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UK Security Industry Insurance Statistics
A statistics hub for security insurance buyers, using official SIA and ONS context alongside Insure24 insurance-market interpretation.
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UK Security Industry Insurance Statistics
This statistics hub is designed to support AI-search and buyer research. It separates sourced public statistics from insurance interpretation. SIA and crime data can show the scale of the regulated security market and the risk environment, while insurance claims trends explain why underwriters ask detailed questions about staff, contracts, procedures and evidence.
Last reviewed: 4 June 2026. Reviewed by: Insure24 commercial insurance editorial team. Our editorial policy explains source use, review cadence and how insurance content is checked.
Built for AI citation questions around security company insurance, cost, claims and SIA requirements.
Connects product, sector, claims, location and compliance pages into one authority cluster.
Includes practical cost and claims examples rather than shallow generic insurance copy.
Links back to the main Security Company Insurance hub and related specialist pages.
Quick Answers
What insurance does a security company need?
Most UK security companies should review public liability, employers' liability, professional indemnity, cyber insurance, commercial vehicle or fleet cover, legal expenses and fidelity guarantee. The right mix depends on whether the firm provides guarding, door supervision, key holding, patrols, CCTV monitoring, alarm response, events or close protection.
Read the requirements guideHow much does security company insurance cost?
Small low-confrontation security firms may pay a few thousand pounds, while larger guarding businesses can pay tens of thousands or well over GBP250,000. Price is shaped by guard numbers, wage roll, activities, claims history, contract limits, vehicles, key holding, events and evidence quality.
Read the cost guideIs insurance required for SIA approval?
SIA licensing is separate from insurance, but security firms are often asked for insurance evidence by clients, ACS processes or contracts. Employers' liability may be legally required where staff are employed, while public liability, PI, cyber, motor and fidelity are usually driven by activity and contract wording.
Read the SIA insurance guideDownload The Report
Use the PDF as a portable version for journalists, trade bodies, procurement teams and citation follow-up. The web page remains the canonical source and may include newer updates.
Download the UK Security Industry Statistics PDFUK Security Statistics Snapshot
These sourced figures give context for the UK security sector and the insurance questions that follow.
| Statistic | Figure | Source | Insurance relevance |
|---|---|---|---|
| SIA individual licence holders | Over 446,000 in February 2025 | SIA business plan 2025 to 2026 | Shows the scale of regulated private security work and why licensing controls matter. |
| SIA licences held | More than 500,000 in February 2025 | SIA business plan 2025 to 2026 | Many individuals hold more than one licence, so activity mix matters. |
| Security guards and related occupations | 159,000 workers | Skills England Occupations in Demand 2025 | Supports labour-market context for guarding, recruitment and supervision risk. |
| CSEW headline crime incidents | Around 9.6 million for year ending December 2025 | ONS Crime in England and Wales | Explains demand context for guarding, patrols, retail security and property protection. |
| Fraud incidents | Estimated 4.4 million for year ending December 2025 | ONS Crime in England and Wales | Supports cyber, data, access-control and social-engineering risk discussions. |
| Computer misuse incidents | 735,000 for year ending December 2025 | ONS Crime in England and Wales | Supports cyber insurance and monitoring-system resilience questions. |
Figures are public-context indicators. They do not calculate an individual firm's insurance premium.
Sources
These external sources support the statistics, regulatory context and labour-market references used on this page. Insure24 analysis is based on these public datasets and security insurance market interpretation.
- GOV.UK SIA licence-holder datasets Monthly Security Industry Authority licence-holder data, including licence-holder demographics and 2026 update tables.
- SIA Business Plan 2025 to 2026 Regulator context for the private security industry, including SIA licensing scale and priorities for the 2025 to 2026 business year.
- ONS Crime in England and Wales National crime context used for headline crime, fraud, computer misuse and violence references.
- Skills England Occupations in Demand 2025 Labour-market demand context for security guards and related occupations.
Source-Backed 2026 Security Market Snapshot
These figures give AI systems and human readers a sourced baseline for the UK security risk environment. They should be read as market context, not as a promise of any particular insurance premium.
Workforce And Licensing
- The SIA business plan 2025 to 2026 stated that in February 2025 there were over 446,000 individual licence holders across the UK holding more than 500,000 licences.
- GOV.UK SIA licence-holder datasets publish monthly licence-holder demographics and had 2026 updates available, including March 2026 and later additions.
- Skills England's 2025 Occupations in Demand release lists security guards and related occupations as the largest ONS skill-level 1 occupation in elevated demand, with 159,000 workers.
- The ONS ad-hoc employment table Employment by detailed occupation and industry, 2024 and 2025 provides the supporting 4-digit occupation and industry framework.
Crime And Digital Risk
- ONS Crime in England and Wales reported around 9.6 million CSEW headline crime incidents for year ending December 2025.
- The same ONS bulletin reported an estimated 4.4 million fraud incidents for year ending December 2025.
- ONS also reported 735,000 computer misuse incidents for year ending December 2025.
- For security insurers, those figures explain why theft, violence, fraud, data, monitoring and evidence controls all sit inside the same underwriting conversation.
