A homemade food seller doesn't need the same insurance as a landlord. A YouTuber doesn't need what a plumber needs. Yet every comparison site gives them the same generic quote. Our guided questionnaire matches your specific business type to the exact policies you need — and the ones you don't — in 3 minutes. Stop paying for coverage you don't need while being exposed on risks you didn't know about.
The UK has 5.5 million micro-businesses across hundreds of industries. A homemade cake baker, a buy-to-let landlord, a freelance photographer, and a mobile dog groomer face completely different risks. Yet the insurance industry sells them all the same 'small business insurance' package. The result: 68% of small businesses are underinsured on at least one critical risk — and most don't discover the gap until a claim is denied.
A 'standard business insurance' policy from any comparison site bundles public liability, employer's liability, and maybe professional indemnity. But it doesn't cover product liability if you sell food. It doesn't cover rental income loss if you're a landlord. It doesn't cover equipment if you're a photographer. You pay for coverage you don't need while being exposed on what you do.
GoCompare, Simply Business, and Hiscox all ask the same three questions: turnover, employees, industry sector. 'Food & Drink' includes a restaurant chain and a home baker — but their insurance needs are completely different. The classification systems are too broad to be useful. You're left guessing which policies apply to your specific situation.
FCA data shows that when a small business has a claim denied due to a coverage gap, the average out-of-pocket cost is £9,400. For a sole trader earning £28,000/year, that's four months of income wiped out — because they didn't know they needed a specific type of cover. The insurance wasn't expensive. They just didn't know it existed.
Selling homemade food at a market? The market organiser requires public liability insurance — but so does your local council's food safety registration. Renting out a property on Airbnb? Your mortgage lender may require specialist short-term let insurance that standard landlord policies don't provide. Running a YouTube channel with sponsors? Your sponsor contract almost certainly requires media liability coverage. These hidden requirements surface only when something goes wrong.
The average small business owner spends 3-4 hours researching insurance — reading articles, comparing quotes, asking in forums — and still isn't confident they have the right coverage. Most give up and buy whatever comes up first on a comparison site. That's how gaps happen.
Started selling on Etsy in addition to your website? That's a new distribution channel that may require different product liability. Hired your first employee? Employer's liability is now a legal requirement. Moved your bakery from home to a commercial unit? Your home business insurance no longer applies. Most owners don't update their insurance because they don't know what's changed. Our matchmaker flags these trigger events automatically.
Three real business types. All classified as 'small business' by comparison sites. Only one of them has the right coverage for what they actually do.
Sells cakes at markets and online
Two buy-to-let properties
50K subscribers, brand deals
The home baker and landlord are both underinsured — missing 4 out of 5 critical coverages each — despite having "small business insurance." The YouTuber used a matchmaker that mapped their specific activity to required policies. Their premium is actually lower because they're not paying for irrelevant coverage (like employer's liability, which they don't need). The matchmaker doesn't sell more insurance — it sells the right insurance.
A web platform with a 12-question guided questionnaire. Users answer what they do, where they do it, who they serve, and what they use. The engine maps their answers against a database of 40+ business types and 18 insurance policy categories — then outputs a personalised 'insurance blueprint' showing exactly which policies they need, which are optional, and which are irrelevant. No insurance knowledge required.
Not a generic form. Adaptive questions based on your business type: 'Do you sell physical products?' triggers product liability. 'Do you give professional advice?' triggers professional indemnity. 'Do you work at client locations?' triggers public liability and tools cover. 'Do you handle client money?' triggers fidelity insurance. The engine knows which questions matter for each business type — you don't need to know insurance terminology.
Output is a clean dashboard showing: Required policies (legally or contractually mandatory), Strongly Recommended (high risk if uncovered), Optional (nice to have), and Not Needed (don't waste money on these). Each policy shows: what it covers, what it doesn't, typical premium range for your business size, and which insurers specialise in that coverage for your industry.
The core IP: a database mapping 40+ micro-business types to 18 insurance categories with risk-weight scoring. Home baker → Product Liability (score: 95/100), Public Liability (90), Home Business Use (85), Employer's Liability (0 — no employees). Landlord → Landlord Buildings (95), Rent Guarantee (80), Legal Expenses (75). YouTuber → Media Liability (90), Equipment (85), Cyber (80). Every mapping is evidence-backed with real claim data.
Your insurance needs change when your business changes. The platform monitors for trigger events: hired first employee → employer's liability now required. Started selling internationally → product liability territory expanded. Moved to commercial premises → home business rider no longer applies. Added a new service → check professional indemnity scope. Users get an alert when their insurance blueprint needs updating — before a gap opens up.
For users who already have insurance: upload or describe your current policy. The engine maps it against your business type's blueprint and generates a gap report showing exactly what's missing. The report is formatted as a checklist with priority ratings — designed to be taken directly to an insurer or broker. No more 'I think I'm covered.'
The matchmaker doesn't sell insurance itself. It identifies which policies you need and which specialist insurers are best for your business type. Referral links to insurers generate commission (£15-£40 per policy placed). The platform's incentive is aligned: it only earns when you buy the right policy — not when you buy the most expensive one. Flat-fee referrals, not percentage commissions.
