Archive for February, 2010

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Public liability – what if I am not liable?

Sunday, February 28th, 2010

Here in the UK, there was an excellent programme on Channel 4 on 25th February 2010 about the claims and compensation culture in the UK. Basically, if anyone slips, trips, falls or injures themselves, they feel that someone else should pay.

To protect yourself agains this, you purchase public liability insurance. The policy will pay, or settle, any action raised by a third party, where you have been proven to be negligent.

This last word is absolutely vital and key. If you are not negligent, you are not liable. The programme was good as it showed that local authorities are starting to fight back against the hundreds of claims they get every year.

If you do not have a separate policy, you may find that your umbrella or package policy includes combined liability insurance.

The good thing, if you are not liable, is that your insurers will deal with the claim on your behalf, within your cover. So, even if you think it is laughable that someone has the audacity to claim, you still need to refer to your insurers and let them deal with it.

Whilst you may not think you are liable, in certain cases you will be based on English law and past precedents. Never assume that just telling someone to go away is enough, solicitors can smell a big tasty fee from 500 miles and they will not let go.

Let your insurers deal with it, and if you are not liable, they will advise and deal with the third party accordingly.

Posted in combined liability insurance, public liability insurance | No Comments »

Pub or restaurant insurance – what should I choose?

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

Years ago, pre the 1980’s, most licensed trade premises where split into three main categories. Pubs, restaurants and nightclubs.

With the advent and growth of eating and drinking as a popular leisure activity, the lines between these three are blurred. If you are running one of these types of businesses, it is something that will affect any policy that you have in place or are looking to get quotes for.

Traditionally, pub insurance policies only had two types of categories, city centre and country pubs. Restaurant insurance had a similar split  based purely on the type of food, ie Italian, Chinese, Far East, Indian etc. Takeaways are, and always have been, categorised separately.

Many pubs have moved on from the only food they supply being crisps or pork scratchings. Bar snacks and formal restaurants are now part an parcel of many pubs.

When looking for your quote, you do need to make sure it is on the correct basis. The reason being that insurers charge different rates for pubs or restaurants. Therefore, in the event of a claim, of they feel you have mis-declared the type of business you could, in extreme circumstances, find that your claim is turned down.

Basically, if 50% or more of your turnover is derived from food, you are a restaurant, below this you are a pub. Make sure though that your broker is fully aware of what you do and make sure that they confirm in writing that the policy is suitable for your business.

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Cheap business insurance – myth or reality?

Friday, February 26th, 2010

Running a business is hard work, not only do you have the physical pressures of being on the go almost 24/7, you have huge administrative responsibilities.

If you went from being employed by someone else to running your own business, it is like night and day. Sometimes, not for good reasons.

One aspect of running your business that can be difficult to keep track of is the continuous spending that seems to go on. One of your major costs is your financial protection, in the form of insurance. Depending on the size and scale of your business, the cost can be huge.

We do get calls from people asking for cheap business insurance, and it is not a myth, you can, if you look around enough, get a decent premium.

You do need to be very careful though to ensure that this does not equal poor quality cover. Everyone knows that quality is what counts, but quality costs.

Rather than spending your time searching around you can speak to an independent, professional, business insurance broker. For them to provide you with an estimate, or quote, they do not charge and they are legally obliged to offer you the best price and cover they can obtain.

So, instead of trying to fathom out the differences between various quotes, let the broker do the donkey work for you.

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Small business insurance – spreading the cost

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

Looking back over the past ten years in the UK financial service industry and we can see the problems caused (to Bank of Scotland and RBS) by providing too much credit.

Basic economics was ignored in the pursuit of growth at all costs. The banking industry has had a wake up call, and the alarm bell continues to ring. Maybe in 2012 to 2015 things may get better.

But, there are other sides to the UK financial services industry, which are not at such a disdvantage. Commercial insurance has been a mainstay of British financial services, long before banking raked in the profits.

Some people consider the insurance industry as needing a shake up, but those if us that work in it, whilst we accept there are faults, are quite happy most of the time to work in an industry that plods along.

