An insurance planning template covering exposures, continuity, disclosure and policy checks

This template turns insurance planning into a controlled business record. Complete it with operational, financial and contract owners before asking for quotations. It supports discussion with an insurer or broker but does not decide which policy is suitable or provide legal advice.

What to take away

Section A: organisation and planning scope

State the source for every value. A payroll report, asset register or signed contract is more reliable than a number copied from last year's proposal without review.

Copy the block below into your own document to start the template.

Section A: organisation and planning scope
Legal entity and trading names:
England locations and other territories:
Main activities and products:
Turnover, payroll and workforce date:
Premises, vehicles, equipment and stock:
Key customers, suppliers and systems:
Current policies and renewal dates:
Plan owner and approval date:

Section B: exposure and treatment record
Scenario | Consequence | Existing control | Treatment | Evidence owner
(one row per scenario)

Section C: continuity and financial tolerance
Critical activity:
Maximum tolerable disruption:
Dependencies:
Temporary operating method:
Cost by week or month:
Cash available before any claim payment:
Policy wording and limit expected to respond:
Exclusions or assumptions:

Section D: information for the insurance market
Fact supplied:
Who verifies it:
Date verified:
Change log:
Question log:

Section E: [policy comparison](/business-insurance-product-comparison-in-england)
Field | Option A | Option B | Confirmed by
Insurer and policy version:
Insured activities and entities:
Trigger and main cover:
Limit, excess and aggregation:
Important exclusions:
Conditions and notification:
Premium, fees and instalment cost:

Section F: decision and review
Selected route:
Reasons:
Rejected alternatives:
Retained risks:
Policy document location:
Payment owner:
Claim contacts:
Renewal preparation date:
Sums-insured review date:
Continuity testing date:
Event triggers:

Section B: exposure and treatment record

Create one row per scenario rather than one row per policy.

The Health and Safety Executive's risk assessment guidance provides an official starting point for workplace hazards and control measures. Keep the safety assessment in its proper scope. The insurance plan can reference it, but it should not redefine legal duties or suggest that buying cover controls the hazard.

Section C: continuity and financial tolerance

For each critical activity, write:

The Cabinet Office's business continuity resource covers business impact, plans, exercises and recovery considerations. Use a tabletop scenario to test whether the operational response and proposed insurance period describe the same disruption.

Section D: information for the insurance market

List the facts the organisation will supply, who verifies them and when. Include changes in activity, contracts, claims, controls, locations and sums insured. Add a question log with the exact response from the broker or insurer.

The Insurance Act 2015 sets the statutory framework for fair presentation in non-consumer insurance. In England, a non-deliberate breach of the duty of fair presentation can lead to a proportionate remedy.

If the insurer would have charged a higher premium with the missing fact, it can reduce a claim payment proportionately rather than avoid the policy. The template cannot identify every material circumstance, so obtain qualified help where uncertainty is significant.

Section E: policy comparison

Compare like-for-like documents using these fields:

Business.gov.uk's insurance guidance tells firms to compare cover, exclusions, maximum payments and conditions, not price alone. That business.gov.uk path is an old address. The same guidance now sits on gov.uk. Mark a field "not confirmed" instead of filling a gap with an assumption.

Section F: decision and review

Record the selected route, reasons, rejected alternatives, retained risks, policy-document location, payment owner and claim contacts. Set dates for renewal preparation, sums-insured review and continuity testing.

Add event-based triggers: new employee, vehicle, premises, product, professional service, high-value contract, overseas work, acquisition, claim or security change. Close the template only when every unresolved issue has an owner and deadline. The final approval should show what the organisation consciously retains as clearly as what it buys.

Store the completed version beside the corresponding wording and schedule. When a later change is reported, add the contact date, information supplied and response received. This turns the template into a living control record rather than an annual form reconstructed from memory.

Before you act

Common questions

What should I do before asking for insurance quotations?

Complete Section A and get the plan owner's approval. That gives the broker or insurer a clear scope.

How should I record exposures in the template?

Use the table in Section B. It holds each scenario, its consequence, existing control, treatment and evidence owner.

What should I do if a policy comparison field is not confirmed?

Leave the field unconfirmed and ask the broker or insurer for the missing detail before you decide.