Frequently Asked Questions About Business Insurance

Every renewal date, cover and premium is visible in one table; duplications can be filtered out, renewal dates are visible in one place, and at a claim a single point of contact knows the whole portfolio. The detailed case: Why it pays off

It depends on the activity, but the usual skeleton is: property insurance for the premises, activity/professional liability, and fleet cover if there are vehicles. Benefits and specialised covers can build on this – the map: the map of SME insurance.

Yes – for a one-person company, the business's risk is also the family's risk, so a small, well-sized portfolio is not a luxury there either. A dedicated article covers it: the sole trader's minimum portfolio.

On the pricing factors: activity, revenue, headcount, the value and protection level of the premises, claims history, the chosen cover levels and deductibles. Only a quote can responsibly give a concrete figure – which is why you won't find prices on this site.

There's no general insurance requirement that applies to every company. For motor vehicles, however, the law obliges the vehicle's keeper to hold MTPL (compulsory motor liability insurance); and for certain activities, legislation or the chamber requires liability insurance – the scope depends on the activity, under the rules in force at any given time. On the framework: when insurance is "mandatory".

Home insurance typically doesn't cover business-use assets, and the company policy doesn't cover personal assets – the boundary is sharper than you'd think. The typical trap situation is home office: in a dedicated article.

Yes, mainly because of how liability is structured: as a sole trader you're liable with your entire personal assets, so liability insurance directly protects your family's assets too, while for a limited company the business and personal spheres are legally separate – though in practice a large claim can still hit the owner's livelihood even with a limited company. The lesson is the same for both forms: cover should follow actual use, not the legal form. Details: sole trader and insurance.

It's worth rethinking two questions: what happens if the colleague is injured at work – that's the territory of employer's liability and accident cover – and what happens if they cause damage to someone else, which your company's liability insurance needs to cover too. The benefits layer (group accident and health cover) can already be built even for a team of a few people, though the minimum headcount for these schemes varies by insurer. Details: your first employee.

vallalkozas.biz is the hub site: it shows the system of the whole portfolio. The area-specific deep dive – covers, examples, details – lives on the specialist sites: the map is on the Areas page.

Yes: group life, accident and health cover can be well-plannable benefits with strong retention power. Overview: employee benefit packages, deep dive: csoportos.biz.

Above a handful of vehicles, a fleet policy is typically more transparent – with a single renewal date and unified administration. On where the line falls: small fleet vs. large fleet, deep dive: flotta.biz.

Project and construction/erection insurance is epites.biz's territory; the overview article is here: project and construction insurance. On tender requirements: grants and tenders.

This is the most common myth: business interruption cover does not replace lost profit, as many hope – it typically pays the fixed costs that keep running during a standstill and a limited wage burden, following property damage. Details: machinery breakdown and business interruption.

Yes, the risks are just located differently than for a shop on the high street: there's a warehouse full of stock, there's liability for the product you ship, and there's an operation that hinges on a single point – order processing. Property insurance covers the warehouse stock, liability insurance covers the shipped product and the service – so the feeling of "we have no premises" is misleading. Details: webshops and online operations.

Yes: under Section 21/B of Government Decree 191/2009, from 15 January 2025 every building contractor – from the general contractor to the one-person tradesperson, including subcontractors – must maintain liability insurance; the minimum sum is tied to annual net income bands and starts from a limit of HUF 20 million per loss event and HUF 40 million per year, and the certificate of cover must be uploaded to the chamber's registration system. For designers, Sections 15/F–15/L of Government Decree 266/2013 impose a similar obligation which, according to guidance from the Hungarian Chamber of Architects, operates from 14 January 2026 in a system of revenue bands with a lowest band of HUF 10 million / 20 million, and a copy of the certificate of cover must be sent to the regional chamber within eight days after the renewal date. The chamber checks at least once a year that insurance is in place: for a contractor without cover, it may prohibit the activity for up to six months and, if the cover is still not put in place during that time, remove the contractor from the register; the insurer reports the termination of the contract to the chamber within fifteen days. Compulsory cover is about damage caused to third parties – it does not cover the works under construction, defects in your own work or contractual penalties – and the client may require a higher sum in the contract. Uploading and updating the certificate is your task; I help with comparing quotes and with the paperwork if you let me know before the renewal date or before a new project.