There are some innovations though and as young blood comes into the industry, these are happening more often and nearly always they are to the benefit of the customer.

If you are looking for a small business insurance quote, one of the main things you look at is the premium. You will usually also want to consider spreading the cost of this premium. One of the recent developments we have seen is that insurers are quite keen to allow you to spread the cost over 6, 10 or 12 months.

Many of the newer, more modern insurers, are prepared to provide credit to allow this to be interest free, so you do not pay extra. Unlike the banks, they are not giving away vast millions of pounds credit, without much chance of getting it back.

What they will do is allow credit for your insurance premium, they are able to do this because, if you default, the insurance is cancelled so there is no loss of money for the insurers.

So, if you are looking to spread the cost, look for the 0% option.

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Comprehensive office insurance – are employees covered whilst working from home?

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

With business insurance, you really only have two choices. You can either buy a packaged product, designed specifically for your industry or business activities, or a bespoke, more specialist product where you pick and choose the sections of cover.

Look around most high streets in the land and the types of businesses you see (retail, licensed trade, restaurants etc) will usually be suited to a package product. Then go to an industrial estate or commercial area and most of the businesses will probably be covered under a commercial combined insurance (or bespoke contract).

Office insurance is no different and you can get a competitively priced policy from most brokers or insurers. You do need to exercise some care though, the cheaper the package and there is more potential for restrictive terms to apply.

Here in Scotland, in February 2010 it is snowing yet again. What this means is that many employees of businesses are working from home, utilising modern technology to keep in touch. You need to make sure that the employers liability section of your policy specifically covers those who choose to work from their home address. In addition, if they are using a business laptop or Blackberry style device, is this covered if it is lost or damaged away from the main office premises? You should never assume something is covered, it is always worth checking.

Posted in commercial combined insurance, office insurance | No Comments »

Restaurant insurance – should my premium be increasing?

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

Eating out has become a leisure activity in the UK, we have become more and more used to going out to eat than ever before.  Back in the 70’s it was a rarity, for most people, to go out and eat in a restaurant more than a couple of times a year. Birthday and special occasion treats were the only times we used to go out.

There has been a rapid growth since the early to mid 80’s in the number of restaurants, both small owner managed and the larger chains.

As a consequence, there has been a significant growth in the availability of restaurant insurance. Many insurers now have “off the shelf” products that are suited for most restaurants and takeaways.

Certain types of restaurant are more at risk of suffering claims. This does not mean that they are run in a bad way, it is just down to various factors such as the type of food cooked and location. For example, commercial insurance companies have more higher value fire claims from restaurants that have deep fat fryers and more smashed glass claims from city centre outlets.

Insurers premiums do change a great deal. One year they could provide you with a good, competitive quote and a couple of years later you may be faced with double-digit increases in your premium.

So, to answer the question, your premiums should not necessarily be increasing. If you have had a few claims, you would expect (through reduced no-claims bonus) to have an increase. But, if you are claims free then it is not something you should accept.

If you are finding that your premiums are on the up, it is now time to look around and get a broker to get you a range of quotes. Don’t rely on a website that offers to compare business insurance. They do not always have the wide range of providers that you need to get a competitive quote. An independent broker, free to choose where they look for your quote, is the best way forward.

Posted in compare business insurance, restaurant insurance | No Comments »

Business insurance – rewards for loyalty

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

As with most financial services, commercial insurance providers spend more money gaining new customers than renewing old ones.

Most policies are annually renewable, therefore insurers want to insure a business not only for the first year but the second, third, fourth and so on.

The difficulty that they face is, just the same as you were once “new business” to them, you can look around and become a new customer to someone else.

You would hope therefore, that if you do not look around and are happy to renew with your existing insurer that they may make you a special deal to keep your business. This, however, is not always how things pan out.

When looking for a business insurance quote, you may go to two or three different companies. When one of them gets your business they don’t necessarily rule out price increases in years 2, 3, 4 etc.

