Insurance Broking & Key Person Cover

Tender insurance requirements and key person cover Proving the financial hit lands on your insurer, not theirs.

Department: Risk Surgery and Preventative Medicine

When something goes wrong on a contract, the buyer wants to know the financial hit lands on your insurer, not on them. Cover levels and formats get checked early, and mechanically.

What the wrong insurance cover costs you

Without correctly structured insurance, a buyer assumes underinsured exposure, a business one bad event away from collapse, no continuity plan if a key person leaves or falls ill, mismatched liability between contract and cover and administrative carelessness that suggests wider carelessness.

None of that may be true of you. It does not matter. In a tender, the assumption is what gets scored.

The insurance point most manufacturers miss

Most manufacturers assume their broker sorted this years ago and never revisit it. Cover quietly falls out of date while the business, and the contracts it bids for, grow past it.

Insurance is not a policy document in a drawer. It is proof that the business is professionally run.

What insurance support covers

Core Business Cover

Public liability, employers' liability, professional indemnity and product liability at buyer-specified minimums.

Cyber & Continuity

Cyber liability aligned to your certification, plus business interruption and machinery breakdown cover.

Key Person Protection

Cover for the founder or critical-skill dependency that would stop delivery if they were gone.

Evidence & Renewal

Cover checked against every tender, certificates in the right format, renewals tracked against the pipeline.

What insurance looks like inside a manufacturer

Cover levels are checked against each tender before submission, not assumed.
Certificates are in the exact format the procurement portal requires.
Key person cover exists for anyone whose absence would stop delivery.
Cyber and PI cover are aligned with actual contractual liability.
Machinery breakdown cover is in place for the equipment that would stop you.
Renewal dates are tracked against the bid pipeline, not just the calendar.
Insurance schedules are reviewed annually against business growth.
Claims history is documented and explainable.

How insurance affects your tender score

Tender criterion	What this service contributes	Score effect
Risk	Cover levels read directly as financial resilience	Major
Compliance	Cover matched to Selection Questionnaire minimums	Major
Financial Standing	Signals a business built to survive disruption	Major
Delivery	Machinery breakdown and business interruption cover protect delivery	Moderate
Safety	Correctly formatted certificates avoid disqualification	Moderate

Common questions about insurance and key person cover

What insurance do I need to bid for public sector contracts?

Employers' liability is a legal requirement, with a minimum of £5 million of cover. On top of that, tenders commonly specify public liability, often at £5 million to £10 million, plus professional indemnity and product liability depending on what you supply. The figure that matters is the one in each selection questionnaire, so check it every time.

Why do bids get rejected over insurance?

Usually for mechanical reasons, not because the business is uninsured. The cover is below the stated minimum, the certificate has expired, the policyholder name does not match the company that is bidding, or the limit is on an aggregate basis when the buyer asked for each and every claim. All four are easy to fix before submission and impossible to fix after.

What is key person insurance, and do buyers care about it?

Key person insurance pays out if someone the business depends on, often the founder or a lead engineer, dies or becomes critically ill. Buyers care because they score continuity risk. If one person's absence would stop delivery, a buyer will notice, and cover plus a succession plan is the answer they want to see.

Sources: Employers' liability insurance (GOV.UK)

Reviewed by Rob Atkins, Founder & Principal Consultant, Your Best Solution Limited. Last updated 20 October 2026.

Where does your business stand?

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