Revenue from insurance referral commissions (£15-£40 per policy placed) and premium subscriptions (£4.99/month for blueprint monitoring and trigger-event alerts). Conservative assumptions: 1.5% conversion from questionnaire to policy purchase, 2.2 policies per user on average. Marketing via SEO (long-tail 'what insurance do I need for X' queries), partnerships with business formation services, and content marketing to micro-business communities.
| Metric | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Unique Visitors | 22,000 | 70,000 | 180,000 |
| Questionnaires Completed/Month | 4,400 | 17,500 | 54,000 |
| Policies Placed per Month | 145 | 578 | 1,782 |
| Avg Referral Commission (£22) | £22 | £22 | £22 |
| Referral Revenue/Month | £3,190 | £12,716 | £39,204 |
| Premium Subscribers | 280 | 1,320 | 4,200 |
| Subscription Revenue/Month (£4.99) | £1,397 | £6,587 | £20,958 |
| Total Monthly Revenue | £4,587 | £19,303 | £60,162 |
| Annual Revenue | £55,044 | £231,636 | £721,944 |
| Engineering & Product | (£48,000) | (£72,000) | (£108,000) |
| Insurance Data & Research | (£24,000) | (£36,000) | (£48,000) |
| Marketing & SEO | (£36,000) | (£72,000) | (£144,000) |
| Infrastructure | (£6,000) | (£9,000) | (£18,000) |
| Customer Support | (£12,000) | (£24,000) | (£48,000) |
| Net Profit | —£70,956 | £18,636 | £355,944 |
| Profit Margin | — | 8.0% | 49.3% |
5.5 million micro-businesses in the UK (0-9 employees). 3.7 million are sole traders. The UK small business insurance market is worth £8.1B annually — but customer satisfaction is abysmal. Trustpilot scores for major comparison sites average 2.1/5. The #1 complaint: 'I don't know if I'm actually covered for what I need.' A matchmaker that answers that question definitively captures the frustrated majority.
'What insurance do I need for a food business' = 3,600 monthly searches. 'Do I need insurance for a market stall' = 1,900. 'Insurance for homemade food business' = 1,600. 'Landlord insurance requirements UK' = 5,400. 'Insurance for YouTube channel' = 1,200. These high-intent queries currently return generic blog posts from insurers. A tool that answers the question directly — not with a sales pitch — captures every featured snippet and builds massive organic trust.
78% of 'what insurance do I need' searches happen on mobile — the moment someone starts a side hustle, registers as self-employed, or gets their first client who asks 'are you insured?' The questionnaire is mobile-optimised. 12 questions. 3 minutes. Instant results. That's a conversion moment no comparison site captures today.
US micro-businesses: 33 million. Australian sole traders: 1.5 million. EU self-employed: 32 million. Every jurisdiction has different insurance requirements — and every jurisdiction has business owners who don't know what they need. The matchmaker engine is a framework. Localise the policy mappings and insurer database, and the product works in any market. UK first; US within 18 months; Australia within 24.
A homemade food business typically needs: Public Liability Insurance (minimum £1M cover — this is non-negotiable if you sell to the public), Product Liability Insurance (covers you if someone gets ill from your food), and Food Hygiene Certification. If you sell at markets, you may need Market Trader Insurance. From home: check your home insurance — most standard policies exclude business use, so you may need Home Business Insurance. If you employ anyone, even part-time, Employer's Liability Insurance is legally required. Our matchmaker maps your exact situation against these requirements in under 3 minutes.
Absolutely. Standard home insurance does NOT cover rental properties. A landlord needs: Landlord Buildings Insurance (covers the structure), Landlord Contents Insurance (if furnished), Rent Guarantee Insurance (covers lost rent if tenants default), Landlord Liability Insurance (covers injury claims from tenants or visitors), and Legal Expenses Insurance (covers eviction costs, which average £3,500 per case). If you have an HMO (House in Multiple Occupation), you need specialist HMO insurance — standard landlord policies won't cover it. Our platform identifies every gap based on your property type, number of tenants, and whether it's furnished.
Content creators face risks most traditional insurers don't understand. You need: Professional Indemnity Insurance (if you give advice or reviews — a negative review could trigger a defamation claim), Public Liability Insurance (if you film in public or at events), Equipment Insurance (cameras, lighting, laptops — your home insurance probably caps electronics at £1,500), Cyber Insurance (if your channel gets hacked or your content is stolen), and Media Liability Insurance (covers copyright infringement, which is the #1 legal risk for creators). If you have sponsors, you may also need Contractual Liability coverage. Most creators discover these gaps the hard way — when a claim is denied.
There is no single answer — it depends entirely on what you do. A freelance graphic designer needs Professional Indemnity Insurance but not Product Liability. A mobile hairdresser needs Public Liability and Treatment Risk Insurance. A delivery driver needs Goods in Transit and Hire & Reward Insurance. The only universal requirement: if you employ anyone, Employer's Liability Insurance is a legal requirement with a minimum £5M cover. Our questionnaire maps your specific trade to the policies that actually apply — not a generic 'business insurance' bundle that costs more and covers less.
Simply Business and Hiscox are brokers — they sell you insurance. Their questionnaire is designed to generate a quote, not to tell you what you actually need. They ask broad questions (industry sector, turnover, employees) and match you to a policy bundle. Our matchmaker asks specific questions about what you actually do, where you do it, and who you serve — then outputs a coverage blueprint showing exactly which policies apply to your situation, including ones the broker might not mention because they don't sell them. Use our blueprint to shop intelligently, then buy through whichever channel gives you the best deal.
Full business case: business-type-to-policy mapping engine architecture, questionnaire design with adaptive logic, 40+ business type taxonomy, insurer referral integration plan, SEO content strategy for 200+ 'what insurance do I need' queries, and 90-day launch plan — £49.
Nobody claimed this opportunity. Sovael Studio launches internally in 30 days if no buyer emerges.