Insurance is a crucial investment for businesses of every size. Without it, you run the risk of suffering severe losses. In some cases, those losses might be sufficient to cripple your business. Suppose that a critical piece of equipment were to break down just as you’re experiencing a cash-flow crisis. When these problems happen to coincide with one another, it can be difficult to recover. But with the right insurance product, things can turn out rosy.

To make things just a little bit confusing, business insurance tends to come in a range of different forms. Let’s assess some of the more popular, and see which is right for you.

Small business insurance

For sole traders and small businesses, small business insurance is usually the preferred option. It tends to be specialised to the needs of these kinds of businesses, offering coverage against a broad range of risks. Insurance labelled in this way tends in practice to be a combination of different products designed to cover all of the risks that a small business might incur. For the avoidance of doubt, it’s worth poring over the fine print, and having a few questions to pose to your insurer.

Public Liability Insurance

If members of the public are going to be entering your premises, or you’re going to be visiting their home, then you need public liability insurance. This will protect you in the event that a member of the public should be injured by your actions – whether they’re a customer or not.

Public liability insurance will tend to cover you against damage to property, medical fees, compensation for pain and suffering, and just about every other cost that arises from a member of the public being injured. It’s available to businesses of every size and shape.

Income insurance

This is more accurately known as ‘loss of income’ insurance, or ‘business interruption’ insurance. If circumstances beyond your control intervene to prevent your business from operating, then your insurer will step in to cover your costs. This may or may not include things like government-mandated lockdowns – so read the fine print and make sure that you’re covered for every eventuality.

Employer’s Liability Insurance

This is what protects you in the event that an employee injures themselves or falls ill while working for you. Employers are obliged to protect the health and wellbeing of their staff. If you’re employing people who aren’t direct family members, then you’re legally required under the Employer’s Liability Act 1969 to take out this kind of insurance.

It will protect you from claims brought against you by your employees. These might relate to workplace injury, but they could equally well have to do with discrimination, sexual harassment, or wrongful termination of contract.

The staycation trend shows no sign of slowing down in the UK and this is for good reason. Obviously, international travel is still a major issue and will be disrupted for some time to come, but many people have also realised that the UK has a huge amount to offer and staycations can be cheaper and easier to plan. As a result, caravan sales have skyrocketed in recent times with over 555,000 in use in the UK and this is something that you could capitalise on financially.

Benefits of Caravans

There are many benefits to owning a static caravan. This can provide you with a second home that could be used to vacation when you please, plus they can be more environmentally friendly than other types of vacations, especially those that involve flying. In a time where many people are looking to reduce their impact, caravan holidays could be a good solution.

Financial Investment For Yourself

A caravan can also be a smart financial investment for yourself. Arranging any kind of vacation or team bonding can be incredibly expensive, particularly when you factor in travel, hotels, food and activities. A static caravan in a park site is a great alternative as these are ideal for couples, families, friends and co-workers and many of these sites will have plenty of options for entertainment and activities.

Having your own holiday home on park sites will benefit your pocket when it comes to sorting out accommodation while providing you with a private space to enjoy.There are also many ways to lower your costs on a caravan holiday. This will include things like getting food and essentials ready before you leave, pre-booking places to eat online and looking for deals on activities in the local area.

For Business

You can also turn caravan ownership into a money-making business. For the times that you are not enjoying the caravan yourself, you could rent it out to holidaymakers and capitalise on the staycation boom. A caravan can also be rented out to other businesses, such as production crews and photographers. Much like property investment, there is also money to be made from working on the caravan and increasing its value before selling it for a tidy profit.

How much money you can make from renting out your caravan will depend on the size of your caravan, the time of year it is being rented and the park where it is located. Typically, you can make around £500 per week and this could be a good passive earner on the side.

A caravan could be a smart investment both in terms of lifestyle and a way to earn money. Essentially, a caravan will provide you with a holiday home that you could use as a getaway for your personal life or for business or it could be used to rent out to holidaymakers for profit.

