Hiscox business insurance review

Find out all you need to know about Hiscox's business insurance cover and whether it's right for your business.

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Ronny Lavie
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What is Hiscox?

Hiscox is a leading insurer specialising in business and home insurance. The company also offers insurance cover for travel and events.

What company underwrites business insurance from Hiscox?

Hiscox Insurance is underwritten by Hiscox Underwriting Ltd.

Hiscox Underwriting Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Hiscox Insurance Company Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority.

What types of business insurance policies are available?

Hiscox offers business policies for a range of professionals and businesses, including consultants, contractors, sole traders, shops, food retailers, charities, builders and beauticians. Many more industries are available, and you can search for a policy to suit your individual sector.

Cover will vary according to the needs of your business, but the main policy elements on offer from Hiscox business insurance include the following:

  • Public liability insurance. Whether you have your own premises or not, public liability cover protects you in case a member of the public is injured or their property is damaged and your business is legally liable. For example, if someone trips over some of your equipment or is injured in your work space.
  • Employers’ liability insurance. If you employ staff, you are legally required to take out employers’ liability insurance to protect your employees as well as yourself in case of legal action.
  • Professional indemnity insurance. Indemnity insurance protects you in case a client sues for alleged poor service or advice.
  • Product liability insurance. If you sell products or use them in your work, product liability insurance protects you in case one of these causes harm to a customer.
  • Cyber and data insurance. If you keep your files and data online or stored on a computer, you’re vulnerable to cybercrime and data breaches. Cyber cover helps to protect your data from these attacks and protects you in case one does happen and a claim is brought against you by clients whose data was compromised.
  • Office insurance. This cover protects your business’s premises, including most damages to furnishings, fixtures and fittings.

What does Hiscox business insurance cover?

Hiscox offers different combinations depending on your needs, so your exact spec will be personal to you.

Here’s what’s on offer for Hiscox’s four main business insurance components:

Public liability insurance:

  • Up to £10 million protection cover
  • Damage to property, either belonging to a customer or a member of the public
  • Cover for employees (in case one causes damage to property at an off-site meeting)
  • Access to a 24-hour legal hotline

Professional indemnity insurance:

  • Flexible PI policies, up to £10 million cover
  • No administration fees for amending your cover
  • Specialist knowledge for industry-specific policies

Employers’ liability insurance:

  • £10 million cover for legal costs, compensation and expenses
  • RSI and hearing loss claims by long-term employees
  • Cover for any length of service, starting at one day
  • Insufficient training claims by employees

Cyber and data insurance:

  • £10 million cover for legal costs, compensation and expenses
  • Protection against any GDPR non-compliance claims
  • Loss of income as a result of a data breach
  • Forensic investigations, legal advice and notices to customers or regulators following a data breach
  • Costs of repair or replacement if you’re hit by a cyberattack that damages your equipment

Office insurance:

  • £10 million cover for legal costs, compensation and expenses
  • Damage to the building, fixtures and fittings, including glasswork and signs
  • Accidental damage as standard, including cover for storms, floods and fire
  • Non-standard items, like artwork and a visitor’s personal items
  • Rebuilding costs, including professional fees
  • Portable equipment like laptops and mobile phones, including on a customer’s site

Product liability insurance:

  • Up to £10 million of cover for compensation payable and the costs of defending a claim
  • Legal defence costs up to £100,000
  • Access to a 24-hour emergency helpline

How much cover do I need?

The type of business insurance and the level of cover you need will depend on the nature of what you do.

Here are a few things to consider when deciding how much cover to take out:

  • How many employees do you have?
  • Do you deal with members of the public?
  • Do you own or lease vehicles (including vans)?
  • Do you work in public spaces?
  • Do you have dedicated business premises? Do you own or rent these?
  • How much equipment and tools do you have and how expensive are they?
  • Do you use or sell products?
  • Do you store stock?
  • Do you provide financial advice?

How much does business cover from Hiscox cost?

The cost of insurance is an individual thing and depends on a number of personal factors.

For business insurance, things like the industry, size and nature of your business all affect your premiums.

The type and level of cover you take out also make a big difference to the price of your policy.

What is the claims process for Hiscox business insurance?

What you need to do if you want to make a claim will depend on the nature of the claim.

Cyber and data claims:
You can email Hiscox at cyberclaims@hiscox.com with the following information:

  • Your full name
  • Circumstances of the claim
  • Contact phone number
  • Your policy number (if available)

You can also call the company’s emergency line on 01206 773 791 or 0800 840 2782 (lines open 24/7).

Claim for your own loss:
These claims include personal accident, buildings and contents cover.

You can email Hiscox on property.claims@hiscox.com with the following information:

  • Your full name
  • Address and postcode
  • Circumstances of the claim
  • Contact phone number
  • Your policy number (if available)

If you bought your policy directly from Hiscox, you can also call the company on 0800 247 1902. If you bought your policy through a broker, call 01206 773 899.

In the case of a property emergency, you can contact Hiscox’s emergency assistance team on 0800 042 0332 (lines open 24/7).

Claims against you:
This relates to liability claims, including professional indemnity, public liability, employers’ liability and management liability policies.

To notify Hiscox of a claim made against you, email the company on liability.claims@hiscox.com and include as much of the following information as possible:

  • Your full name
  • Name of your business
  • Your email address and phone number
  • Your policy number
  • Name of the person making a claim against you and their contact details if you have them
  • Description of the incident
  • Whether the person making a claim against you has appointed a solicitor
  • Supporting documentation such as photos, invoices, contracts, correspondence etc.
  • Details of your solicitor if you have appointed one
  • Whether you are insured with Hiscox directly or through a broker

For any queries about making your claim or what information to include, you can call Hiscox on 01206 773 899 (lines open 9am to 5:30pm Monday to Friday).

If you need advice on your legal expenses cover, call 0800 840 2269.

Hiscox business insurance customer reviews

Online reviews are for Hiscox as a company.

On customer review platform Trustpilot, Hiscox as a company has 3 out of 5 stars and a rating of “Average”, based on more than 370 reviews.

On Feefo, Hiscox has 4.7 out of 5 stars, based on more than 20 reviews in the last year.

Customers love the comprehensive products and great service, but a few complained about high premiums.

Pros and cons for Hiscox business insurance

Pros

  • A good range of cover options to tailor your policy to your needs
  • 24/7 claim line
  • Cyber and data cover available

Cons

  • Claims process is a little convoluted

Verdict

Hiscox has a huge range of profession and industry-specific policies and guides so that your cover can be truly relevant to you and your business.

The cover on offer is comprehensive and the company’s cyber insurance in particular provides great benefits.

Making a claim might be a little confusing, but there are a lot of options for contacting Hiscox to make things easier.

Get started by visiting Hiscox’s website and sign up for a policy. If you have read this review and decided that Hiscox is not for you, you can also compare other business insurance policies on the market.

Frequently asked questions

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