Upholsterers Insurance
Insurance for Businesses in the Upholstery Industry
Upholsterers Insurance
Whilst your creative juices run wild with new designs, your production line is full of the latest sofas manufactured to your customers’ exacting requirements in the latest fashions in fabrics or leathers; it can be pretty easy to forget that upholsterers insurance, whilst not quite so exciting as making sofas and chairs it’s there to protect you and your business, ensuring your business is still producing quality upholstered products way into the future.
What is upholsters Insurance?
As a manufacturer in an upholstery business, a robust business insurance policy must be in place to cover your business against many different perils that your premises may be exposed to. With the many fabrics that are stored, sofa frames made of timber ready to be covered, and of course, the foams and cushion stuffing’s used in many of your products, fire is always an exposure that becomes part of an upholsterer’s business. Nature throws many things at us, from storms and floods to not-so-natural disasters such as burst pipes; Insurance is there to pay for losses, so the business doesn’t have to pay itself.
An insurance policy protects businesses, not just those making upholstered items. Assets must be covered, including many different plant and equipment types, computer systems, tools, cutting tables, and the many sewing machines you employ in your business.
Whilst a sofa or a chair could be thought of as a low-risk item, there is always a risk that someone may become injured whilst using your product. Liability insurance will provide that essential protection should you be found to have been negligent.
At Real Insurance, we have many years of experience with businesses large and small. What’s more, we only deal with particular industry sectors, so you can be assured that you are dealing with people that understand how your business operates.
What type of property insurance do I need for my Upholstery Business?
An upholstery business would usually work from business premises; if these are owned, then protection for the building is essential. The machinery, plant, fixtures, and fittings, as well as your raw materials and stock, can all be protected on what is usually referred to as a commercial combined insurance or a combined package, covering all the business assets in one simple, scalable insurance policy.
Can I claim if I can’t operate my business?
Business interruption Insurance, as its known or sometimes consequential loss insurance, will provide funds to enable your business to continue to pay its overheads following a material loss at the business premises and whilst the rebuild or reinstatement takes place. A loss at your upholstering business premises could mean that part or all of the building needs to be rebuilt; this can take months or even years.
Business interruption intends to put the business back to its position directly before the loss occurred, which also means, subject to the policy limit on how long the insurer will continue paying, will also continue to pay even when you are back in production.
The correct period of cover must be chosen too; we recommend a minimum of 24 months indemnity period. We can help you with this if required, it’s a critical part of your insurance protection. A Business Interruption Indemnity Period, is the length of time your insurer will pay a reduction in income.
Do I need Liability Insurance for my Upholstery Manufacturing Business?
Liability insurance is the cornerstone of any business protection, usually made up of three essential areas of cover an upholstery business will need.
Public Liability Insurance will provide legal representation and pay compensation that may be awarded against the business due to negligence where you have caused loss or damage; this could be to a member of the public being injured at your premises or even whilst you are delivering your goods to your customer.
For some upholsterers, Insurance might need to be extended where there is work away from the main manufacturing base. Work Away for upholsterers would be installing furniture in hotels, restaurants, or even private individuals’ homes and any other situation where it’s not at the business premises. Public Liability is very scalable and can easily accommodate the needs of your business.
Product Liability insurance is very similar to Public Liability Insurance and usually comes together. Product Liability Insurance for an upholsterer defends you against claims caused by your product; a poorly placed spring, a staple, or a nail that is left exposed for people to cut themselves are typical examples of where an upholsterer could be held responsible. This insurance cover will provide a defence and compensation should you be found responsible, up to the policy’s indemnity limit.
As your business grows, you will require help; this might mean fabric or leather machinists, sofa and chair builders, and sometimes frame makers. Sometimes an employee might become injured at work; this is where Employers Liability Insurance will pay compensation to the employee for their loss, or injury. Employer’s Liability is a statutory requirement when employing someone, meaning it is required by law.
I install upholstery and fixed seating for restaurants, hotels and in pubs. Does my Insurance need to change?
You are working on-site, meaning you have to extend your policy to cover any loss or damage you may cause. This is quickly done; it just means a few changes to your liability insurance. Sometimes you may need to store many of your products at the site where you work.
We can arrange the storage of stock and materials on site either on an existing combined insurance policy or a separate type of policy referred to as Contract Works Insurance.
Sometimes I send my products to other countries, do I need different insurance
Quality upholstery made in the UK is valued throughout the world, the quality of manufacture, the materials, and styling, but does exporting upholstery change your insurance requirements? Usually no, the covers again just need extending, this usually doesn’t present a problem unless the sofa or chairs for instance are shipped to the USA or Canada. This can become complex but our specialist team at Real can guide you through this, we are specialists to exporters to the USA and Canadian marketplace.
How can I save money on my upholstery business insurance premiums
There are numerous ways to save money on your insurance premiums, be careful though that you don’t reduce covers or remove cover altogether. If you are reducing insurance cover for your upholstery business then you need to ask yourself why, if its to save premium then you must understand the consequences of doing it.
1/ Ensure that when you discuss your requirements that you make your business description very clear, and this includes disclosing everything that your business does.
2/ Ensure that you have full health and safety in place and make this known, how employees are trained, how often, is the training documented. By being able to demonstrate quality health and safety indicates that your business is well run.
3/ Upholsterers can be quite a risk to an insurer, timber, fabric, foams many of which might be fire retardant but they still burn. Demonstrating that you have excellent waste management goes a long way.
4/ Consider increasing you’re policy excess. Many businesses might consider not claiming for anything below £1,000 so why have an excess of £250. Increasing the excess for claims such as theft, fire, or other perils could go a little way to saving a little on premium.
5/ Sometimes a policy might include certain covers that you just don’t need, consider removing the cover sections BUT fully understand the consequences of doing such a thing.
We deal with the whole Upholstery Sector
The upholstery sector is vast, its more than just cover for businesses producing the end item, there are businesses making items that without them would mean those end products wouldn’t exist. We provide insurance cover for the upholstery spectrum of manufacturers and suppliers.
Frame Makers Insurance
Soft Furnishings Manufacturers Insurance
Upholstery Machinery and Suppliers Insurance
Why speak to Real Insurance about your business requirements?
We are specialist commercial insurance brokers, we only deal with business insurance in certain industry sectors, Upholsterers Insurance is one of our key areas and whilst we cover the UK we are only 20 minutes from the centre of upholstering excellence in Long Eaton, Nr Nottinghamshire.
Speak to us about what we can do for you’re your business, we are very happy to provide advice on your insurance requirements and help you get the right product for your upholstery business.
