AXA Business Insurance review

AXA business insurance: at a glance

AXA offers business insurance across a number of sectors and professions, from sole traders to small and medium-sized businesses. It insures over 860,000 businesses in the UK and Ireland, and also provides general insurance, such as car and home cover.

AXA allows you to build your own business insurance policy, so you have cover for the kinds of risks your profession or particular set-up may face. This includes cover for legal and compensation costs if claims are made against you, and protection for business stock, rental properties and vehicles.

AXA business insurance pros and cons

Pros

Save and retrieve quotes and manage your policy online.
Phone support for policy management.
Claim by phone or by email.
Shop by specific industry and occupation, with optional add-ons for typical risks.
Annual or monthly premiums.

Cons

No customer service phone support on weekends.

AXA business insurance key features

Online policy management
Claims by phone and email
Shop by occupation or business type

AXA business insurance full review

AXA offers a range of business insurance, starting with core cover – such as public liability or contents insurance – as well as optional add-ons, including equipment cover. So the cover is flexible and lets you protect the specific risks your profession and operation may face.

What types of business insurance does AXA offer?

AXA offers a range of core business cover, as well as more specialist cover:

Public liability insurance (up to £10 million): This covers legal fees and compensation costs if a member of the public is injured, or if their property is damaged and your business is at fault. Includes product liability insurance (up to £1 million) if you sell or supply a product that causes a customer to be ill or injured, or damages their property.
Employers’ liability insurance (£10 million): This covers legal and compensation costs if a permanent or temporary employee gets injured, is ill or dies due to their work.
Professional indemnity insurance (up to £5 million): This is protection for legal and compensation costs for mistakes, negligence or bad advice by you or your business that cost your client money or damages their reputation. Some trades may not be included, though.
Business contents insurance: This covers belongings inside your premises if they are stolen or damaged, including stock. You can add this to another business insurance policy or buy it as standalone cover. You can add buildings insurance to this if you own your premises, and business equipment cover.

AXA also offers:

Commercial van insurance: This is cover for using your van or pick-up for work, such as carrying stock or tools to other locations. It can pay out if you are involved in an accident or if your van is stolen or destroyed, depending on the level of insurance you choose. AXA’s courier van insurance includes hire and reward.
Landlord insurance and commercial landlord insurance: If you rent out a property, this can cover the building itself and your belongings inside it if an unexpected event causes damage or loss. It can also cover rental-specific issues, such as loss of rent and rehousing tenants, and includes liability cover for injury to third parties or damage to their property. It can cover up to 10 properties.
Plant, tools and business equipment insurance: This covers accidental loss, damage or theft of your tools and equipment, including machinery, own plant and hired-in plant. This cover is only available if added to one of the four core liability and contents covers.

There is quite a bit of flexibility, as you can add other types of cover and optional extras, such as legal expenses and employers’ liability insurance.

Separately, there is also AXA business health insurance for employees, with various payment plans and levels of cover available.

AXA business insurance features

Professions and trades covered

AXA covers a number of trades and professions with its business insurance. There is an A to Z of types of trades covered on its website, but if yours isn’t included, you can call to ask if there is cover available for the type of risks your business faces.

Some of the professions and business types AXA mentions include:

architects
hairdressers
cafés
domestic services
electricians
florists
landscape and gardening
IT contractors
designers

Payment options

You can pay your AXA business insurance premiums either annually or in instalments by direct debit. You can nominate a preferred payment date if you pay in instalments. Be aware that you will pay interest on premiums if you pay monthly.

Online management

You can view and make changes through an online account. Changes may be adding a property, or changing your cover level or contact details, for example. As with most insurers, you may need to ask for some changes or renewals over the phone.

Phone support

AXA encourages customers to use their online account first, and phone details aren’t easy to come by. Even so, you can call its UK-based call centre about your cover or to get a quote, or for issues relating to your online account, Monday to Friday, 8am- 6pm. You can also use the online chat facility.

Making a claim

You can make a claim by phone or by email, and there are different routes depending on the cover type. Lines are open on weekdays between 9am and 5pm (except public holidays), though there is a claims team that picks up calls outside these hours.

There is an emergency phone line that is open 24/7 for some claims, such as contents insurance and legal assistance.

Customer reviews

AXA business insurance receives an ‘Exceptional’ rating of 4.7 out of five stars on Feefo (correct as at December 2025).

Can you shop by profession with AXA?

You can shop by specific occupation with AXA. This might be useful if you want to see the typical cover people doing your work may need, whether that’s by trade or profession.

Examples include professional indemnity and business equipment cover for architects, and public liability and contents cover for coffee shops. Shopping by your trade can also help highlight relevant optional add-ons for the job you do. You can also find cover by your type of business, for example, whether you’re a start up or self-employed.

How to choose the right business insurance

The business insurance policies or package you choose needs to address the risks your business faces. There is a lot of choice available, but some businesses might need the following cover to be able to operate:

You need employers’ liability insurance by law if you employ anyone in the UK who isn’t close family. Though if you employ family and your business is a limited company, you will still need it.
For some professions, such as solicitors and accountants, professional indemnity insurance is required by their governing body or regulator.
You may be asked to have a specific level of public liability insurance to carry out some work, including government contracts.
If you use a vehicle for work (other than commuting), you must have motor insurance and should consider business car insurance or commercial vehicle insurance.

If you’re not sure which types of cover you need, an independent business insurance broker can help. Membership and trade bodies may also help you work out the minimum level of cover you need.

How to get AXA business insurance

You can get a quote for AXA business insurance online or by phone.

If you’re taking the online route, you can add the cover you need as you go through the quote process. There is a Business Insurance Wizard if you would like a quick guide to the cover you may need.

You will need to supply information about your business, including:

when you started trading
the type of work you do
business location
number of employees
annual turnover (projected, if you’re not up and running yet)
any past claims

You can then apply for the cover based on the quote if you decide it’s right and you can afford it, or you may prefer to compare the quote details with other providers.

Dive even deeper

AXA Business Insurance Review