Every week, more than 14,000 new businesses register in the UK. Most are limited companies, a handful are LLPs and CICs. Almost all of them need some form of commercial cover - and very few have it on day one.
The brokers who reach them first usually win the account. The brokers who reach them in month three usually don't.
This is the story of what happens in those first 30 days, and why the window is shorter than most commercial brokers realise.
Day one: incorporation
A founder fills out the paperwork, pays the registration fee, and a certificate of incorporation is issued. The business legally exists.
At this point, the founder has a registered company, a director, a registered office address, and not much else. No employees, no premises lease, no public liability cover, no commercial vehicle, no professional indemnity. The risk landscape is theoretical.
But the planning starts immediately.
Days 2-7: the to-do list
In the first week, a typical small business founder is working through a familiar list:
- Open a business bank account (Monzo, Tide, Starling, sometimes a high street bank)
- Register for VAT if they expect to cross the £85,000 threshold
- Set up accounting software (Xero, FreeAgent, QuickBooks)
- Find an accountant
- Sort out their company website and domain
- Set up email
- File the company's PSC information
Notice what's not on that list. Insurance rarely is.
For most founders in this first week, insurance is something they know they need to think about - but they're prioritising the things their solicitor, accountant, or business advisor told them to do first.
Days 7-14: the trigger events start
By week two, most new businesses encounter their first insurance trigger event. These look like:
- A client asks for proof of insurance before signing a contract
- A landlord requires public liability cover before granting a lease
- They take on their first employee - employer's liability becomes legally mandatory the moment that contract is signed
- They book their first business trip and realise their personal travel insurance won't cover them
- They register a company van and need commercial motor cover
When a trigger event hits, the founder has roughly 48 hours to get cover sorted. They have no broker relationship, no insurance product knowledge, and a contract they need to sign.
This is the moment most new businesses get their first commercial insurance policy.
Days 14-30: the broker is chosen (often badly)
Faced with urgency and limited knowledge, the founder defaults to one of three options:
- Google "small business insurance" and click the first comparison site
- Use their bank's recommended provider (Monzo recently partnered with Superscript; Tide partners with Hiscox)
- Ask another business owner for a recommendation
These three paths together capture most new business insurance. None of them involve a commercial broker reaching out proactively. By the time a competent broker hears about the business - maybe through a networking event in month four, maybe through a direct mail piece in month six - the policy has already been written.
The economic consequence for brokers
The frustrating bit for commercial brokers is that the policies these new businesses end up with are usually:
- More expensive than necessary
- Not tailored to their actual risk profile
- Sold by someone who couldn't have known their industry properly
A specialist broker who reaches a newly incorporated removals firm, or hospitality business, or trades contractor on day three can quote a better policy at a competitive price. The business saves money. The broker wins commission for the lifetime of the relationship.
But the broker has to know the business exists, and where they are, in the first place.
The 3-day window in practice
A useful workflow for brokers who want to work this window properly looks like this:
- Day 1-3: Business incorporates. Surfaces in your prospect list.
- Day 3-7: Review the new businesses and decide which to approach based on sector, location, and likely policy fit. A short, professionally addressed letter to the registered office is one of the most underused outreach tactics here - and worth taking seriously. When I founded my own business, I received around four such letters in the first month from insurance brokers, accountants and other service providers. Each one stood out simply because nobody else was doing it. The founder's inbox is already full from day one. The post tray usually isn't.
- Day 7-14: Make a soft introduction. A LinkedIn message, a useful piece of content, or a friendly email offering a sector-specific risk checklist works well at this stage.
- Day 14-30: First conversation, usually at the prompt of a trigger event the founder is now facing.
- Day 30+: Quote, written policy, ongoing relationship.
The broker who's already in conversation on day 14 wins the business when day 21 arrives and the trigger event happens. The broker who finds out in month four doesn't.
There's a particular kind of frustration unique to commercial broking: knowing a perfect-fit prospect existed for months before you heard about them. You're not losing business to a competitor with a better quote. You're losing business to whoever happened to be visible at the moment of need.
The first 30 days are where this gets decided. Brokers who structure their pipeline around that window are systematically advantaged over those who don't.