Yes: under Government Decree 39/2001 on compulsory aviation liability insurance (Section 2/A), the operator of an unmanned aircraft with a maximum take-off mass of at least 0.25 kg (250 grams) must take out liability insurance, and the decree also sets the minimum sum insured: between 0.25 and 4 kg, HUF 3 million per loss event and HUF 6 million per insurance period; between 4 and 20 kg, HUF 5 million and HUF 10 million respectively – heavier aircraft are subject to the higher amounts under the EU rules on aviation insurance. Under the decree (Section 7), proof of insurance must be kept on board the aircraft – in practice, with the pilot – and presented on request during an inspection; without valid proof, the drone may not take part in air traffic. Importantly, the company's general business liability insurance typically excludes damage caused by aircraft, so a company drone needs separate aviation liability insurance designed for this purpose; for damage to the drone itself or its crash, separate property insurance (drone casco) can be taken out, with conditions and deductibles that vary from insurer to insurer. Beyond insurance, using a drone for business requires operator registration with the aviation authority and appropriate pilot training; flights must be notified in HungaroControl's mydronespace system, flying over built-up areas typically requires ad hoc airspace, and for spraying drones, plant-protection regulations require separate permits. Mass thresholds and official requirements may change, so before taking out a policy it is worth checking the current text of the decree and the authority's latest guidance.

Short-term letting for a fee is an accommodation service, that is, a gainful activity carried on in the home: for home insurance, this falls under the duty of disclosure and the duty to report changes, and Hungarian policy conditions typically exclude or limit damage to a home let out commercially to strangers – under most policy conditions, malicious damage and theft by a guest are not an insured event, and this varies from insurer to insurer. The platform's programme called “AirCover” operates under its own terms: its damage protection part is an undertaking by the platform, not your insurance contract, and its liability part is cover arranged by the platform; both apply only to guests booked through the platform – neither replaces your own policy. If you operate as a company or a sole trader, the flat is an asset of the business, so in Hungarian practice the solution is business property insurance taken out for accommodation-service activity, covering the furnishings and the flat as part of the building, and accommodation provider's liability insurance for injury to guests and damage caused to neighbours; the policy conditions typically require the activity to have been officially notified. Under the government decree, accommodation services must be notified to the municipal notary (the local authority's chief administrative officer) and require registration in NTAK (the national tourism data reporting system); in Budapest, moreover, no new private or other accommodation can be registered during the two-year moratorium imposed for 2025–2026, and the local rules of some districts restrict short-term letting further – insurance does not make up for this legal side, but the insurer also asks about it when the policy is taken out. If you let me know, I prepare the request for quotes for this activity and the comparison of the offers – the notification, and reporting the change to the insurer, remain your responsibility.

With a free 20-minute conversation: bring (or send) your existing policies, and I review what you have and where there might be a gap or overlap. The full process: How it works

The broker is the client's appointee: assessing the need, putting insurers in competition, explaining, and helping, where they can, in a claims dispute. I charge no fee for the advice – the insurer pays the intermediary remuneration. Details: what the broker does.

I request quotes from the relevant market – exactly which insurers depends on the nature of the risk. What matters is comparing on the same criteria: how to read the quote comparison tables.

You provide the data once; after that, the renewal-date re-tendering, the change notifications and claims support run on my side. The whole point is that you shouldn't have to deal with it – on preparing: the quote-request data list.

No. The outcome of the review can also be that everything stays – just more organised. Switching only comes up if the comparison justifies it, and even then in the proper order: switching at renewal.

For handling matters, typically yes – this is what lets me request quotes and administer things in the company's name. Factually, on the framework: representation and power of attorney.

The contract fixes the inception of cover – when arranging it, it's worth paying special attention to this so that no day is left uncovered. Details: from when cover applies.

Because the word "cheap" tells you the price of the policy, not the real cost of the protection – the difference typically shows up at claim time: in a lower limit, a narrower scope of cover, or a higher deductible. That doesn't mean the cheaper quote is always the wrong choice – only that the premium has to be compared together with what it covers, on the same criteria. Details: the cheap-premium trap.

A single table showing every contract's expiry, cancellation window and owner. Without it, renewals happen silently – with it, every renewal date is a decision point. Article: the renewal table.

Once a year systematically – timed to the renewal date – plus at every material change (premises, headcount, activity, revenue). The routine: the annual review.

An unreported change can backfire at a claim: the result can be a proportionate payout or even rejection. That's why reporting changes is part of portfolio order: when and what to report.

It happens – overlap is just as common a mistake as a gap. If two policies cover the same thing, you typically don't get double the payout, just double the premium. Article: overlap-hunting.

If the existing portfolio is well-sized, that's what I'll say – the goal is order, not the number of policies. This honest article is about exactly that: when you don't need a new policy.

