The cover-map article gives the method – this page gives the finished canvas. The matrix's rows are the company's real risks, its columns the contracts; three signs can live in the cells: covered, partial, none. Half an afternoon's work – and the portfolio is laid bare.
- Rows: 10–20 concrete risks, by category (property, liability, people, operations).
- Columns: the contracts from the portfolio inventory + one final column: "decision/task."
- The goal isn't all-ticks, it's all-deliberate: every cell should hold a decision, not an accident.
The template – with a filled-in example
| Risk | Property policy | Liability policy | Fleet | Decision / task |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fire in the warehouse (stock!) | ✔ covered | – | – | update stock value to peak level |
| Client loss from our faulty work | – | ✔ covered | – | limit vs. new contractual requirement? |
| Key machine (CNC) downtime | △ partial (no breakdown cover) | – | – | get a breakdown-cover add-on quote |
| Company laptops in home offices | ✖ none | – | – | deliberate self-retention OR extension – decide! |
| Courier van damage | – | – | ✔ casco | review the deductible |
Legend: ✔ covered · △ partial / conditional · ✖ not covered · – not relevant. The sample rows are illustrations – your own risk list comes from how your company operates.
Building the risk list
The quality of the rows decides everything: write concrete, business-language risks ("fire in the insulation-material warehouse," not "fire damage"). Working through four categories helps: what is the company's property and where; who could we cause loss to and how; what happens to the people; which situations are special (project, season, abroad). A starting list can be built from the SME risk-map article; a good question for picking the top risks: what are the five events that would wake the owner up at night?
Evaluating it
The filled-in matrix yields three findings: the ✖ rows are the gap list (decide: insure it, retain it, reduce it); more than one ✔ in a single row is overlap suspicion (clarify which one stays); and the △ cells are the condition-reading homework – there, whether cover applies comes down to detail: condition-reading method. The tasks in the last column flow into the renewal table. Update the map annually and after major changes – if you ask for a review, I build the first version for you: portfolio review.
A question tailored to your company? Book a free 20-minute consultation →
