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Archive for December, 2010

Products versus Public Liability – what's the difference?

Friday, December 17th, 2010

As a business insurance broker, we not only offer quotes, we act as a source of advice for clients and others. If a customer, or potential customer needs a bit of help and pointing in the right direction, we are more than happy to help.

One of the usual things we get asked is, what is the difference between products and public liability insurance? They both sound the same, most quotes will include both, but what do they do?

In the UK, you can be held liable for many things. There are two types of laws, civil and criminal. We all know and understand criminal law and the effects of not abiding by these laws. Liability insurance falls under civil law in the main. This is where there can be a proven responsibility upon a third party for any negligent act that they may cause.

Public, covers your physical actions. For example a carpenter that cuts through a water pipe flooding a house will need to refer to their public liability cover. This damage to property, or inanimate objects. If they leave a nail sticking out of a piece of wood and the homeowner steps on this, then this is public as well, but it is injury as opposed to damage.

In addition, a business owner with a car park, whereby someone trips over a loose flagstone, is also responsible.

Products is slightly different. If you but a product from me, and it injures you (including making you sick) and you can prove I have been negligent, then it is my products liability insurance that I would refer to.

You tend not to be able to get the two separately, unless you have a tradesman’s insurance type policy (these cover carpenters, plumbers, electricians, computer engineers etc). A standard business package policy will tend to have the two running in tandem.

If you are unsure as to whether you need this cover, or what cover you actually have, then give us a call on 08456 024 589 and we will help guide you through what cover you have, what cover you need and how to get a quote.

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Products versus Public Liability – what’s the difference?

Friday, December 17th, 2010

One of the usual things we get asked is, what is the difference between products and public liability insurance? They both sound the same, most quotes will include both, but what do they do?

In addition, a business owner with a car park, whereby someone trips over a loose flagstone, is also responsible.

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Shop insurance – getting a competitive quote

Thursday, December 16th, 2010

To get a competitive shop insurance quote is easy. There are many different websites that offer cheap products. But, as with everything cheap you only get what you pay for. If your existing renewal premium is, say, £500, you could spend a few hours going to different sites to reduce this by 5 or 10%.

However, the issue is, when a policy is cheap does this mean you are getting less cover? The answer to this is usually, yes. Your cover, under a business insurance policy, should be made up of three things. Firstly, the actual insurance cover provided. Secondly, any additional terms, conditions and warranties. And thirdly, the levels of excesses that apply. When you look at all these things together, they can affect the cost to your business.

You may save yourself £50 on your premium, but if your standard excess is £500, then once you have a single claim you have lost out. Just look around the country at the moment and with winter firmly taking a hold, there are claims aplenty. The darker months also mean a significant increases in shop windows being smashed. It is these slightly smaller claims that result in the biggest effect for increased excesses.

One of our standard insurers, has a £100 excess for glass claims. This is, in the scheme of things, very reasonable. Other insurers have an excess of £250 which, whilst high, is OK. Certain insurers have a glass excess of £500 each and every claim which is way, way over the top.

The best way to decide if a quote really is too cheap, then you need to get a business insurance broker to do this for you. The broker will look at the alternatives. Instead of just offering the cheapest, they will say something like, we have three quotes at £450, £500 and £600, but there are differing excesses. This is what you really want, the option to choose and the broker can help you make the right decision.

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Getting a business insurance quote, option 1 or option 2?

Wednesday, December 15th, 2010

To get a business insurance quote, here in the UK, you have two main options. Look at the following, and then decide which one you really should go for.

Option 1

You can choose to look for a quote yourself. When we say this, we mean you do all of the work. You can either go direct to an insurer. There are a few commercial insurance companies that still choose to deal direct with members of the business community. Others have tried and decided that it is not cost effective to do this. You cannot go and visit the insurers yourself, so you have to do this via their website. Remember though, you are not getting any choice. Go to insurer A and you get a quote from insurer A only. You need to repeat the whole process with all the different insurers.

If you want to get some choice, but no advice, go to one of the websites that offers to compare business insurance. Note though, that you do not get real time advice. These sites, of which there are a few, are designed with one thing in mind. Getting you to choose based on price. You do not get any human intervention or help from anyone trying to advise you as to what product you really need. In the event of a loss, that is not covered, you have very little comeback because you have chosen the product. They have many disclaimers dotted around their sites that mean if you are not happy with the product, then it is tough because you read through the summary of cover and were happy with it.

