Taking your business to an international level

Written by Tim Weymouth Associate Director, ACII, AloL.

The world seems to  becoming smaller. I don’t mean literally of course, but due to the ease with which we can now access information and products from around the world.

For example, “The Official History of the British & Irish Lions” catalogues every tour going back to the inaugural one in 1888. For those early tours, the results took a significant amount of time to get back to the UK, and in later years,  fans would have listened to grainy telecasts of the invincible Lions tour in 1974. Today, as a fan, I can watch it broadcast live into my home in ultra-HD, along with streaming to my mobile, wherever I am in the world.

Seeing this through a commercial lens, it cannot be denied that the ability to reach more customers globally is an excellent opportunity for businesses… but there are a few matters that you should consider before ‘going international’.

Have I advised my insurance company of these new customers?

Different territories around the globe can be far more litigious than the UK. Therefore, if you look to sell into a new territory, you must advise your insurer of the turnover that you plan to derive from this new market. Areas of insurance cover to consider:

• Product Liability
• Professional Indemnity
• Cyber Liability
• Directors & Officers/Management Liability

How do I insure my stock?

You might have cover for moving your items and products the UK via the Goods In Transit section of your policy, but if you’re going global, then a Marine Cargo policy may be more suitable as this can cover stock in transit internationally. If you also plan to have a fulfilment centre in an overseas territory, this can also be covered via a Marine Cargo policy, which may negate the need for an admitted local policy (for more information on admitted/non admitted cover, please see my previous article).

Business Travel Insurance

Whilst we may well be used to purchasing Travel Insurance for our holidays, it’s also an area of cover that businesses should put in place to prevent the potential cost of overseas medical bills having to be paid by the company. 

It will also provide cover for trips that may need to be curtailed or cancelled for a vast number of reasons. I wrote about the benefits of this cover previously here.

Tariffs

Thanks to what’s occurring across the Atlantic, this could well be the “buzz word” of 2025. There’s not a direct insurance policy that would cover a sudden shift in the tariffs that could be applied to your exported goods, but if you fail to understand what tariffs apply and do not pay appropriate taxes, this could impact your business in two ways. 

Firstly, it may result in your company failing as you choose to expand overseas without allowing for the potential for your profit margin to be affected by shifting tariffs. Or secondly, you or your company could be investigated by a regulator (either within the UK or overseas), which could require a significant level of legal defence. 

Both sound scary, don’t they? But this is where Directors & Officers/Management Liability insurance protection could come to your rescue from the Great White Shark knocking at your door.
 

Final takeaways

How you choose to expand overseas will be unique to your enterprise. And having the ability to discuss your expansion plans with an advisor who knows the risks you will face while also possessing the ability to deliver solutions will be invaluable in ensuring your business remains adequately protected. 

At Howden, we’ve helped a significant number of customers launch internationally and we’d be delighted to help you take your company to the next stage of its development – ensuring any overseas growth is handled the right way.

Get in contact with our team via the buttons below.