Broker.insure

Business insurance checkup

How does your business work? Twelve questions.

Answer yes or no. As you go, you will see the kinds of cover businesses like yours usually talk through with a broker, and which answer brought each one up. It is a starting list for that conversation, not a recommendation.

  1. Do customers or the public come to a place you run?A shop, studio, office, clinic or booth at a market.
  2. Do you work at clients' homes, offices or job sites?Even for a short visit, a delivery or an install.
  3. Do clients rely on your advice, designs, reports or expertise?Plans, recommendations, inspections, code, bookkeeping, coaching.
  4. Do you keep customer details or take payments online?A client list, booking system, online store or email marketing.
  5. Do you or your staff drive for the business?Deliveries, site visits or carrying tools, in your own car or a company one.
  6. Do you rent or own a space, or keep equipment or stock?Including tools, laptops, inventory or a storage unit.
  7. Do you make, sell, import or relabel physical products?Food, cosmetics, parts, crafts or anything you put your name on.
  8. Do you handle clients' money, keys or valuables?Deposits, trust funds, house keys, alarm codes.
  9. Do you have employees or regular helpers?Part-time, seasonal or family members on the payroll.
  10. Do clients, landlords or venues ask for proof of insurance?A certificate, or being named on your policy.
  11. Are there outside investors, partners or a board?Including a volunteer board for a nonprofit.
  12. Do you run the business from your home?Even part of it, such as stock in the garage or clients visiting.

What this checkup does not do

It does not price anything, and it cannot tell you what you need. Two businesses that answer the same way can need different things because of their contracts, their size, their province or what they have been asked for. A licensed broker looks at those details.

It also leaves out cover that depends on your trade. The guide for your kind of business goes further, and so does a conversation with a broker who works with it every day. Browse every kind of insurance or the glossary for the terms.

General information, not insurance advice. Broker.insure is a directory and request service and is not an insurer or a broker.