The basic principle of insurance is that the premiums of the many pay for the claims of the few. Eventually, your time will come for a claim and you will be paid out. But, insurers have been suffering from years of increased competition, increasing claims costs, reduced customer base (because of the recession) and reduced investment costs. They need to raise their revenue and the only way they can do this is with their extremely wide “broad brush”.

Everyone’s prices go up, whether you have been with them for years and years claims free, you will still have to pay more.

There is a silver lining though, if you look carefully and speak to a good business insurance broker, you will be able to find a better deal. The deals are out there, it is just a case of finding them.

Posted in business insurance quote, cheap business insurance | No Comments »

Block of flats insurance – alternative accommodation

Sunday, February 21st, 2010

Back in 2007, we had what was alleged to be a summer. You may remember it as it was the one where we had far too much rain, everywhere. In Gloucestershire and Hull, unfortunately there was severe flooding which took years to sort out for some.

If your home is flooded, your policy will pay for you to rent somewhere else, it is a standard addition to your policy (if it isn’t, get is changed quick!).

If you live in a flat or maisonette, things may be slightly different. You would normally arrange some sort of commercial building insurance, for the property as a whole.

In the market, you can get a bespoke block of flats insurance policy. There are dozens and dozens of different varieties and types. The cheaper ones tend to have more restricted cover. When the floods occurred, many blocks of flats or houses converted into flats, where damaged. The owners of the properties would want to get somewhere else to live, and get the insurance to pay for it.

This cover is called alternative accommodation. Some insurers do not offer it. In the event of a serious flood, the costs for this for all flat owners can be significant. The usual policy limit is 20% of the total sum insured for buildings. Another reason for having suitable cover is that when the 2007 floods occurred, the cost of rented accommodation in the locality increased by up to 50%. Supply and demand, basic economics, came into play and the costs went through the roof. Without cover, the costs for some where very high.

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Fish and Chip Shop Insurance – don’t settle for an increased premium

Saturday, February 20th, 2010

2010 is going to be the year of increased premiums for business insurance. This is the rhetoric we are hearing from the underwriters and is the same story we have had for the past three years. However, this year we are starting to see some real movement on prices.

Companies are slowly starting to increase their prices, not only for existing policy holder, but for new enquiries. Traditionally, it used to be that a new customer in financial services would always get the best deal and best discounts. Nowadays though, things are slowly changing.

As ever, the big companies like to emulate oil tankers turning. It takes them a long, long time to change. As far as getting a competitive fish and chip shop insurance quote is concerned we are seeing a double whammy on the price front.

Some insurers that have always fought for this business are now increasing their rates and their minimum premiums. So, a takeaway that had an annual premium of £750, will now be faced with a renewal in excess of £1,000.

The skill, for us as business insurance brokers, is to seek out the more competitive alternatives. The good news is that, for every insurance company increasing their prices, there is usually one that is not doing this. Joe or Joanna Public looking for a quote may be faced with a “needle in a haystack” scenario. To save you the grief and the trouble, speak to an independent broker to do the searching for you.

Posted in fish and chip shop insurance | No Comments »

Cafe insurance – how is this different?

Friday, February 19th, 2010

You’ve got a business, you know you need cover but, a quick search on the net and you are faced with not dozens, but thousands of choices. The question you ask yourself is, how do I know which company to speak to?

What you first need to understand is what differentiates your business from others. Most types of trades present different types of risks to insurers and for this reason, they design separate contracts.

Take cafe insurance for example, your business model is different from a fish and chip shop, coffee bar or sandwich shop. Not a vast difference, but there are things which your business does differently.

You do not tend to deep fry food and you do not usually just serve coffee and cakes. For this reason, you do need to speak to an insurance broker and get them to provide you with a few different quotes from different companies. Many insurers brand their products with words such as cafe or takeaway.

The main difference is not in the cover they provide, but in the premiums they charge. This is where a broker is useful as they can sort the wheat from the chaff for you, and get you a cheap business insurance quote.

Don’t settle for the first premium you get, as with all things in life you do need to consider more than one option. You may think the price you are getting is the best, but how do you know.

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