Office Insurance Calculator
What office insurance costs in 2026 — contents, liability, cyber and PI
Last updated: July 2026
How much does office insurance cost in the UK?
Office insurance in the UK typically costs £150 to £350 a year for a micro business or small office, £400 to £900 for an established firm with staff and decent IT, and £1,000 to £3,000 once professional indemnity and cyber cover are added. The calculator above prices it from turnover, public liability limit, staff, the value of your contents and IT, and the extra covers most offices actually need.
What an office policy contains
- Contents and IT. The core of the policy. Desks, chairs, monitors, laptops, servers and the fit-out you paid for. Insure at replacement cost – the price of buying the kit again today, not what you paid three years ago.
- Public liability. Only really bites if clients, couriers or contractors come to your premises. If nobody visits, £1–£2 million is ample; if you host client meetings, take £2–£5 million, and check your lease, which often specifies a minimum.
- Employers' liability. Compulsory from your first employee, minimum £5 million, even in a low-risk office. Repetitive strain and slip claims are the common ones.
- Professional indemnity. If you give advice, design, consult or handle client money, this is the cover that matters most – and for many professions (solicitors, accountants, architects, IFAs) it is mandated by the regulator. It answers claims of negligent advice, and public liability will not.
- Cyber and data breach. Increasingly the largest single risk in an office. It covers ransomware recovery, business interruption from an IT outage, and the cost of notifying people and handling an ICO investigation after a personal-data breach.
- Business interruption. Pays lost income and the cost of temporary premises if a fire or flood puts you out of the office.
The two covers most offices under-buy
Cyber is the first. A ransomware attack on a 10-person firm typically costs £20,000–£60,000 in recovery, forensics, lost billing and legal advice, and the UK Information Commissioner's Office can fine a business for failing to protect personal data regardless of whether the attacker was sophisticated. Cyber cover at roughly £200–£300 a year is one of the few genuinely asymmetric buys in commercial insurance. Professional indemnity is the second: it is priced on the size of the advice you give, not the size of your office, so a two-person consultancy advising on £5 million projects pays a real premium – and should, because that is the size of the claim it could face.
Worked example
A consultancy in Manchester turns over £300,000, employs five staff, has £35,000 of contents and IT, sees clients at the office, and buys cyber cover and £1 million of professional indemnity on a £2 million public liability limit. Liability is £85 × 1.45 × 1.12 = £138. Employers' liability for five staff adds £325. Contents at 0.75% of £35,000 adds £263. Client visits (£45), cyber (£240) and professional indemnity (£290) add £575. That is roughly £1,301 a year, or £1,457 with Insurance Premium Tax – and the two "optional" covers make up almost half of it, which is exactly the right shape for an advice business.
Where offices waste money
Over-insuring public liability is the classic. If no client ever sets foot in your office, £10 million of public liability buys you nothing that £2 million would not. Under-insuring contents is the mirror mistake: policies contain an average clause, so if you insure £20,000 of kit that is really worth £40,000, the insurer can cut a £10,000 claim in half. Value the contents properly once a year. And if you have moved to hybrid or home working, tell your insurer – laptops that live in employees' homes are not covered by a standard premises-based contents section unless you add portable equipment cover, which costs far less than the claim you will otherwise fund yourself.
Frequently asked questions
How much is office insurance a year?
A micro business or small office typically pays £150 to £350 a year. An established firm with staff and decent IT pays £400 to £900. Once professional indemnity and cyber cover are added the total commonly reaches £1,000 to £3,000.
Do I need public liability if no clients visit my office?
Rarely more than a basic limit. Public liability responds to injury or damage suffered by visitors, so if nobody attends your premises the exposure is small — £1 million to £2 million is usually enough. Check your lease, though, as landlords often specify a minimum limit.
Is cyber insurance worth it for a small office?
For most offices, yes. A ransomware attack on a ten-person firm typically costs £20,000 to £60,000 in recovery, forensics, lost billing and legal advice, and the ICO can fine a business for failing to protect personal data. Cover usually costs £200 to £300 a year.
What is an average clause and why does it matter?
It is a term that lets the insurer reduce a claim in proportion to any under-insurance. If you insure £20,000 of contents that are really worth £40,000, a £10,000 claim can be cut to £5,000. Revalue your contents at replacement cost each year to avoid it.
Are laptops used at home covered by office insurance?
Not by a standard premises-based contents section. Equipment that leaves the office needs portable equipment cover, which is inexpensive. If your team works hybrid, tell your insurer — otherwise a stolen laptop at an employee's home is simply not covered.
Source: employers' liability requirement from the HSE – Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969. Data breach obligations and penalties from the Information Commissioner's Office. Insurance Premium Tax (12%) from GOV.UK.