This business insurance checklist South Africa businesses can be used to self-assess their cover, section by section, rather than relying on a general sense that things are probably fine. Work through it against your own policies, mark what is in place, what is missing, and what does not apply, and treat any gap that does apply as something to close before the next renewal, or immediately if the risk is live right now.
How to Use This Checklist
Work through each section and mark which cover types are in place, which are missing, and which do not apply to the business. Any missing cover that does apply should be addressed before the next renewal date or, if the risk is active now, immediately rather than waiting. The checklist is designed for South African SMEs but applies to businesses of all sizes, since the underlying risk categories do not change with scale, only the numbers attached to them.
A single pass through this list typically takes fifteen to twenty minutes for a business with its policy documents on hand, and considerably longer if those documents need to be tracked down first, which is itself often the first sign that cover has not been reviewed properly in quite a while.
Check your cover now
against the sections below before you assume you’re fully covered.
Liability Cover Checklist
Liability exposure is usually the largest single financial risk an SME carries, since a third-party claim is not capped by the value of the business’s own assets the way a property claim is. Start here.
☐ Public liability insurance: covers third-party injury and property damage claims. Required by most commercial leases and tenders.
☐ Professional indemnity insurance: covers financial claims arising from professional errors or advice. Compulsory for FSPs under FAIS and attorneys under the Legal Practice Council.
☐ Employer’s liability insurance: supplements COIDA for employee injury claims that fall outside the COIDA framework or exceed its limits.
☐ Product liability: required for businesses that manufacture or supply physical products to the public. Check whether it is included in the existing PL policy or requires a separate endorsement.
Confirm: are all liability policies active, are the indemnity limits current and adequate, and are all exclusions understood by whoever manages the policy day to day?
Asset and Property Cover Checklist
Asset cover is where underinsurance quietly builds up over time, since sums insured are usually set once and rarely revisited as the business grows or prices rise.
☐ Commercial property insurance: Covers building, if owned, and contents of business including equipment, inventory, and fixtures.
☐ Cover basis: Make sure that your assets are covered at their replacement cost, which is the right way to do things or else their book value, which is not enough for making a proper claim.
☐ Sum insured review: Is your sum insured revised considering new additions like equipment, inventory, or growth of your business after the last renewal?
☐ Power surge endorsement: Needed for coverage of load shedding and power surge. Confirm it is included in the property policy.
☐ Theft cover: Confirm whether theft is covered under the policy and what security conditions must be met, such as alarm systems, door locks, and CCTV, to keep cover valid.
Income and Business Continuity Checklist
☐ Business interruption insurance: covers income loss when the business cannot operate following an insured event. Confirm it is in place.
☐ Indemnity period: the period for which income loss is covered. Confirm it is long enough to cover realistic recovery time, commonly 12 to 24 months for SMEs.
☐ Trigger review: confirm whether the policy’s trigger event definitions cover the specific risks the business faces, including load shedding-related interruption if relevant.
☐ Gross profit or gross revenue basis: confirm the income figure is current and reflects actual business revenue.
Vehicle and Fleet Cover Checklist
Vehicles are a common gap because the mistake is invisible until a claim is made. A personal policy will accept the premium every month right up until the point it repudiates a commercial-use claim.
☐ Commercial-use endorsement: any vehicle used for business purposes must have a commercial-use endorsement. Personal car insurance will not cover commercial use.
☐ Fleet policy vs individual policies: confirm whether the current structure is the most cost-effective and administratively practical for the number of vehicles operated.
☐ Any-driver cover: confirmed and sufficient for the number of drivers using each vehicle.
☐ Vehicle values: are the insured values current retail values? Underinsured vehicles result in proportionally reduced claim payouts.
☐ Goods in transit: necessary for businesses that transport their own goods or those of customers via business transportation.
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Compliance and Regulatory Checklist
This section is more concerned with legal risk rather than financial risks, as certain requirements are obligatory.
☐ COIDA registration: confirmed and current for all employees. Failure to register is a criminal offence under South African law.
☐ FAIS PI requirement: FSPs must hold current professional indemnity cover as a condition of their FSCA licence. Confirm the policy is active and the limit meets FSCA requirements.
☐ Legal Practice Council PI: attorneys must hold current PI cover. Confirm the policy is active.
☐ Lease insurance requirements: review the current lease for specified cover types and minimum limits. Confirm compliance.
☐ Client contract requirements: review current major client contracts for insurance requirements. Confirm the certificates of insurance on file are current.
Annual Renewal Review Checklist
☐ Compare the cost of the renewal with market prices: get at least two other estimates before accepting the renewal quote
☐ Check that all sum insurances have been updated with regard to the replacement value of assets and size of operations
☐ Review and update the list of business activities covered: inform the insurer of any new activities, products, or services not previously disclosed
☐ Review the list of insured vehicles: remove vehicles no longer in service and add new vehicles
☐ Review claims history: understand how prior claims are affecting the renewal premium
☐ Confirm all exclusions are still understood and accepted, or negotiate to remove those that are no longer appropriate
Common Signs of Underinsurance in South African SMEs
☐ Insurance of property at original cost instead of the current replacement cost
☐ Business interruption indemnity period shorter than actual recovery time
☐ PL indemnity amount is below the minimum required in the present lease or contracts with clients
☐ Vehicles used commercially still on personal insurance policies.
☐ No PI cover despite providing professional advice or services for a fee.
☐ Stock values not updated following seasonal peaks or business growth.
Recognising even one of these signs is a reasonable trigger to review the relevant policy properly, rather than waiting for the next scheduled renewal to raise it, since most of these gaps only become obvious in hindsight, right after a claim exposes them.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How often should I review my business insurance?
At minimum, once a year at renewal. Businesses that grow quickly, add vehicles or equipment, or change their activities significantly should review cover whenever a material change happens, rather than waiting for the annual renewal to catch up with reality.
What is the most common type of underinsurance for South African SMEs?
Property insured at outdated values is one of the most common, since sums insured are often set once at inception and not revisited as asset values and replacement costs rise. Business interruption with too short an indemnity period is a close second, since businesses tend to underestimate how long a genuine recovery from a serious event actually takes.
Do I need to notify my insurer if my business activities change?
Yes. Cover is priced and underwritten based on the activities disclosed at application or the last review. A material change in activities that is not disclosed can affect whether a future claim is paid, even if the change seems minor from the business’s own perspective. When in doubt about whether a change counts as material, it is safer to disclose it and let the insurer confirm than to assume it does not matter.
Can I use a standard checklist or does it need to be specific to my business?
A standard checklist like this one is a useful starting framework, but the specific limits, sums insured, and applicable cover types need to reflect your own business. Use the checklist to identify which categories to investigate, then confirm the actual figures against your own policies and contracts.
What happens at renewal if I have had claims during the year?
Claims history typically affects the renewal premium, and a significant claim can result in a higher premium, a higher excess, or in some cases an insurer declining to renew. Understanding how a claim has affected the renewal terms, and comparing against the market, is a normal part of the annual review process.
Last reviewed: August 2026. This checklist is reviewed periodically to reflect current South African insurance and regulatory requirements. COIDA registration is administered by the Department of Employment and Labour. Insurance conduct, including the Insurance Act 18 of 2017 and the FAIS Act, is regulated by the FSCA.
This article is part of our complete business insurance help guide for South African business owners. For a broader look at cover types, see our guide to types of business insurance every South African company needs, and for the reasoning behind cover in the first place, see why insurance matters for a business. See our About page or Privacy Policy.
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