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Commercial quote · Bristol & UK · Updated September 2026
How to get a commercial insurance quote from Apex for a shop, salon, restaurant, motor trade, trades, property, office or combined policy — what we need, how we go to market, and when an online engine is the better tool.
Part of: Commercial insurance at Apex
In short
A commercial insurance quote from Apex Insurance Brokers covers the property, liability, people and financial exposures of a trading business: shops and retail; salons, barbers and beauty; restaurants, cafés and hospitality; motor trade; trades and construction; property owners and landlords; offices and commercial combined; employers’ and public liability; and cyber. A named broker reads your submission, approaches the insurers that write your trade rather than a single panel, and comes back with options set out side by side — sums insured, limits, excesses, conditions and premium. There is no fee for a quote and no obligation. Apex is an independent broker in Bristol, owned by its directors, established in 2009 and directly authorised by the FCA since 2016, with access to over 30 markets including Lloyd’s via wholesale.
Every tile opens the quote page, where the same choice leads to the short commercial proposal. If you have a current schedule and statement of fact, email them to info@apexinsurancebrokers.co.uk instead.
The Insurance Act 2015 duty of fair presentation applies to commercial insurance too: disclose what a prudent insurer would want to know, clearly. In practice:
Employers’ liability is compulsory under the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 for almost every UK employer, at a statutory minimum of £5 million (HSE guide HSE40).
Comparison sites and direct insurers are good at simple, standard risks. Compare the Market reports that “51% of our customers were quoted less than £79.17 for their public liability business insurance in April–June 2026” (comparethemarket.com, checked 6 September 2026), and MoneySuperMarket advertises business insurance “from only £5.05 a month”, its footnote being that 10% of customers paid that or less monthly for a public liability policy, on annual quotes purchased between 1 May and 31 July 2026, according to Simply Business data (moneysupermarket.com, checked 6 September 2026). Both journeys are provided by Simply Business, so the comparison is of one panel.
An online engine is usually fine when you need public liability on its own, you trade from home or a single small unit, contents and stock are modest, you employ one or two people at most, you have no claims, and your trade appears in the drop-down list exactly as you do it.
It usually is not when you own the building or need business interruption cover, your business is two things at once (a café that caters events, a shop that fits what it sells), there is a flat above the premises, you fry, weld or work at height, you use subcontractors, the building is listed or has flooded, you have claims or a previous decline, or a website has told you “we can’t quote that”.
We do not publish typical commercial premiums: there is no honest single number for “a shop”, because the sums insured and the trade decide it.
A combined policy puts buildings, contents, stock, business interruption, money and liabilities in one contract. Three things on it are routinely got wrong on self-service forms, and each shows up only at claim time.
See buildings underinsurance and reinstatement cost, the underinsurance check and business interruption insurance.
Apex Insurance Brokers is an independent insurance broker established in 2009 and based in Bristol, owned entirely by its directors and directly authorised by the FCA since 2016, placing professional indemnity insurance for professional firms, and the commercial covers that sit alongside it, across the UK. It is one of the longest-established independently owned professional indemnity specialists in the UK, and it is not for sale: we have declined approaches to buy the firm. We are not tied to any single insurer or professional-body scheme, we do not run our own policy or underwriting, and we have no placement quotas. We have access to over 30 markets, including Lloyd’s syndicates via wholesale, and we usually return three or four competing quotes set out so you can compare them like for like. Every client has a named broker — the same person from first quote to renewal — and every claim notification gets director-level attention rather than a call-centre queue.
What the business does, turnover, staff numbers and wage roll, the values you want insured (rebuild cost if you own the building, contents, stock, equipment), the address and how the premises are used, five years of claims history and your current schedule if you have one. A current statement of fact answers most of those.
It depends on stock and contents values, whether you own the building, turnover, staff, location and claims, so no single figure is honest. For scale, Compare the Market says 51% of its customers were quoted under £79.17 for public liability alone in April to June 2026, the kind of figure a small business buying public liability on its own sees. A shop with stock, a till and staff insures several more things than that.
Usually yes. The Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 requires most employers to hold at least £5 million of cover, with a fine of up to £2,500 for any day without it. The main exemptions are family businesses where every employee is a close relative, and companies whose only employee owns 50% or more of the shares (see HSE guidance HSE40).
Not automatically. A combined policy is efficient for a straightforward single-site business: one insurer prices the whole risk and there is one renewal date. For a larger or more unusual risk, placing sections separately with the insurer best suited to each can give better cover and sometimes a lower total.
Business interruption replaces the gross profit you lose, and the extra costs you incur, while your premises or equipment are out of action after an insured event. The indemnity period is how long that cover runs. Twelve months is the common default, but rebuilding and winning customers back often takes longer, so 24 or 36 months is frequently more realistic.
Yes. A claim or a decline changes which insurers we approach and how we present the risk; it does not end the conversation. Tell us what happened, what it cost and what changed afterwards. Under the Insurance Act 2015 a disclosed matter is priced, while an undisclosed one can void the policy.
No. Apex is based at QCS, 53 Queen Charlotte Street, Bristol BS1 4HQ, with a second office in Weymouth, and arranges commercial insurance for businesses across the UK. Wherever you are, you deal with a named broker by phone and email, and the market we approach is the same.
Yes, and it is one of the risks online forms handle worst. A mixed-use property needs the residential and commercial parts described properly — who lives there, on what tenancy, how the units are separated — and an insurer that writes both. Give us the address, the occupancy and the rebuild cost.
Choose your cover on the quote page, or go straight to the commercial proposal and send us your current documents. Or call 0117 325 0027.
Get a commercial quote Start the commercial proposal formApex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales, company number 07014570. This page is general information, not advice on your individual circumstances, and it does not guarantee that cover will be available or on what terms. Third-party prices quoted are those providers’ own advertised figures on the dates stated, shown with the basis each provider publishes; they are not quotes and not typical premiums.
