Statistics from money.co.uk business suggest that up to 402,160 UK construction companies may be uninsured. Experts at the comparison service explain these findings and give some tips for construction SME owners.
The latest UK business insurance statistics by money.co.uk business found that 44% of SMEs in the UK have no commercial insurance – up from 40% in 2021. This amounts to over 2.4 million SMEs in the UK.
The construction industry makes up 17% of the UK’s business population and is almost entirely populated by SMEs, which equates to 914,000 construction businesses in the UK.
This suggests there could be an estimated 402,160 construction companies that aren’t insured.
As a result, the business experts at money.co.uk business has put together some tips for construction SME owners on the following:
- The most common reasons why business owners don’t take out insurance
- Why business owners need insurance
- How much it costs to insure businesses
- Finding the right business insurance.
The most common reasons as to why business owners don’t take out business insurance:
| Reason for not having insurance | Percentage |
| The business is too small | 47% |
| I work from home | 42% |
| No customers come to my premises | 34% |
| There’s not much to insure, eg. no premises, no vehicles | 33% |
The latest UK business statistics found that nearly half (47%) of the uninsured businesses in the UK consider themselves too small for insurance. This was the most popular reason cited by respondents as a reason for not acquiring business insurance.
A further four in 10 (42%) cited the fact they work from home as a driving factor, with just over a third (34%) reasoning that no customers come to their premises.
Why do you need business insurance & how much will it cost?:
Apart from the types of business insurance that are legally required, depending on the nature of your business and whether it’s a small business or a larger one, you may need to have other policies in place.
One policy you legally need to have if you run your own business is employers’ liability insurance if you employ any staff. If you’re found without it, you could be fined up to £2,500 per day.
The price you pay for business insurance will depend on a range of factors, including the type of industry you’re in and the size of your business.
Your premiums are based on the risk to the insurer of you making a claim. So if your business is a copywriting company you operate from home, for example, the risk will be lower than if you operate machinery or often have to visit customers’ homes.
Most policies also offer different levels of cover, which will reflect the price you pay.
Finding the right type of insurance for your business:
There are lots of business insurance policies on offer, and the right kind for you will depend on your business, its size and how it works.
You can buy policies to cover specific situations such as goods in transit or personal accident. There’s also ‘key-person’ insurance, which covers you if a key person to your business isn’t able to work.
The main types of business insurance include;
- Public liability insurance
– Protection against injury to third parties or damage to their property
- Professional indemnity insurance
– In case you’re sued for negligent work
- Employers’ liability insurance
– Covers you if an employee is injured or becomes ill at work
- Product liability insurance
– Protection if your product injures someone
- Business buildings insurance
– For property damage
- Business contents insurance
– For damage or loss of belongings
- Business interruption insurance
– In case you can’t trade
- Business van insurance
– To protect your vehicle and pay for third-party claims
For more from money.co.uk business, visit Compare Business Banking, Insurance, Loans, Credit Cards | money.co.uk.