Suspension is a change that needs to be reported: activity/professional liability insurance can often be suspended or adjusted for the inactive period, but the risk to the assets left at the premises – building, machinery, stock, from fire or burglary – still exists during suspension, so it's typically worth keeping that cover in place. The exact steps vary by insurer and by product, so we agree these before you report it. Details: reporting a change.

Not automatically: the policy fixes the situation as it was when arranged, and if that quietly falls behind reality, cover and risk drift apart – at a claim this can surface as underinsurance or a missing item. The renewal review – if you let me know before the renewal date – exists exactly for this: aligning cover with current revenue, headcount and assets; if the change is large, it's worth reporting it to the insurer straight away rather than waiting for the next renewal. Details: growth and raising cover.

The insurer can terminate too: under Section 6:466 of the Hungarian Civil Code (Ptk.), either party may terminate a contract concluded for an indefinite term in writing, with effect from the end of the insurance period and with at least thirty days' notice – legally, that is what a ‘we will not renew’ letter is – and the same Code also allows the insurer, where the risk increases significantly, to propose an amendment or to terminate with thirty days' notice, and some Hungarian corporate policy conditions also provide for termination after a loss; this differs from insurer to insurer. The first step is to find the exact termination date in the letter, because cover under the new contract must start from the day after that date: the effective date of the termination can be postponed only with the insurer's express consent, which is not worth relying on, so it is worth requesting quotes after receiving the letter, so that the new policy is concluded before the old one ends. The new insurer's questionnaire typically asks whether an insurer has terminated a contract or declined a proposal, and what the claims history has been in recent years; because of the duty of disclosure, these questions must be answered truthfully, since a concealed circumstance can lead to the exemption of the insurer in the event of a claim, and you can ask the old insurer for a claims history certificate, which can be attached to the new proposal. It is also worth understanding the reason for the termination – a high loss ratio, a change in activity, missing protection – because addressing it (a loss prevention measure, accepting a higher deductible, describing the cover more precisely) counts in the new quotes, and with a more difficult risk it can happen that quotes arrive only with narrower cover or a higher deductible; the insurer pays only for what is an insured event under your new contract. If you let me know after receiving the termination letter, I prepare the comparison of the quotes and the paperwork for the new policy – the timetable is described in the ‘Switching at the renewal date’ article; statements relating to the old contract and signing the new proposal remain the policyholder's responsibility.

The primary route for a claim notification is always the insurer's own claims line or online portal – that's the fastest way to open the case. The exact contact details are in the policy. On the process: how claim notification works.

If the case stalls or becomes disputed – rounds of requests for further documents, rejection, a disproportionate payout – then I help the client with the insurer, where I can. Details: stalled and disputed claims.

Photos and video of the scene, an inventory of the damaged items, reports, invoices – before anything is moved, as far as loss mitigation allows. Checklist: documenting a claim at the company.

The typical reasons: the risk wasn't covered, it falls under an exclusion, an unreported change, underinsurance, late notification, or incomplete documentation. Honestly, item by item: common reasons for rejection.

If the company's own property is damaged, it's property insurance; if the company causes damage to someone else, it's liability insurance. In practice the two can also meet – on untangling them: which policy responds?

The decision time depends on how complex the claim is and how complete the documentation is; the process typically ends with a survey, a round of requests for further documents if needed, and then a decision – the exact deadlines are set jointly by the rules in force at any given time and the policy wording. If a case drags on without good reason, that's exactly where I help as broker, where I can. Details: how claim notification works.

It depends on the value basis on which the contract was taken out and on what the settlement rule in the policy conditions says. According to the guidance of MABISZ (the Hungarian insurers' association), business property insurance can generally be taken out at new value by default, and for repairable damage the insurer pays the cost of the repair; however, policy conditions pay at actual, i.e. depreciated, value for assets with significant technical depreciation relative to new value – according to MABISZ typically 30–50%, varying by insurer – for assets that are fully written off or permanently taken out of use, and in a total loss, so for a ten-year-old, written-off machine many policy conditions provide for depreciated value. If the machine was insured at its book (written-down) value, underinsurance under Section 6:460 of the Hungarian Civil Code (Ptk.) also comes into play: the insurer pays the loss in the proportion of the sum insured to the real value, so in a partial loss it pays only a fraction of the loss. Ask in writing for the calculation behind the settlement – what new value, depreciation and underinsurance ratio were applied, and on the basis of which clause of the policy conditions – and add the purchase invoice and the machine logbook. I help where I can in interpreting the settlement on the basis of the policy; for the future, it is worth declaring your machinery at new purchase value, indexed annually. Details: Does the insurer pay new value or depreciated value? Claims for machinery, furniture and servers.

