Most insurance problems are invisible until the day a claim is lodged, which is the one day they cannot be fixed. These are the five gaps we see most often when reviewing clients’ covers, and every one of them is cheap to close in advance.
1. Sums insured set years ago
Equipment costs, rebuild costs and stock values rise; sums insured tend to stay where they were written. Underinsure significantly and co-insurance clauses can scale your payout down even for partial losses. Index your covers or review them annually.
2. The home-based business on a home policy
Standard home and contents policies routinely exclude business activities, business equipment and clients visiting the property. If the business runs from home, it needs its own cover; assuming the house policy stretches is one of the most common and most painful gaps.
3. Nobody insured the key person
Small businesses are usually one or two people who cannot be replaced quickly. Key person cover and properly funded buy/sell arrangements keep the business solvent and the ownership orderly if illness or death takes a founder out. It is estate planning and business continuity in one.
4. Contractors assumed to be covered
Your liability policy covers you; it does not automatically cover subcontractors, and their absence of cover can land on you. Verify certificates of currency for anyone working under your name.
5. Exclusions discovered at claim time
Flood definitions, unattended-vehicle clauses, cyber exclusions inside older policies; the fine print decides claims. A structured review reads it before you need it. We work through covers alongside the financials each year, because the numbers and the risks belong in the same conversation.