Which insurance do you need?

Some insurance is up to you. Some is required by law, depending on what you do.

This is a free guide. It is not Insurely Business Insurance Brokers Ltd, and it does not sell insurance. To find any insurance firm's details, use the FCA's Firm Checker.

Need or choice

The Financial Ombudsman Service says many people need certain types of insurance, like car insurance and buildings insurance. Others, like private medical or dental insurance, are a matter of choice.

Cover the law requires

You must have motor insurance to drive on UK roads, according to GOV.UK. Third party insurance is the legal minimum. It covers damage or injury you cause to another person, vehicle, animal or property, and repairs to your own vehicle fall outside it.

GOV.UK says a vehicle used on roads or in public places must be insured. A vehicle kept off the road needs no insurance once it has been declared off the road with a SORN. Without a SORN, its registered keeper could be fined, even if nobody drives it.

Employers must get employers' liability insurance as soon as they take someone on, with a few exceptions. One is a family business where every employee is a close relative, such as a husband, wife, civil partner, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, brother or sister. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says this exception does not cover a family business set up as a limited company. Another is a company whose only employee is its owner, holding at least half of its shares.

GOV.UK says the cover must be for at least £5 million and must come from an authorised insurer. The certificate must be displayed where employees can get to it, at work or online. An employer can be fined up to £2,500 for each day without proper cover.

Checking the insurer

GOV.UK suggests checking on the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) register that an insurer is authorised. The FCA says almost every financial firm in the UK must be authorised or registered with it.

In its words, While it won't remove all risk, using an authorised firm with the correct permissions will greatly reduce your risk of harm. Its advice is to search for the firm by name on the FCA Firm Checker.

When a claim is turned down

A complaint goes to the insurer first. For most complaints, a business has up to 8 weeks to consider it and then sends a final response.

If you are unhappy with the outcome, you can take the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service within six months of the date on the final response. The ombudsman says you can also go to it if the insurer has had the time it needs and has not replied. The ombudsman says you do not need to pay a lawyer or a claims management company to bring a complaint.

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