No, you cannot: according to the guidance of the MNB (Hungary's central bank and financial supervisor), the Financial Arbitration Board only acts in disputes between a consumer – that is, a natural person acting for purposes outside their independent profession and business activity – and a financial service provider, so it does not hear the insurance dispute of a business company – whether a limited liability company (Kft.) or a limited partnership (Bt.) – and the MNB's consumer-protection procedure is not open to companies either. A sole trader's status depends on the purpose of the contract: for a contract connected with their business – property insurance for the business premises, liability insurance for their activity, a company car – they are not a consumer, but for their private home or life insurance they are. A business client has three routes left: a written complaint to the insurer, to which a reasoned reply must be received within 30 days under the complaint-handling rules of the Insurance Act (Bit.), and which can also provide a framework for reopening the claim; settlement talks – either with the insurer's head of claims or with the involvement of a mediator; and finally the court, where you need to watch the limitation period, because insurance policy conditions typically set a limitation period shorter than the general five years. A company can also turn to the MNB with a report if the insurer breaches the law – for example by not replying to the complaint – but the MNB does not decide individual claim disputes, neither for consumers nor for companies. As a broker, in a stuck or disputed case I help where I can: in comparing the policy conditions with the insurer's reasoning and in structuring the complaint – legal representation and litigation, however, are a lawyer's job.

It may qualify as an accident at work: under the definition in the Occupational Safety and Health Act (Mvt.), an accident at work is an accident that befalls an employee in the course of, or in connection with, organised work, irrespective of the place and time of the accident and even of the extent to which the injured person contributed to it, and the Act also regards as connected with work, among other things, an accident that occurs while using another service provided by the employer – according to labour practice and court decisions, the programme of a team-building event, sports day or company event organised by the employer with expected or mandatory attendance may fall into this category, whereas entirely voluntary, leisure-type participation or private activities after the programme (for example free time in the evening) are judged case by case, so it is worth recording the nature of participation (ordered by the employer, during working hours, at the company's expense) in writing as early as the organising stage. If it is an accident at work, the employer's tasks are the same as for an accident in the workplace itself: the accident must be investigated, recorded in a report and registered, and in the cases specified by law reported to the occupational safety authority, while the employee can request, under the rules of the state social-security system (TB), that it be assessed as a work-related accident (üzemi baleset) (accident sick pay, accident benefits) – whether the accident is work-related is decided not by the employer but by the social-security paying office (kifizetőhely) or the health insurance authority. On the compensation side, under Section 166 of the Labour Code (Mt.), the employer must compensate the employee for damage caused in connection with the employment relationship, and is released from liability only if it proves that the damage was caused by a circumstance outside its sphere of control that was unforeseeable and unavoidable, or solely by unavoidable conduct of the employee – whether a programme organised by the company falls within its sphere of control depends on the specific circumstances, and it is employer's liability insurance that covers such liability of the employer, according to its policy conditions (the definition of the insured activity and the definition of an accident at work in the policy also matter). Group accident insurance is a separate cover that pays in its own right, and this is where the question is decided that often comes to light only after the accident: if the policy provides 24-hour cover (for accidents occurring at any time and anywhere), an accident at a team-building event falls within its temporal scope (the exclusions still apply); if it covers only working hours or accidents during work, the question is whether the conditions include events organised by the employer – conditions treat this differently, and the exclusion or limitation of sports or higher-risk activities (for example paintball, quad biking, extreme sports) also differs from insurer to insurer, so it is worth checking the policy's territorial and temporal scope and the exclusions before the event. The route of an employee's claim is described in the article “Employee claims: where does the case start?”, the structure of group cover in the article “Group accident insurance – an overview for companies”, and the recourse claim of NEAK (Hungary's National Health Insurance Fund) in the article “After an accident at work, NEAK claims too: does employer's liability insurance cover it?”; it is worth clarifying how the specific accident is classified with an occupational safety specialist or the company's lawyer.

Whether business insurance premiums can be accounted for follows the tax rules in force at any given time, and also depends on the nature of the cover – it's best to finalise the specific treatment together with your accountant. The map of the question: insurance premium as a cost.

The tax logic of benefits depends on the rules in force at any given time and on the specific structure – there's a framework rather than a rule of thumb, so here too your accountant has the final word. The overview: the tax logic of benefits, deep dive: csoportos.biz.

