If you are the owner of a hotel, B&B or guest house, finding the right insurance can be an easy task when you know where to look. Our team of sales advisors are available to help ensure you have the right cover for your business needs. From a small guest house to a chain of boutique hotels, we can source the right insurance for you.
When considering the insurance options available, there are many components that can contribute to a fully comprehensive insurance policy. When considering the insurance policy for your business operation, there are a few things to consider:
- Business needs: what do you actually need business insurance for?
- Optional extras: do you need accidental damage, business interruption or legal expenses included as standard?
- Excess: are you willing to pay a higher excess to lower your premium?
- Payment type: would you prefer to pay annually or by monthly instalments?
Below, we have provided an overview of the main types of business insurance available for your hotel, B&B or guest house, to help provide a starting point for identifying the best type of cover for your business.
Accidental damage
Accidental damage insurance can be an essential element of the insurance cover for a guest-based business operation. The insurance can cover the costs involved in replacing or repairing any property or contents damaged by yourself or your guests. This type of insurance can be added to your premium if not already covered by a business or contents insurance policy.
Business contents
Contents cover for your business insures you against damage or loss caused by unforeseen events such as storm and flooding, fire, lightning, malicious damage, theft and robbery. This cover can include an overall figure for the contents insured in addition to cover for individual high-value items.
Business interruption
Business interruption insurance provides cover for loss of income when your business cannot conduct ‘business as usual’ due to a pandemic, extreme weather event, terrorism or another unexpected event. If you own a hotel, guest house or B&B, you will likely be adjusting to life following Covid-19. This type of cover can be provided with your main policy, or as an optional extra.
Buildings insurance
If you are the owner of your hotel, guest house or B&B building, there are legal obligations around maintaining building insurance for your business. This type of insurance is designed to cover your building for physical damage arising from extreme weather events, flooding, fire, explosions and more. You can also request cover for buildings subsidence if it is not offered as standard with your policy.
Equipment breakdown cover
Whether purchased as a separate cover or included as part of your building contents policy, equipment breakdown cover is there to help should your business operations face a risk from an essential equipment breakdown. For example, if your hotel, guest house or B&B experiences a fridge, laundry or computer failure, this type of cover provides help for equipment repairs and damage to items caused by the failure.
Employers’ liability
All hotel, guest house and B&B operations that employ staff are subject to a legal requirement to have employers’ liability insurance of at least £5 million from an authorised insurer. Employers’ liability insurance is designed to pay compensation if an employee suffers an injury or illness whilst working in your business. Although any insurance policy you take out for your business must include employers’ liability if you employ staff, the actual level of cover for your business can vary depending on the structure of your business operation.
Legal expenses
Whilst frequently provided as an optional extra or standalone insurance, legal expenses insurance can be an important element of protection for your business. This type of insurance is designed to fund legal costs and expenses from a range of commercial contract disputes.
Loss of licence
If your premises serve alcohol, they require an alcohol licence. Loss of license insurance provides cover for financial loss to your business if your alcohol license is withdrawn and you are prohibited from the sale of alcohol on your premises. This cover can be optional, as not all premises serve alcohol.
Personal contents insurance
If you live on the site of your hotel, guest house or B&B, you might want to consider personal contents insurance. This type of insurance can provide cover for your own contents and valuables, as well as those of any staff who live on your business premises.
Product liability
Although product liability insurance might not initially appear to be an essential requirement for a hotel, guest house or B&B owner, it is useful for those who produce and market their own brand products. For example, if you own a boutique hotel that retails its own brand of beauty products, you may want to consider a quote for product liability insurance. This type of insurance provides cover should your product cause any harm to your guests, customers or anyone who uses the product.
Public liability
Public liability cover can be considered as a key part of the insurance cover for hotel, guest house and B&B owners, and is designed for businesses who interact with the general public. Public liability insurance provides business owners with legal protection from claims of accidental damage or injury to any third parties on-site including guests, visitors and their property. Example claims may include those arising from a guest or visitor ‘slip or trip’ in your reception area, or an allergic reaction to any food provided in your restaurant. This type of policy excludes claims from your employees, which are covered by employers’ liability insurance.
If you are seeking a quote for hotel, B&B or guest house insurance, call Arkwright today on 01204 392 525 or email us your details at quote@arkwrightinsurancre.co.uk as we will call you back. We have access to a panel of leading insurance providers and will be happy to identify your business needs and provide an individually tailored quote for you.