‘Business Rates – A tax system plagued by apathy’

Steve Hughes, Chief Executive of RVA Surveyors

“Each year, the Government sets aside an estimated £1.5 billion for business rates rebates. That’s a staggering figure but there are two sides to that (very large) coin. One way to view this is that there is a pot ready for businesses to benefit from should their business rates be miscalculated. That is, of course, a positive thing, but the business community should also question why this figure is so high. Just how prevalent is business rates overpayment and how often does a business miss out on a rebate or reduction?

“What we find all too often at RVA Surveyors is that businesses will assume that they are paying the correct business rates for their commercial premises. On the face of it, that’s a reasonable assumption. We are programmed to accept that our tax is calculated based on our circumstances and we very rarely question the accuracy. Some may even assume that they will be notified by the relevant Government department if they are paying too much tax. It is this kind of apathy that makes business rates an archaic and deeply flawed system. Querying your business rates is an unfamiliar, daunting and time consuming process and one that many will avoid. Read on for our guide on business rates and the opportunities (and pitfalls) for businesses.”

How is my business rate calculated?

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA), which oversees business rates, calculates a property’s rate from its ‘rateable value’, which is based on a property’s open market rental value, its size and its usage. Rateable values are published in the VOA’s ratings list, which have historically been re-evaluated for properties in England and Wales every five years. Having a rateable value for a property should, in theory, create a simple and consistent system. The trouble is that basing a business rate on simple desktop calculations doesn’t take into account the different features of a building that may entitle a business to a lower rate.

How do I know if I am on the correct business rate?

The VOA has a digital system called Check Challenge Appeal through which a business can first Check if their rate is correct, then Challenge if they believe their rate is incorrect and then finally Appeal if the previous steps have been unsuccessful in achieving a reduction. Check Challenge Appeal can be challenging to navigate but, when undertaken by a specialist who can scrutinise the detail and inspect a property, can bring about huge reductions. It is important that businesses don’t take anything for granted with business rates. At RVA Surveyors, we have an 85% success rate when it comes to reducing our clients’ business rates liability, which just shows the prevalence of overpayment.

What happens if my business rate is too high?

If a business undertakes the Check Challenge Appeal process and is found to be overpaying on their business rates, they could be entitled to a rebate for the historic overpayment from the beginning of the current ratings list (2017) and a reduction to the end of this ratings list and beyond.

Will the Valuations Office Agency get in touch with me to check I am on the correct business rate?

No. This is one of the greatest pitfalls of the business rates system. The VOA is held to account through the Check Challenge Appeal process and cases lodged should be managed to strict deadlines, although the VOA is currently very behind and has a backlog of Check Challenge Appeal requests. Neither the VOA or a Local Authority will approach a business to check or reduce their business rates liabilities. The onus is on a business to challenge them.

The Government has moved the ratings period to three years. How will this impact me?

In this year’s Autumn Budget, the Government announced that it will increase the frequency of the new ratings list, moving to more frequent three-yearly valuations. This essentially means that business rates will be recalculated every three years. This move is supposed to ensure that properties are subject to fairer business rates that represent their property and the wider market, but what we have seen in recent years is that the Government can extend or shorten the ratings list whenever they choose. For example, the VOA has amended the ratings lists seven times in recent years. So there is a lot of doubt and uncertainty in the system. There is also a worry that moving a three-yearly valuations could place even greater strain on the VOA, which could exacerbate the issues of overrating and overcharging.

I am due to modify my property. Will this impact my business rates?

Yes. If you make changes to your commercial property, it could impact your rateable value. For instance if you installed air conditioning, built an extension or upgraded the property in some way then your business rates may increase, however depending on the changes you make you can equally reduce them.

For more information on how to reduce your business rates liability, visit https://www.rvasurveyors.com/