Commercial Insurance

Whatever the size of your organisation, it is essential that you protect it against any insurable risks that may undermine its security.

Our Commercial products cover essentials such as Public and Employers’ Liability and Fleet insurance, as well as optional or specialist risk cover solutions such as Cyber Liability, Directors and Officers insurance and Corporate Liability.
 
Our products are selected for their flexibility, allowing build-in options to ensure that cover is tailored to suit your exact needs.

If you’re unsure of your commercial insurance requirements, please contact us for a no-obligation, informal discussion.

Professional Indemnity

If selling your knowledge or skills is key to your business, you may wish to consider taking out Professional Indemnity (PI) insurance.

Professional Indemnity insurance protects against claims made by clients or other third parties for negligent advice or mistakes made in providing services. It also provides cover for legal costs.

Typical PI insurance cover may include:

• Negligence, omission or error
• Legal fees and costs
• Unintentional breach of intellectual property rights (copyright, trademarks, broadcasting rights, etc)
• Loss of client documentation or data 
• Unintentional libel or slander
• Unintentional misuse or breach of confidential information (Data Protection Act) or breach of confidence

It is important to note that PI insurance cover is usually on a ‘claims-made’ basis, which means that the policy will only cover claims made whilst the policy is ‘live’.  Should you cancel your policy due to business closure or retirement, or if you change insurers, it is essential that you arrange interim PI insurance to cover claims against prior incidents.

To minimise claims, you should ensure that specific responsibilities are set out in your contracts with clients at the outset of your relationship and that you deal with complaints promptly.  Similarly, all projects should be well documented.

Professional Indemnity is a specialist area of insurance; should you wish to take advice before taking out PI cover, please contact a member of our team (link to contact us page).

Download our General Professional Indemnity Insurance proposal form
Download our Design & Construction Indemnity Insurance proposal form

Combined Liability

Combined liability cover gives you comprehensive protection by combining Employer’s and Public/Products Liability.

Employer’s Liability

As an employer you have a legal obligation to protect your employees and provide a safe working environment. Cover is provided to meet the cost of damages and legal fees payable to employees who are injured or made ill at work, where legal liability lies with the employer.

Public Liability

Liability insurance protects you from the risk of lawsuits and similar claims. Public Liability is designed to offer specific protection against third party claims, i.e. payment is not typically made to the insured, but to someone suffering injury or loss who is not a party to the insured contract.

Product Liability

As a business you are responsible for the products you sell – whether you manufacture them or not. Cover includes costs for damages awarded and the legal fees, costs and expenses incurred in defending a claim.  If required, specific cover can include contamination, efficacy and financial loss.

Directors and Officers Liability Cover (D and O)

Due to changes in legislation, company directors and officers are under increasing scrutiny and allegations of misconduct* are on the increase.  With a move away from company to personal responsibility, even with limited company status, as a director or officer, you have unlimited personal liability. This means that your personal wealth may still be at risk.

Directors and Officers Liability Cover offers essential protection for those in positions of authority and is often recommended as one of the most important commercial insurance products. Typical cover may include:

Employment claims

Includes unfair dismissal, failure to promote, negligent evaluation, harassment or discrimination.

Regulators

Protects against costs for investigation from legal bodies such as the Health and Safety Executive and the Department of Trade and Industry.

Shareholders

Recent high profile claims mean that shareholders now scrutinise the activities of directors more closely and there are more requirements for transparency of directors’ decisions.

European legislation

Directors and officers must ensure that the company does not breach any European legislation, but with such diverse responsibilities, it can be difficult to remain up-to-date with the latest directives.

Creditors/Insolvency claims

Even in the case of insolvency, it is possible for individuals to be singled out for claims.

Employment Practices Liability Cover

In recent years, UK and EU legislation has imposed increased liabilities on businesses and many companies struggle to keep up-to-date with changes in employment law. Employment Practices Liability Cover provides insurance for the employer, their management and employees against claims such as unfair dismissal, discrimination and harassment.

Whether you employ people on permanent, temporary or sub-contract basis, you could be at risk. Typical cover may include:

• Legal liability following an employment dispute
• Legal costs and expenses for employment or health and safety investigations.

