What should an SME include in a business insurance review?

In a matter of months, a small business can add equipment or stock, sign a larger client, move premises or become more reliant on digital systems. Each change can alter the amount at risk, the type of claims it may face and the time needed to recover.

The short answer is that a business insurance review should assess whether the policy still matches how the business earns revenue today: update replacement values, identify new and portable assets, reconcile stock and turnover, reassess liability and stress-test continuity assumptions.

This turns business insurance from static paperwork into a tool for financial and operational governance.

A useful business insurance review tests five moving parts:

Replacement values
Newly acquired assets
Stock and turnover
Liability exposures, and
The time and resources needed to keep trading after disruption.

A lot can shift in six months, and if your cover hasn’t kept pace, you could be left exposed.

How often should a business review its insurance?

Use the annual renewal as a formal checkpoint, but also review your cover after any material operational change.

Triggers include new premises, equipment, vehicles or stock; changes in turnover, products, territories, contracts, security or digital platforms; outsourcing; and claims or near misses.

Ask what has changed since the insurer last assessed the business.

1. Are asset values still based on replacement cost?

Exchange rates, freight, labour costs and supply constraints can move replacement costs away from the insurance schedule.

If an asset is insured below its true replacement value, an average clause may reduce an eligible claim proportionally, subject to the policy wording.

Use an asset register recording each item’s location, owner, replacement estimate and supporting evidence. Do not substitute accounting depreciation for the cost of restoring the business after a loss.

2. Has every new or portable asset been disclosed?

New laptops, tools, machinery, solar equipment, inverters and generators may not automatically appear on the schedule.

Confirm that each item is correctly described, valued and located under business property cover.

Items taken away from the premises may require business all-risk cover.

Review portability, exposure to power surges, replacement cost and lead times.

3. Do stock and turnover still match the forecast?

Stock can move sharply due to seasonality, expansion or bulk buying.

Compare the cover limit with the highest credible holding, not a quiet month’s balance. Include secondary premises and goods in transit, and clarify responsibility for consigned or customer-owned goods.

Turnover and gross profit also matter where business interruption insurance is selected. It can protect specified operating profit, fixed expenses and approved additional working costs after a qualifying insured event, subject to the wording, limit and indemnity period.

Use current accounts, seasonality and a realistic recovery time.

4. Has liability changed with how the business earns revenue?

Liability follows the work, products or advice delivered.

New markets, clients, subcontractors, services or online channels can create claims that fall outside the old risk description. Review customer and supplier contracts for required cover, limits, territories and jurisdictions.

Ask whether the business needs public, product, employers’ liability, defective workmanship or professional liability protection.

Miway’s broadform liability cover includes selected liability sections, subject to the chosen cover and policy terms.

5. Would the continuity plan work under pressure?

A generator, cloud backup or second supplier is not a continuity plan until it has been tested.

Map the people, premises, equipment, utilities, data and suppliers needed to keep serving customers. Assign decision-makers, estimate restoration times, and test data recovery, backup power, remote access and alternative suppliers.

Check whether cyber-driven downtime meets the policy trigger; do not assume standard property or business interruption cover will apply.

A 20-minute SME business insurance review

What has changed: List new assets, premises, vehicles, products, contracts, suppliers and systems.

What it costs today: Update replacement values and keep supporting evidence on record.

What is missing: Reconcile your assets, stock, vehicles and portable equipment with the policy schedule.

What could stop revenue: Identify the most likely disruption and estimate its impact on cash flow.

How long recovery takes: Include approvals, lead times, data restoration and customer recovery.

What contracts require: Check leases, finance agreements and contracts for cover and limits.

What to discuss now: Share material changes and any questions with your insurer or intermediary.

What information should the business take to the review?

Take the latest asset register and valuations, peak stock records, management accounts, vehicle and equipment lists, major contracts, claims and near misses, as well as details of critical suppliers and recovery times. Then ask: which event is covered, up to what limit, for how long, and subject to which excesses and exclusions?

The value of the review is alignment

A business insurance review keeps the policy, operating model and balance sheet aligned. Small corrections to values, limits or continuity assumptions are easier to fund than a shortfall after a loss. Base decisions on the current Coversheet and policy wording, and seek advice where the exposure is unclear.

Rishai Neerachand is the executive head of business insurance at Miway.

Brought to you by Miway. 

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