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.
