Operations
Business insurance operations guide after you buy: certificates, claims, complaints and the FCA register
How to run business insurance after purchase: register check, employers' liability certificate, claims log under ICOBS 8.1 and the eight-week complaint clock.
What to take away
- After the policy starts, insurance operations are four jobscheck the insurer, file the documents, log claims, and keep the complaint route ready.
- Employers' liability certificates must be displayed where employees can access them.
- An insurer must handle claims promptly and fairly, and pay within a reasonable time.
- Complaints have an eight-week clock, and you complain to the company before the ombudsman.
- One named owner for each job is more useful than a long procedure.
The four jobs and the rule behind each
Insurance for a small business is not a project. After purchase it is a short repeating cycle with a rule at each point and a named person who owns it.
| Job | Named rule or body | What it asks |
|---|---|---|
| Check the insurer | FCA Financial Services Register | Public record of authorised firms |
| File the documents | GOV.UK employers' liability guidance | Display the certificate where employees can access it |
| Handle a claim | FCA Handbook ICOBS 8.1 and Insurance Act 2015, section 13A | Prompt handling and payment within a reasonable time |
| Complain | FCA Handbook DISP 1.6 and the Financial Ombudsman Service | Eight weeks, then the ombudsman |
Job one: check the insurer and the broker
In the UK, nearly all financial service activities must be authorised or registered. The FCA Financial Services Register is a public record of firms, individuals and other bodies that are, or have been, authorised. Search the insurer and the broker before you pay.
Record the date of the check. Doing it again at each renewal costs a few minutes. For deeper checks on suppliers, follow vendor due diligence.
Job two: file the documents
Keep the policy schedule, the wording and any endorsements together. For employers' liability, display the certificate where employees can access it, for example at your workplace, on your website or on a work intranet.
The Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 requires every employer carrying on any business in Great Britain to insure against injury to employees, and the cover must be at least £5 million. Put the renewal date in a shared diary with a named owner. The team roles article helps decide who that owner is.
Know what you bought, and use a selection checklist to record it. A commercial combined insurance policy bundles several sections, and each section can have its own limit and excess.
Job three: run a claim as a dated log
ICOBS 8.1 sets out what an insurer must do. It must handle claims promptly and fairly, provide reasonable guidance to help a policyholder make a claim and appropriate information on its progress, not unreasonably reject a claim, and settle claims promptly once settlement terms are agreed.
Every contract of insurance also has an implied term that the insurer must pay any sums due within a reasonable time. A reasonable time includes time to investigate and assess the claim.
Your side of the clock is evidence. Photograph, date and store everything, as in the guide to claim evidence after a break-in.
- Note the date and time you discovered the loss.
- Tell the insurer and record the reference number.
- Send evidence in one batch and keep the sent copy.
- Diary a follow-up for each progress reply you are waiting for.
Job four: keep the complaint route ready
Before bringing a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, make a formal complaint to the company involved. Under DISP 1.6, the respondent must by the end of eight weeks send the complainant a final or other written response.
Put the complaint date and the eight-week date in the same diary as the renewal date. A ninety day plan layout can hold all four jobs on one page.
Example: a claim log
This is an illustrative log for a break-in. The dates are invented, and the pattern is what matters.
| Step | Date | Owner | Evidence kept |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loss discovered | Day 0 | Manager | Photographs, police reference |
| Insurer notified | Day 1 | Administrator | Claim reference number |
| Evidence sent | Day 4 | Administrator | Sent email with attachments |
| Progress chased | Day 14 | Administrator | Reply or note of the call |
Checklist
- Insurer and broker checked on the FCA register, with the date.
- Employers' liability certificate displayed and cover at £5 million or more.
- Claim log with dates for every step.
- Complaint route and the eight-week date written down.
- A named owner for each of the four jobs.
Common questions
Who should own each job?
One named person per job, with a deputy. The register check and documents suit an administrator, and claims suit whoever sees the loss first.
How often should the cycle be repeated?
At every renewal, and whenever the business changes in a way that matters to the risk, such as new premises, new staff or a new activity.
What if the insurer is slow to pay?
Write down the dates and the evidence you sent. Every contract of insurance has an implied term to pay sums due within a reasonable time, so a dated log is your starting point if you need to escalate.
In this guide
- Business insurance quality checklist for policy recordsUse this business insurance quality checklist to review small-business policy records, test servicing controls and document failures in a consistent audit.
- Eight business insurance roles to name, from executive risk owner to claim leadAssign eight business insurance roles, from executive risk owner to claim and complaint lead, with a responsibility table, backups and handoff rules.
- Commercial insurance service standards from customer harm and capacity, with exceptions operated openlySet commercial insurance service standards from customer harm and capacity, keep them separate from regulatory deadlines, measure quality, record exceptions openly.
