How to compare business insurance quotes

Prepare one accurate description of your business and check each quote against it. This helps identify offers based on different information.

Check:

• the business to be insured and its trading names;
• actual activities and professional services;
• locations, countries where you work and where legal claims could be brought;
• workforce and subcontracting arrangements;
• requested figures such as turnover, fee income or wage roll (the workforce pay figure the insurer asks for);
• relevant claims history and known problems;
• the intended insurance period; and
• required sections, limits and applicable contract or professional conditions.

Correct inaccuracies rather than leaving out or changing accurate information to obtain a lower price. If the business has changed since an earlier quote or renewal offer, ask for an updated offer on the accurate basis.

Business insurance requires a fair presentation of the risk. This generally means clearly disclosing material information the business knows or ought to know. Material information could influence a prudent insurer’s decision to accept the risk or set its terms. Or, failing full disclosure, provide enough information to alert the insurer that further enquiries are needed.

Answering application questions alone may not be enough. Ask the broker or insurer if you are unsure what to disclose.

Gather the documents that apply to each quote, including the correct versions and any changes to the terms. A summary or certificate may not explain every condition.

Gather:

• the written quote, reference, issue date and validity conditions;
• the proposed schedule, which sets out the selected cover and policy details;
• the applicable policy wording and version;
• endorsements, which change the standard policy terms;
• the summary or insurance product information document (IPID), a summary of key cover and restrictions, where applicable;
• payment, finance and service terms; and
• conditions or information the insurer still needs before confirming the offer.

If a final document is supplied only after purchase, ask which proposed terms apply and what remains conditional before accepting. Ask the provider to explain and resolve conflicting information; do not assume the same document always takes precedence in every policy.

Complete the blank fields for each offer. In each answer cell, include the document name and section, so each offer has its own supporting reference. Record terms separately where cover sections differ.

Use “not stated; ask” where information is missing. Missing detail does not establish inclusion or exclusion. Record the provider’s answer and where it is confirmed in the documents.

Business details

Check each offer against the accurate business description prepared above.

Question	Offer A: answer and reference	Offer B: answer and reference
Which business and trading names are insured?
Which activities and services are accepted?
Which locations, countries and courts are covered?
Do workforce and other declarations match?

Cover terms

Record the cover selected and the terms that affect your work. Aggregation means how several claims may share a limit.

Question	Offer A: answer and reference	Offer B: answer and reference
Which sections are included, optional or not selected?
What limits, smaller sublimits and aggregation apply?
How are related claims grouped?
How are defence costs treated?
How are claimants’ legal costs treated?
Which costs need insurer approval?
What excess applies by section and claim type?
Which exclusions or conditions affect the work?
What do endorsements change?

Dates and insurer checks

Check the insurance period and timing conditions alongside anything the insurer still needs.

Question	Offer A: answer and reference	Offer B: answer and reference
What triggers cover, and what reporting deadlines apply?
What are the start/end dates and any retroactive date?
When does the quote expire, and what insurer checks remain outstanding?

Payments, changes and cancellation

Use the actual payment and service terms, including finance consequences where relevant.

Question	Offer A: answer and reference	Offer B: answer and reference
What is the annual-payment total, including relevant fees?
What deposit, instalments and charges apply if offered?
Do the amounts include tax, and what is the full total?
What change fees or premium adjustments may apply?
What cancellation terms and refund conditions apply?
What happens to any finance balance if insurance ends?

Provider information and open questions

Record who handles the offer and any important question that still needs an answer.

Question	Offer A: answer and reference	Offer B: answer and reference
Who is the insurer and who arranges each section?
What service and insurer/product access are described?
Who handles questions, changes and claims?
What remains unclear, and why does it matter?

Use the following sections to understand the distinctions behind your answers.

Confirm that each required section is selected for your proposed policy. An option appearing on a website or in a general policy booklet does not establish that you have been quoted for it.

Check additional cover, exclusions and conditions, then read any endorsements. For example, one quote may clearly include additional cover your contract requires. If the other summary is unclear, ask what that quote includes; missing detail is not proof that the cover is excluded.

Record how a restriction affects your work, rather than simply counting exclusions. Our guide to business insurance exclusions explains the wider checks.

The premium is the price of insurance. The cover limit is the relevant maximum payable under the terms. An excess is an amount the business may have to pay towards a claim, not the amount of protection purchased or a guaranteed annual bill.

Matching cover limits are only a starting point. Check how each applies to claims and costs.

Ask:

• Does the limit apply to each claim, occurrence or event, or as an aggregate shared across relevant claims?
• How are those terms defined, and how are related claims grouped?
• Are particular claims or costs subject to smaller limits, known as sublimits?
• Do your defence costs count towards the relevant limit or are they paid in addition to it?
• How are a claimant’s legal costs you become liable to pay treated?
• Which costs require insurer approval, and what other restrictions apply?
• What excess or contribution applies to each relevant claim type?