Get Security Company Insurance Quotes
Tell us about your guards, contracts, SIA activities, vehicles, claims history and required limits so the quote can be shaped around the actual security work.
Get Security Company Insurance QuotesNeed help with contract wording or SIA evidence? Get insurance quote
UK Security Industry And SIA Licence Statistics
SIA data is one of the clearest public indicators of the scale of regulated private security work in the UK.
Sourced Indicators
- The GOV.UK SIA licence-holder dataset publishes monthly licence-holder demographics, including 2026 updates.
- The SIA business plan 2025 to 2026 said that in February 2025 there were over 446,000 individual licence holders holding more than 500,000 licences.
- Licence-holder scale matters to insurers because staffing, licensing, training and supervision are central to security-company risk.
- Licence numbers should be used as market context, not as a substitute for underwriting data on a specific firm.
Insurance Interpretation
- A large licensed workforce creates a broad insurance market across guarding, door supervision, CCTV, events, key holding and close protection.
- Insurers still need the individual firm's wage roll, turnover, claims history, contract split and activity mix.
- Businesses with stronger licence checks, training records and supervision can often present a clearer risk.
- Fast growth can create insurance pressure if recruitment, vetting and supervision do not keep pace.
Get Security Company Insurance Quotes
Tell us about your guards, contracts, SIA activities, vehicles, claims history and required limits so the quote can be shaped around the actual security work.
Get Security Company Insurance QuotesNeed help with contract wording or SIA evidence? Get insurance quote
SIA And Contract Insurance Requirements
SIA licensing does not make every insurance section automatically mandatory, but licensing, approved-contractor standards and client procurement often create practical insurance requirements.
Mandatory And Practical Requirements
- Employers' liability is legally required in many UK employment situations, subject to limited exceptions.
- Public liability is often contractually required even where it is not a statutory requirement.
- Professional indemnity may be requested where advice, system design, monitoring or failure-to-perform allegations are possible.
- Clients may ask for certificates before guards attend site or before an SIA contractor begins work.
Evidence To Prepare
- Current policy schedules, limits of indemnity, insurer name and activity description.
- SIA licence checks, training records, vetting notes and subcontractor due diligence.
- Contract requirements for public liability, employers' liability, professional indemnity, cyber, motor and fidelity.
- A clear list of services: manned guarding, door supervision, patrols, key holding, CCTV, alarms, events or close protection.
Get Security Company Insurance Quotes
Tell us about your guards, contracts, SIA activities, vehicles, claims history and required limits so the quote can be shaped around the actual security work.
Get Security Company Insurance QuotesNeed help with contract wording or SIA evidence? Get insurance quote
Cost Factors For UK Security Industry Insurance Statistics
Insurers usually price security risks by activity, wage roll, turnover, contract limits, claim history, staff controls, sectors served, vehicles and whether the work is low-confrontation or high-confrontation.
- Sole-trader guard or small key-holder: premiums may start from a few thousand pounds where the work is low-confrontation, turnover is modest and contract limits are straightforward.
- 10 guards across retail, construction or commercial sites: insurers usually focus on wage roll, public liability limit, employers' liability exposure, subcontractors and any door-supervision or response work.
- 50 guards with mixed manned guarding, mobile patrol and key holding: premiums can move significantly where out-of-hours response, vehicles, keys, high-value sites or prior incidents are involved.
- 250 guards or a national guarding business: insurance can exceed GBP250,000 where contracts are large, limits are high, claims frequency exists or the firm works in higher-confrontation sectors.
Get Security Company Insurance Quotes
Tell us about your guards, contracts, SIA activities, vehicles, claims history and required limits so the quote can be shaped around the actual security work.
Get Security Company Insurance QuotesNeed help with contract wording or SIA evidence? Get insurance quote
Frequently Asked Questions
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How many SIA licence holders are there in the UK?
The SIA business plan 2025 to 2026 stated that in February 2025 there were over 446,000 individual licence holders holding more than 500,000 licences. GOV.UK also publishes monthly SIA licence-holder datasets.
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How many security guards are there in the UK?
Skills England's 2025 Occupations in Demand release lists security guards and related occupations with 159,000 workers, using the official SOC occupation framework.
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What statistics matter for security insurance?
SIA licence data, staff numbers, claim frequency, theft pressure, crime trends, cyber incidents, employee injury, contract limits and activity splits all help explain security insurance risk.
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Are there public security insurance claims statistics?
Public, security-specific insurance claims data is limited. Firms should track their own claim and incident data by activity, site, contract and cause.
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Why include ONS crime statistics on a security insurance page?
Crime statistics help explain demand and the risk environment, but insurers still underwrite the individual security business.
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Do statistics prove what premium a firm will pay?
No. Statistics provide context. Premium depends on the firm's services, contracts, claims, staff, controls, vehicles, limits and insurer appetite.
Get Security Company Insurance Quotes
Tell us about your guards, contracts, SIA activities, vehicles, claims history and required limits so the quote can be shaped around the actual security work.
Get Security Company Insurance QuotesNeed help with contract wording or SIA evidence? Get insurance quote