How to Reduce Business Insurance Costs

If you want to make sure your business doesn’t go under should disaster strike, you’re in luck, as this week Axis Telecoms explains how to reduce business insurance costs.

Business Insurance, an Essential Cost

Through our role of providing a good quality energy and telecoms service to SME’s across the UK, Axis Telecoms have always aimed to provide value for money. As such, we know how important it is for SME’s to keep their bottom lines in check.

Yet there are some costs that any small business has to meet. One of these unavoidable costs is business insurance. Considering the fact that it covers you should disaster strike, it’s an essential cost, even if it does deplete your profit margins.

A Guide to Finding Cheaper Business Insurance

But it doesn't have to. It’s entirely possible to find business insurance that doesn’t take too much away from your bottom line, with the following guide from Axis Telecoms.

·         Check Your Cover: One mistake businesses often make, is not reading their policy. They end up paying for things they don’t need i.e. buildings cover for a portable business. If you check your cover, you can strip it of what you don’t need, and lower the cost.

·         Make Health and Safety Your Priority:  Insurers don’t want to actually have to pay out. That means they tend to offer lower premiums to attract businesses with effective health and safety provisions – since they’ll be less likely to actually need cover. That is why you need to make health and safety a priority at your company.

·         Don’t Accept the First Quote: Insurance providers don’t want to lose a chance to work with you. That means they’ll be willing to be flexible and you should never accept the first quote. Haggle, and you’ll be able to get the cost down.

·         Use a Price Comparison Site: How are you ever going to find the cheapest insurance, if you don’t know how much they all cost? Use a price comparison site, such as MoneySuperMarket – who do all the comparing for you – to lower the cost of business insurance.

·         Beware Admin Charges: If you’re going with an insurer that offers a finance package, they usually attach an admin charge. Compare it to the ‘buy in rate,’ to ensure that you are not paying for an overpriced policy, otherwise, you will end up paying more than you need to.

Help Your Business Become More Lucrative Than Ever

If you use these tips, you’ll suddenly find that you are paying a lot less for insurance, protecting your small company’s bottom line. You can then ensure that your funds are used to help your business grow, and become more lucrative than ever. 

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PayPal to Provide UK Small Businesses with Cash Advances

Last week PayPal announced it would provide cash advances for UK small businesses. At Axis for Business this week, we ask how this could affect you.

Axis for Business Understands the Concerns of Small Businesses

We understand the concerns of small businesses here at Axis for Business. As a low-cost energy and utilities provider, who values long-term relationships with our customers, we are always striving to understand your needs.

This is why we understand the basic day-to-day concerns that come with funding. Ensuring you have the capital to carry out your day-to-day operations smoothly isn’t always easy, especially concerning online payments. This is why we felt we must report this latest development to you on the Axis for Business blog this week.

The PayPal Working Capital Fund

The BBC has reported that PayPal has announced that they are to start advancing cash to small businesses throughout the UK, as of later this year. They have said that they will provide funds based on customer history, which will provide “funding in minutes,” via the PayPal Working Capital Fund.

Specifically, the PayPal Working Capital Fund was designed by the online payments company to be an alternative to traditional bank loans and other lending services. Basically, they advance you the cash and they later recoup the cash. PayPal have gone on record saying that once this service comes into effect in the UK, they’ll only recoup the money when companies sell through PayPal services.

How Has the PayPal Working Capital Fund Fared Stateside?

PayPal has already launched a US version of the fund. They did so last September, and the operation of the US fund gives us some insight into how it may work this side of the pond. Notably, although the E-Bay owned firm declined to reveal the size of its UK fund, in the US it has released $140 million (£82 million) to customers since last September.

However, the fund has faced significant setbacks in the states. Last month, customers complained of unauthorised repayments being taken from their accounts. Since then, PayPal has gone on record, saying the payments were taken in error, and would be credited back to the customers. This suggests it as a one-time incident, and is unlikely to effect UK customers.

How Could This Affect Small Businesses Across the UK?

So how could this affect small businesses in the UK?  Essentially, it will relieve the strain of providing immediate capital to fund day-to-day operations, by literally providing that capital. This is a great development for UK-based small businesses, however it is one that must be handled carefully. It is still money that must be repaid. 

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