Since 25 per cent of office insurance policies are now available online, those comparing premiums should take policies into account as well.
Research from Defaqto looked into policies which are taken out by companies without the advice of a professional insurance broker.
It found a large disparity between the types of claims covered in different policies and varying levels of cover on top of this.
Therefore once companies have found a premium which they feel suits their business, it is important that they check it leaves them insured in all the key areas.
As well as insuring a company’s assets and all the equipment which is present in the average office space, commercial activities should also be covered in a policy.
Mike Powell, insight analyst for general insurance at Defaqto, said:”If firms purchase online without fully understanding what policies offer and whether the cover they arrange matches their requirements there is a real danger that they could end up with insufficient insurance.”
Areas which should be given special consideration when looking at an office insurance policy include business contents cover, business interruption cover, public liability and money cover.
For example, Defaqto’s research found the majority of policies covered the contents of an office as standard, but there were still seven policies which cited this as an option, make sure the one you chose isn’t one of those.
Cover can be obtained which covers all risks and 81 per cent of those involved in the research did, but the rest only protected against specified risks.
Only 55 per cent of policies covered the loss of income and expenditure due to an insured risk as standard.
Defaqto has been comparing, analysing and rating financial products since 1994.
Mr Powell said: “Given the potential risks involved in an office environment, trying to reduce business costs by cutting corners on insurance could end being the most expensive mistake a business makes.”
