Aviva survey finds 12% admit to having no commercial cover

As many as 560,000 small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are trading unlawfully without employers liability or commercial insurance, Aviva has warned.

Its survey found 12% of SMEs have no commercial insurance in place. “With an estimated 4.7 million SMEs in the UK, that means there could be around 560,000 businesses that are potentially at risk of being out of pocket should a disaster strike,” Aviva said.

David Bruce, commercial product manager at Aviva, said: "It is worrying to see how many businesses have admitted they have no insurance at all. If one of your staff, or a customer, has an accident at work it is unlikely you would be able to pay out a claim that could run into thousands of pounds yourself. Protecting what you've already got and what you're trying to build for the future should be fundamental for any conscientious business owner."

Coping with recession

Aviva’s survey found businesses had diversified into new areas, targeted new clients and worked longer hours to cope with the recession.

Aviva recommended using a broker.

The 2025 Insurance Times Awards took place on the evening of Wednesday 3rd December in the iconic Great Room of London’s Grosvenor House.

Hosted by comedian and actor Tom Allen, 34 Gold, 23 Silver and 22 Bronze awards were handed out across an amazing 34 categories recognising brilliance and innovation right across the breadth of UK general insurance.
Many congratulations to all the worthy winners and as always, huge thanks to our sponsors for their support and our judges for their expertise.

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