Setting up a new business can be an exciting venture, yet no matter how well you budget it’s likely to involve a lot of starting capital. It can therefore be tempting to skip a few corners and save money in the beginning but there are many legal costs which must be covered.

Insurance is also an important element to factor in and while it may be tempting to get by on the bare minimum, to stay safe you should be fully covered. Depending on the nature of your start-up not every business insurance will be necessary but the below are some key policies.

Public Liability

Only if members of the public or customers come to your place of work is public liability insurance necessary. Anyone working from home without direct contact with clients, such as running a mail-out sales business, needn’t bother with this. If clients regularly visit your home or you go out to visit theirs then public liability insurance is needed to protect everyone if compensation is sought after an accident.

Employers’ Liability

It doesn’t matter where you work, from home, an office or out of the back of a van, if you are employing even just one person then employers’ liability insurance is necessary. This is a legality which means you will have at least the minimum cover in case of an injury or disease to employees due to their employment conditions, as you have a responsibility for their health and safety. The only exception is if you work from home and all your employees are close family members.

Buildings Insurance

Anyone renting or using a virtual office should already have the correct level of insurance built into the tenancy. For those setting up their business from home an extra level of insurance is needed and it is often worth combining home and home office insurance together. Check and amend contents insurance to cover business equipment too, for both in and out of the house if you make many business trips or client visits.

Vehicle Insurance

Using vehicles for business purposes requires a different level of insurance. For many start-ups running a car can be pivotal for getting to and from meetings, while for others having a fully insured van is an essential component of their business. Whether it’s used for delivery or just as a convenient method for transporting equipment, getting caught with insufficient cover can lead to a significant financial loss.

By Eddy

Eddy is the editorial columnist in Business Fundas, and oversees partner relationships. He posts articles of partners on various topics related to strategy, marketing, supply chain, technology management, social media, e-business, finance, economics and operations management. The articles posted are copyrighted under a Creative Commons unported license 4.0. To contact him, please direct your emails to [email protected].