Here are some insurance thoughts first. Apologies if they are obvious, but the obvious is sometimes worth repeating. It is clear that operators need to make sure that their insurance cover package meets all the legal requirements and all professional insurance brokers will put those covers in place. Actuaries and underwriters are akin to racecourse bookies – they do not know future outcomes, but actuaries have to be good at predicting them within big groups and underwriters must be good at predicting them for individual businesses. To survive, they must charge premiums which balance their books profitably on the known probability of claims. Over and above that, premiums vary depending on the individual risks which your application presents.

It follows that you would do well to understand exactly what variables are affecting quotes you receive from your broker. You may be able to take action to mitigate or eliminate perceived risks and reduce your costs. Good brokers will always help you do that. Always ask the questions and always seek alternative quotes. Once you have the right insurance at the right price, run your business deliberately taking steps to make sure that accidents do not happen for which your business is to blame. There are lots of ways and lots of products to help you do this. Remember, accidents are extremely expensive in many ways and some actions you can take can actually reduce your costs.