Business Insurance: What is business equipment insurance?

Business equipment insurance is a kind of business insurance policy very similar to a business contents insurance, inasmuch as it covers the theft, loss or damage of company equipment. Prices or the kind of insurance policies are usually pretty low, but interested business owners should really read the fine print to know exactly what perils are covered, and what pitfalls should be avoided.

What is business equipment insurance?

Business equipment insurance policies are very much similar to business contents insurance policies, and cover more or less the same list of perils.

A product very similar to business contents insurance

Business equipment insurance policies cover the loss, theft, damage or destruction of business equipment. It is very useful for companies where business equipment is left on-site overnight, and for companies with frequently travelling staff who need to keep a lot of equipment on them, and may get lost or stolen every time they’re on the go. However, this kind of insurance policies should not be confused with business interruption insurance, as it does not cover loss of revenue caused by loss or theft of equipment. This kind of insurance policies are in fact very similar to business contents insurance policies, except that equipment insurance is almost always for businesses and contents insurance can be for individuals.

Perils commonly covered by business equipment insurance

This kind of insurance policies usually covers the same list of perils as home insurance policies for the policyholder:

- theft,

- deterioration or loss by malicious persons, other than thieves,

- explosion,

- fire,

- subterranean fires,

- civil commotion

- lightning,

- flood,

- storm,

- impact by any road vehicle or animal,

- earthquakes,

- riots,

- accidental loss, destruction or damage and theft.

How much does it cost?

Here’s what we know about business equipment insurance prices - and how to keep them down or make sure you only pay for what you actually need.

Business equipment insurance prices

Without directly asking for a specific quote, it’s quite complicate to find out the prices of this kind of insurance policies as insurance companies apply complex pricing patterns, and usually don’t want to share these patterns with the competition. Also, the price varies enormously depending exactly what equipment needs to be insured, where, and for which company. However, we know that prices can be as low as £5 per month. A website such as this one is therefore a right place to start looking as it submits quote requests to dozens of business equipment insurance providers.

What to look for in the fine print

In order to keep the price close to their actual needs, interested businesses should read the fine print of their policies, especially the provisions related to:

- exclusions and excesses, meaning what level of security is required on the premises in order to qualify for reimbursements;

- estimation of the goods covered by the insurance: underestimation will lead to an inadequate level of coverage.