{"id":792,"date":"2016-01-13T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-01-13T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.simplybusiness.co.uk\/knowledge\/articles\/what-is-commercial-insurance\/"},"modified":"2025-05-22T13:21:25","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T13:21:25","slug":"what-is-commercial-insurance","status":"publish","type":"knowledge","link":"https:\/\/www.simplybusiness.co.uk\/knowledge\/sme-insurance\/what-is-commercial-insurance\/","title":{"rendered":"What is commercial insurance?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Come across the term but not sure what it means? Get commercial insurance explained.<\/p>\n\n

Commercial insurance basics<\/h2>\n\n

Recently, we\u2019ve been clarifying some tricky insurance terms, consequential loss<\/a> and third party liability insurance two of the topics we\u2019ve tackled so far. Today we\u2019re focusing on commercial insurance – a term used across the insurance industry – so what is commercial insurance exactly? And how can it protect you?<\/p>\n\n

First things first, let\u2019s start with a definition.<\/p>\n\n

A definition of commercial insurance<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n<\/div>\n

Plain and simply, commercial insurance<\/a> is insurance that protects businesses. It covers businesses against losses, arising from things like damage to property or injury to employees, and is a term commonly used to label core business insurance<\/a> covers like public liability and employers\u2019 liability.<\/p>\n\n

What type of commercial insurance does your business need?<\/h2>\n\n

Commercial insurance comes in many forms, and what you\u2019ll need will depend upon your business. Your typical tradesmen would probably need more commercial insurance cover than a professional writer, for instance, because risks vary from business to business and for some, they\u2019re likely to be bigger.<\/p>\n\n

That said, public liability<\/a> and professional indemnity<\/a> are wise covers for the bulk of \u00a0businesses, whilst employers\u2019 liability<\/a> is an essential cover for any business with one member of staff or more. A legal requirement, if you don\u2019t put it in place you could be breaking the law.<\/p>\n\n

Are there any more commercial insurance covers out there?<\/h2>\n\n

In addition to the likes of public liability, employers\u2019 liability and professional indemnity, there\u2019s also a range of more specialist commercial insurance covers built to protect businesses. These include but aren\u2019t exclusive to:<\/p>\n\n