Compulsory employers’ liability protects employee compensation in specific ways. Check any arrangement requiring your business to repay money to the insurer with an appropriate specialist. It is different from reducing the employee’s compensation; ordinary excess advice should not simply be applied.

Use business insurance limits and excesses for the detailed mechanics.

Compare when each policy starts and ends, what triggers cover and when claims or potential problems must be reported. A matching start date alone does not establish an identical insurance response.

Professional indemnity is commonly claims-made, so when a claim is first made against you matters alongside reporting requirements. The policy held when the work was done will not necessarily respond to a claim made after it expires.

Check whether a retroactive date applies and how it restricts earlier work. Confirm the services insured, known-circumstance provisions and notification requirements. Properly notified earlier circumstances can matter to a later claim under the actual terms.

Check that switching preserves the cover you need for previous work before cancelling existing arrangements. Our guides to claims-made and claims-occurring insurance and retroactive dates and run-off cover explain the continuity questions.

List each type of cover you need and check which quotes include it. One price may cover a package, another a single policy, and another only the additional cost of adding a section.

For separate policies, record the insurer, insured business, dates and service contacts for each. For a package, check the sections individually rather than assuming one set of terms applies throughout. When adding totals, avoid counting a bundled section again as a separate premium.

Neither packages nor separate policies are automatically cheaper or better. Compare the cover and total price offered under each arrangement. The public liability, professional indemnity and employers’ liability product guides explain their different purposes if a section is unclear.

Compare the total payable for annual payment with the total payable by instalments. An annual price divided by 12 is a monthly equivalent, not necessarily an available payment schedule.

Paying monthly does not necessarily mean you have a monthly policy. Where instalments involve a credit agreement, check the finance terms separately, including what happens to any outstanding balance if the insurance is cancelled.

For each payment option, record:

• the initial payment, including any deposit;
• the amounts and number of later payments;
• applicable fees and finance charges;
• whether the amounts include tax; and
• the full total payable over the stated term.

Check the schedule against the total without adding a deposit or charge twice. Keep amounts you may have to pay towards a claim separate from the cost of buying insurance.

Do not assume twelve equal payments, universal interest charges or a fixed saving from annual payment. Simply Business currently states that monthly instalments involve interest. Check the actual offer’s schedule, charges and total.

Read any cancellation and service terms relevant to your decision rather than assuming a universal fee or entitlement. Our business insurance cost guide covers the wider budget and payment checks.

Identify the parties and their responsibilities for each offer. Do not assume the organisation presenting the quote also underwrites every section or handles every service request.

Establish:

• who insures each section;
• who arranges the offer;
• what service is provided, including whether you receive advice or a recommendation;
• which insurers or products the provider considers;
• the contacts for questions, changes and claims; and
• the relevant commercial relationship and information about fees, commission or other payments.

Do not assume a comparison covers the whole market. Ask the responsible organisation to explain unclear roles or service terms before relying on the offer.

This fictional professional indemnity (PI) example shows how the comparison checklist generates questions. It contains no live prices or brands and does not identify a preferred offer.

Item	Hypothetical Offer A	Hypothetical Offer B	Question raised
Cover limit	Same stated cover limit.	Same stated cover limit.	Are the basis and other caps comparable?
Limit basis	Described as any one claim.	Described as an annual aggregate.	How do definitions, related claims and costs affect each?
Required extension	Explicitly selected.	Selection unclear in the supplied summary.	What does B actually include?
Payment presentation	Annual-payment total supplied.	Monthly equivalent displayed.	What is B’s actual payment offer and full total?

Ask for the missing details before deciding which offer meets your needs. A’s label does not mean unlimited annual protection. B’s unclear extension is not automatically excluded, and its monthly equivalent cannot be treated as an available instalment. Complete the missing details before assessing the differences.

Turn important gaps into specific questions for the responsible provider. Include the offer reference and relevant document section so the answer can be checked against the proposed terms.

Complete these steps:

1. List unanswered questions and explain why each matters to your work or requirements.
2. Ask for written clarification and resolution of conflicting terms.
3. Obtain revised documents where declarations or cover change.
4. Recheck the cover included, price, quote validity and outstanding conditions.
5. Confirm the acceptance or purchase process and applicable conditions.
6. Confirm when cover actually starts.
7. If switching, check previous-work protection and the changeover before cancelling.

If an important difference remains unclear, ask the provider or an appropriate professional for help. A quotation alone does not confirm that insurance has started.

If comparing a renewal, our business insurance renewal guide covers the wider review.