Most small companies renew their insurance the way they renew a domain name: the invoice arrives, someone pays it, and nobody reads the policy. Three years later the company has twice as many people, a new warehouse, a laptop fleet and a web shop, and the policy still describes the business that existed at signing.
A yearly review does not need a broker meeting or a spreadsheet of forty columns. It needs one page, one owner and a date in the calendar. This article describes a version that fits a company of three to fifty people.
Pick one owner and one date
Insurance review fails when it belongs to everyone. Name one person, usually the owner, the managing director or the office manager, who is responsible for the review. Set the date about 90 days before the earliest renewal, so there is time to ask for quotes and to give notice if you want to switch. Our contract renewal calendar shows how to track notice periods for all recurring contracts; insurance belongs in the same list.
The owner does the review, but does not decide alone on larger changes. Agree in advance who signs off a change in premium or deductible, for example anyone above a set amount goes to the managing director.
Build the one-page overview
Make a table with one row per policy and these columns:
- Policy and insurer: property, liability, vehicles, cyber, professional indemnity, business interruption, and any other policy you hold.
- What it covers: one sentence in plain words, not the policy name.
- Sum insured and deductible: the maximum payout and what you pay yourself per claim.
- Renewal date and notice period.
- Annual premium.
- Contact and policy number, so that nobody searches an inbox during an incident.
If you cannot fill a cell, that is already a finding. Ask the insurer or broker for the missing information in writing.
Check what is covered
For each policy, answer four questions in a short note:
- Are the insured values still right? Stock, equipment and premises change. If the sum insured is lower than the replacement cost, a payout may be reduced. Compare the figure with your current inventory and recent purchases.
- Is every activity and location listed? A new office, a rented storage unit, a new service line or work at the customer's site may sit outside the original description.
- What are the exclusions and conditions? Read the exclusions page and any conditions such as required alarms, locks or backups. A cover that depends on a condition you stopped meeting is weak. The NCSC small business guide is a practical reference for the backup and security basics that insurers often ask about.
- Is the deductible affordable? If a typical claim would hurt cash flow, a lower deductible may be worth a higher premium. If you can easily absorb it, a higher deductible can lower the premium.
Look for what is missing
Gaps matter more than the policies you already have. Walk through the main risks of the business and mark which policy answers each:
- A fire, flood or theft at the premises.
- A customer who says your work or advice caused them a loss.
- An employee injured at work. In some countries, employer's liability cover is a legal requirement; the UK government's employers' liability guidance is one example of how it is described. Check the rule in your own country.
- A cyber incident, a lost laptop or a payment fraud.
- A week or a month when you cannot operate, and the costs and lost income that follow.
- Company vehicles and drivers, including employees using private cars for work.
If a risk has no policy, decide on purpose: insure it, reduce it, or accept it and write down that you accept it. An accepted risk with a name next to it is a decision. An unnoticed risk is a surprise.
If your company uses AI tools or agents, ask the broker whether the current policies say anything about them. We covered the questions in what to ask your broker about AI agents.
Ask for quotes only when the review shows a reason
Do not switch insurers every year for the sake of it. Request comparison quotes when the review finds a gap, when the premium rose sharply, or when the business changed a lot. Compare the same sum insured, deductible and exclusions, not only the price. A cheaper policy that leaves out the main risk is not cheaper.
Record the result
End the review with a short note of five lines: what was checked, what changed, what the decision on each gap is, who approved it and the date of the next review. Save it next to the overview table and send the new overview to whoever covers for the owner.
A simple timeline
- 90 days before renewal: the owner updates the overview and walks through the four questions.
- 75 days: gaps and questions go to the broker or insurer in writing.
- 60 days: quotes are compared, if there is a reason to request them.
- 30 days: decision and sign-off; notice is given if switching.
- Renewal day: the new overview is saved and the next review date is entered in the calendar.
After the first year, the review takes a couple of hours, because most of the table is already filled in.