Legal Expenses Cover

Professional legal expenses for businesses can be costly, particularly where lengthy employment disputes or tax enquiries are concerned.

A Legal Expenses policy will protect you from unforeseen circumstances and provide a financial safety net for legal costs involved in pursuing or defending a claim, appointment of legal representation and other such costs.

Standard cover may include:

• Employment disputes and compensation awards
• Legal defence
• Property protection and bodily injury
• Tax protection.

Motor Fleet Insurance

Whether you operate a fleet of 5 or 500 vehicles, your insurance policy should adequately cover your individual needs. The type of cover you require depends on the number of vehicles you operate and how and where they are used.

AMA can offer a bespoke solution to provide comprehensive cover, protecting against collision, fire, vandalism and theft.

Property Owner’s Insurance

AMA has extensive experience in providing comprehensive Property Owner’s Insurance for commercial and residential buy-to-let properties.

Property Owner’s Insurance can provide protection against fire, adverse weather damage, theft, acts of vandalism and even terrorism, and should be considered whether or not it is a requirement of your mortgage. Cover may include:    

Rent

Helping you replace lost income whilst your premises are repaired.

Liability

Providing cover for tenants, the public and contractors whilst in, on or around your property.

Additional benefits

Increased trace/access cover (covers finding and accessing the source of escaped water to carry out repairs) up to £25,000 and malicious damage by residential tenants.

Open Marine Cargo and Transit Insurance

The loss or damage of your goods whilst in transit may have a serious financial impact on your business and damage your reputation.

If your business involves the moving of goods anywhere in the world (even within the UK), you should consider Open Marine Cargo and Transit Insurance. This will help to protect your business against the negative effects of any loss and offer peace of mind for both you and your customers.

Business and Retail Insurance

Your liabilities and insurance needs depend upon the size and nature of your business. AMA’s comprehensive Business and Retail Insurance products will help to protect your assets, profits and liabilities.

There are many factors to consider: equipment and machinery; employee and public liability; business interruption; theft, loss or damage; product guarantee or recall…

Available as two-tier cover, our policies can be tailored to meet your specific requirements.

Standard cover may include:

• Contents
• Money
• Business interruption
• Book debts
• Liability.

Additional options include:

• Buildings
• Personal accident
• Legal expenses.

Engineering Insurance

If your business relies heavily on plant and machinery, the effects of damage, breakdown or loss can be extremely costly. It is therefore paramount to ensure you have comprehensive insurance in place. Engineering Insurance is appropriate for a broad range of industries including brewing, building, farming, food processing, laundry, printing and warehousing.

Cyber Liability cover

The rapid advancement of computer technology and the Internet means that most businesses rely either wholly or partly on e-commerce. This may entail selling or advertising via the Internet and/or communication via email. 

Whilst benefiting from these advancements, your company is also exposed to the inherent risks of computer viruses and hackers.

Most organisations would be massively compromised by a breech of their network security and this would be damaging both in terms of time and cost.
Cyber Liability Insurance addresses the 1st and 3rd party risks involved with Internet communications and can provide protection for a variety of issues.

Standard cover may include:

• Liability associated with e-mail and Internet use
• Breaches of data security
• Losses resulting from system damage
• Data loss
• Business interruption
• Computer crime.

Download our Cyber & Privacy Insurance proposal form

Credit Insurance

Bad debt can seriously erode the liquidity and profitability of a company, and with debtors often representing up to 40% of current assets, the question is not ‘should you protect your business?’ but ‘how?’.

The costs of recovering bad debt can often far outweigh the value of the debt itself. As well as providing a financial safety net, credit insurance cover can also offer:

• Better credit intelligence about customers, prospects and market conditions
• Credit management support including up-front vetting, monitoring of outstanding debts and free or subsidised debt collection
• Uninterrupted cash flow (the insurer pays the claims)

Cover can include:

• Insured Risks – insolvency/receivership, protracted default, political risk and work in progress
• Indemnity, up to 85-90% of the debt
• Excess tailored to your requirements
• Monthly, interest free premiums (subject to approval)

Download our Whole Turnover – Construction form
Download our Whole Turnover – Trader form