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New data from Purbeck Personal Guarantee Insurance shows a sustained appetite for finance across the construction sector in 2026, despite ongoing economic uncertainty and tight cash flow. Purbeck’s data shows that 17% of all applications for personal guarantee insurance to support business loans were from construction firms during Q2 2026. While this was lower than the exceptional spike seen in Q1 2026, demand remained substantially higher than the same period last year and more than double the level seen in Q2 2025. Construction remains the number one business sector to use Personal Guarantee Insurance.

For many SME directors, signing a personal guarantee is part of securing business finance. Whether the funding is for a business loan, asset finance facility, commercial mortgage or overdraft, lenders often want additional reassurance that the borrowing will be repaid. That reassurance usually comes in the form of a personal guarantee.

For many SME directors, securing business finance means signing a personal guarantee. Whether you're applying for a business loan, asset finance, or an overdraft facility, lenders often require directors to take personal responsibility for the borrowing.

The growing pressure on SME cashflow.

Purbeck Insurance Services has welcomed the Government’s Small Business Protections Bill as an important step towards tackling the damaging impact of late payments on the UK’s small business community. Purbeck is the UK’s only provider of personal guarantee insurance to small and medium sized business owners and directors.

Does the cost of Personal Guarantee Insurance outweigh the risk?

Taking out a business loan is no simple matter. There’s a lot of money on the line, which is why it’s important that your assets are properly protected in the event that your business becomes insolvent.

When signing a personal guarantee in support of the business loan, you can choose to protect yourself by purchasing personal guarantee insurance.

As part of this process, you are well within your rights to make enquiries before you commit to a particular insurer’s policy, but how do you check whether an insurance company is safe and reliable?

Our specialists have put together a series of questions that you can ask your potential personal guarantee insurance provider to ensure that they are the safest and most reliable choice.

Following news that UK ministers are poised to launch a new £3bn recovery loan scheme that will require business owners to provide personal guarantees, Todd Davison, MD of Purbeck Personal Guarantee Insurance has cautiously welcomed the move but is urging the Government to ensure SMEs are under no illusions about the risks given the current challenges many businesses are facing.

While company status often offers protection to a business director, there are certain circumstances when directors may be held personally liable.

• • -> Personal Guarantee Backed Loan Applications by Small Builders/Contractors up 58%
  • -> Loans for ‘working capital’ up 78%
  • -> Average loan value falls by £23,000