The financing party is protecting its own security: it can ask for property insurance, assignment or a clause on the asset. This is normal practice – details: alongside leasing and loans.

Typically a certificate of insurance for the liability policy – with the limit of indemnity, territorial and time scope. Getting this quickly is part of the broker routine: proof of insurance for partners.

Organised documentation is the basis for accounting for insurance costs: the policy, proof of premium payment, classification. Factually, with the framework: NAV audits and your policies.

Because the insurer indemnifies loss, and for a company entitled to deduct VAT, the VAT on the repair invoice is not a final loss: the company deducts it in its VAT return and gets it back from the state budget, so if it also received it from the insurer, it would be better off than before the loss. Under Section 123 of the Insurance Act (Bit.) – as quoted in insurers' claims settlement information – the insurer may pay the VAT component of its benefit only against an invoice that includes VAT, and only if the person entitled does not recover the VAT from the state budget. That is why, during claims settlement, the insurer asks for a separate declaration on the right to reclaim VAT: a company that can deduct the VAT receives the net amount, while one that cannot – a company under the small-business VAT exemption or one whose activity does not entitle it to deduct VAT – receives the gross amount on the basis of the invoice. The declaration is a statement of fact, which you should fill in in consultation with your accountant and according to your actual right of deduction, because the insurer may claim back any difference paid on the basis of an untrue declaration. Under the Accounting Act, the claim payment must be booked as other income, while the repair invoice is a cost or capital expenditure, and the two must not be netted off; if the settlement statement is unclear, I help where I can to interpret it on the basis of the policy and the settlement statement. Details: Net or gross? Why the insurer pays a VAT-reclaiming company without VAT.

Yes, because towards your client, your subcontractor's fault is your company's fault: under Section 6:148 of the Hungarian Civil Code (Ptk.), a person who engages someone else to help perform their obligation is liable for that person's conduct as if they had acted themselves – so the client claims the loss from you, and you can then turn to the subcontractor, from whom, without insurance, there is often nothing to recover. Do not settle for a sentence saying ‘has liability insurance’: ask for a copy of the policy or of the insurer's certificate of cover, and for proof of premium payment, because under the Civil Code a contract with unpaid premium can terminate retroactively. On the certificate, check that the insured is exactly the company you are contracting with (not the owner as a private individual or a sister company); that the insured scope of activity includes the work being done for you; that the per-occurrence and annual limits are in proportion to the value of the work and the damage that could be caused, bearing in mind that the annual limit is typically shared with all of the subcontractor's clients; that the territorial and temporal scope covers the place and period of the work; and how large the deductible is that the subcontractor has to bear in the event of a claim. It is also worth skimming the exclusions, because general liability policies typically do not pay the cost of putting defective work right, often cover damage to third-party items taken over, worked on or held in custody only to a limited extent, and insurers differ on whether damage caused to a contractual partner (you) counts as damage to a third party – if the subcontractor works at your site or with your materials, these points are decisive. Finally, check your own liability insurance too: a clause on the use of subcontractors typically covers your liability for damage the subcontractor causes to third parties, but it does not replace the subcontractor's own insurance, and the insurer may take recourse against the subcontractor; the ‘Proof of insurance for partners’ article covers the certificate you give to your own client, and if you would like help reviewing a partner's certificate, I help where I can.

No law requires it in general, but the grant relationship often does: a number of calls for proposals, and the general terms and conditions (ÁSZF) that form part of the grant agreement, lay down as an obligation the property insurance of the subsidised asset and keeping that insurance in force until the end of the maintenance period – whether this applies to your project is determined by your own grant document, the ÁSZF and the call for proposals together, because the grant document typically only refers to these. Behind this obligation lies the maintenance obligation: the grant beneficiary must operate the project's output – the machine, the building – during the maintenance period (under EU rules typically for five years, or three years for SMEs), and if the asset breaks down or is stolen, it must replace it; the insurance is there so that there is money for the replacement, otherwise a proportionate part of the grant – with interest – may have to be repaid. It is not enough to take out the insurance: the premium must be paid and the contract kept in force until the end of the maintenance period, and the grantor may request proof of the policy and of premium payment during on-site inspections and in the maintenance reports. It is worth sizing the cover to the asset's replacement (new) value and to the risks the grantor expects – typically fire, natural perils, burglary and, for machinery, machinery breakdown – and, if the call requires it, recording a clause or an assignment in favour of the grantor with the insurer; the terms for these vary from insurer to insurer. If the asset is also financed by a loan or leasing, it is worth building the bank's or the leasing company's requirements into the same policy, so that two parallel contracts do not run on the same machine.