didn't get very far. He was also pissed as a fart. :lol:

A wise plan might be to save all the money you would have put into insurance in an OXO tin under the bed.
It would add up to a tidy sum after a few years.
And you "probably" would never have to dip into it. :clap: