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Archive for May, 2010

Businessinsure move – 7th May 2010

Friday, May 7th, 2010

As we go to the polls today for what will prove to be historic election, it is increasingly likely that there will be a new resident in Number 10 Downing Street.

The polls suggest that a Conservative government, with an extremely slim majority may be on the way. This will mean that David Cameron and his family will move into the famous building.

Businessinsure, the independent business insurance broker, are also on the move. It is amazing how quickly, particularly in financial services, you run out of space. We sell commercial insurance and whether we like it or not, some customers decide to cancel their cover and go elsewhere. Thankfully, the percentage of customers that we lose at renewal is very, very small. But, as we are such a big company this results in a huge amount of filing.

These files have to be stored somewhere and as we are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority, this means we have to keep them, intact, for 7 years. Scanning is not an option because of the unique way we operate, so closely with insurers who may need to see hard copy files.

The good news for us is that we are only moving one floor in the same building. Unlike the, potentially, outgoing Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, who will have to get the removal teams to take him all the way back North of the Border.

Posted in business insurance broker, commercial insurance | No Comments »

Internet retailer insurance

Thursday, May 6th, 2010

Think back to the dot.com boom of the early 2000’s. You may remember the news being filled with numerous new start up companies that were simple selling products over the internet. One I do remember, which received obscene amounts of money in funding, was a pet food supply company. All they were doing was setting up a website and selling pet food in bulk.

Back in those days though, this was a huge achievement. They thought the world was their oyster (or lobster as Del Boy said at the time!). But, they failed because not enough people had internet access and many people still went to a pet shop or Tesco, Sainsbury or Asda for their products.

Nowadays though, in 2010, you can set up a website, with a shopping cart, payment software, email addresses and everything else required for less than £100. So, more and more people are setting up in business and at the same time, looking for small business insurance, to cover their stock and liabilities.

Many commercial insurance companies still have a very old fashioned view of this insurance and will only provide quotes on a warehouse insurance policy. This is laughable, as it is a much more expensive way of doing things. The only difference between an internet retail insurance policy and a standard shop insurance one is that there is not the foot fall of customers.

We understand the needs and concerns of these types of businesses and do have a panel of insurers that are more than happy to quote these businesses on a package contract, which offer significant premium savings for you.

If you do need a quote, cal us today to see what we can do for you.

Posted in internet retailers insurance, online shop insurance | No Comments »

Small business insurance – interest free instalments

Wednesday, May 5th, 2010

For anyone lucky enough to have some savings set by, particularly in the form of an ISA, you may be in for a shock when your statement comes in this year.

Over the past 5 years we have been pushed and pushed to buy these products and this is usually because of a headline grabbing interest rate. These have fallen by the wayside, unless you are sensible enough to move your money around. For a £10,000 investment, you could be receiving as low as £5.00 as your bonus for leaving money in for a whole year.

How does this relate to small business insurance you may ask. There are two ways that this will affect you, when you come to renew your policy.

Firstly, the banks and financial services companies (including commercial insurance underwriters) are desperate to get your business, either in the form of renewal or a new policy.

Secondly, as a sign of this, they are prepared to offer you some fantastic deals. One of these is interest free instalments.

Of course, interest free is not “free” because you may need to pay 20 or 30 pence per direct debit. But, you do not pay any interest on your premium, whether this is £250 or £25,000. Now that really is a good deal when you consider that some insurers have traditionally charged interest rates of nearly 10% on top of your insurance premium.

What you need to do is to set aside some time. Think of shopping for a nice new suit to go to a wedding. Not many people will go to one shop, try on one suit and buy it. You need to look around and decide what is best, price and quality wise, for you. It is the same with your annual cover, the more time you spend looking, the more chance that you can save some money.

Posted in small business insurance | No Comments »

Salon insurance – how to get a better deal

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

If you are looking for a cheap salon insurance quote, there are a few preparatory steps you need to go through, to help get the best deal. We are not saying that these steps are the be all and end all of getting a better deal but it will, in most cases, result in your business saving some money.

Step 1 – it may sound simple, but gather all of your business insurance documentation together. Put this in date order in a single file so that you have all of the information to hand. When you have done this, put a summary sheet at the front that lists the annual premiums you have paid, and any credit interets charge, over the years since you started trading.

This way, you can see the trend in your premium, or annual insurance cost, to understand whether the price has gone up or down over the years.

Why follow step 1? You can use this information as ammunition to go to your existing broker. If they try to increase your premium, you can provide them with evidence of how much you have paid and that, if you are claims free, you are not going to accept an increase. In 95% of cases this will result in a premium freeze.

Step 2 – Speak to an independent business insurance broker. Although we are one oursleves, we cannot stress the benefits of speaking to someone about your insurance. The numerous websites springing up that offer to compare business insurance do not offer any one to one advice. A broker understands your business, understands the insurers that cover your type of business and also has the ability to search the market in an intelligent way.

Why follow step 2? If you have time, call two brokers and visit two comparison sites. You will then see a world of difference in the service, advice and hopefully price.

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

Cheap business insurance

Sunday, May 2nd, 2010

The internet is great, there are more good things that bad things available. One of the greatest tools of the web, if you are in business, is that you can use it to get cheap business insurance.

Of course, as soon as you put the word cheap at the beginning of any product or service there is always the risk that you will get something that doesn’t quite deliver what you want it to.

Thankfully, when you are looking around, say for a small business insurance quote, you will find that you can get something cheaper that also offers the same levels of cover as the more expensive policies.

But how do you get this, sometimes, mythical better product at a cheaper price? Simple, speak to an independent business insurance broker. Why should you do this? The reason is that a broker, by definition, is there to help you and act for you, the business insurance purchasing customer. They do not act for the insurer. They may well be remunerated by commission from the insurer, but the legal relationship is that they have to, and do, serve you.

Set yourself a few hours when business is quiet, dig out your documents and make the decision, in 2010, that you will find a better premium to save yourself some money.

Posted in cheap business insurance | No Comments »

Public liability insurance – can I get hired in plant covered?

Saturday, May 1st, 2010

Most commercial insurance companies have a basic business liability insurance contract that offer the option of public liability and/or employers liability.

These policies are usually available for the contracting trades, such as plumbers, electricians, carpenters and electricians. Many are also extending their cover to include IT and other clerical activities.

Many small manual contracting trades persons will, from time to time, need cover for items they hire in such as mini-diggers or cherry pickers. The hire company will say that it can only be released for hire if you can prove there is insurance cover in place. Most of these smaller policies only allow cover for personal tools up to a few thousand pounds.

Mini-diggers typically cost around £20,000 and you wil need to prove cover for that level. If this is something you need, then a broker will be able to provide you with a package quote that covers the hired in plant as well as your liability covers.

The policy you need is a contractors all risks insurance. This will have three sections of cover, employers liability, public liability and contract works. under the contract works section you can, if you wish, include cover for hired in plant. This is based on your annual hired in plant charges. So, you declare what you estimate to be your charges for the next twelve months, ie £5,000, and in addition you specify the limit (the sum insured) of any one item of plant.

Many policies have limits of £25,000 or £50,000, with increases available if required.

Posted in contractors all risks insurance | No Comments »