Option 2

Go to a business insurance broker, either online or in person. Online brokers are really telesales, so you can speak to a human being and discuss exactly what it required. Give your information to the broker, once, and they will then scour the market for you, for free, to get the best price for the best cover.

Posted in business insurance, compare business insurance, compare business insurance quotes | Comments Off

How long will it take to get a business insurance quote?

Tuesday, December 14th, 2010

You have two options when looking for a business insurance quote. You can either get one “face to face” or you can go on the internet or via telesales. There is no difference between the two methods, when considering the ultimate product you obtain.

The difference is the time that you are prepared to take when getting a quote. Whether you choose to get one in person or remotely, you should always speak to a business insurance broker. Unlike some financial services professionals, insurance brokers tend to just get on with their jobs, serving you. A brokers role is, in it’s absolute basic form, a middleman. They are the conduit between you and the insurers. Do not be mistaken that they are doing a role which you can do yourself.

For a larger business, getting a broker out to see you, face to face, is a better option. They can refer to your existing insurance arrangements, view the risks that your business faces and find out all of the information that an insurer may require.

For most businesses though, the option of buying from a broker that has an internet or telesales presence is growing. Many brokers have moved into this area from the more traditional way of dealing. It used to be that, even for a humble car policy, you still had to spend half an hour in an office while they manually searched the different insurers quote records.

Nowadays, in 2010, things are very different. At businessinsure, we can confidently say that most types of business could get a quote from us within half an hour. This includes the initial conversation, us going to different insurers to get the best cover and the best price and then emailing or faxing this to the customer.

We may be perceived as not adding much by some of the direct writers, but here is a thought. If you asked 100 customers who deal through an insurance broker and 100 that deal direct with an insurer, which group would be more satisfied with the combination of price, service and cover? We know what the answer will be.

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Business insurance – once you have the policy in force, what to do if you have a claim.

Monday, December 13th, 2010

Every single business insurance policy is bought for one reason, that is to transfer, or pass on, some of the risks associated with running a business to an insurer.

You do not want to have the potential financial costs of paying out for a claim, so you purchase an insurance policy to “step in” and deal with this on your behalf. We are not saying anything new here as we all understand the purpose of a policy.

But, to ensure that your cover actually operates and provides the financial protection you need, you must read through your policy wording and schedule. Why? The reason is that you have certain obligations. The insurers are offering to take on the financial risk of claims made against you, but you have to fulfil you side of the bargain as well.

As far as claims are concerned, you need to ensure that you read thoroughly and understand the implications of the claims conditions in the policy. For example, you are obliged to report a claim within certain timescales. Usually 7 days for theft and/or malicious damage (you will also need to report to the police) and for other claims around 30 days.

You cannot go ahead and get repairs or replace any property until you have advised insurers and received their authority. It is very tempting of course to just appoint a contractor and get the work done straight away. But insurers want to know firstly do you have cover and secondly, is the estimated cost of the repairs/replacement reasonable?

There will be times when you feel you have no option than to get repairs, even temporary, undertaken. In these circumstances, speak to the insurers helpline or your business insurance broker and get advice on what you can or cannot do. You have an onus to prevent, or mitigate the cost of any loss. If this means getting a contractor to put a temporary tarpaulin up, this may be what you need to do.

The first thing to do is to review the damage, then take photographs, then phone the police if required, then get two contractors to come and give estimates, then speak to your insurance broker.

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Getting a business insurance quote – how many and where from?

Friday, December 10th, 2010

If you are just starting in business, or it is renewal time, you may find yourself looking for a business insurance quote. But, as with most financial services, this can take time. So the questions you will be asking yourself are, firstly how many quotes do I need to get and secondly, where to get the quote from?

I would always advise a customer to get at least 2, if not more quotes. Unless you have something to compare a quote to then potentially, you never know how much extra, or less, the quote is that you have received.

We will come back to this point, but it does lead us neatly into the second one. Where do you get your quotes from? If you are, for example, receiving bank financing then they may “offer” the services of their own insurance division. Or, you may choose to go direct to some of the commercial insurance companies that deal directly with members of the public.

Where this is the case, the issue you will face is that you are only getting one quote. Remember the quote about Henry Ford regarding the choice of colours on the first Ford cars, “you can have any colour, as long as it’s black”.

It is similar with insurance if you go direct. Ask the operator, do I get more than one quote, no. Do you go to more than one insurer, no. And worst of all, if you ask some of them to give you advice, then they cannot even do this.

The only way for you to really get a range of quotes, is to go to a business insurance broker. A broker is an intermediary, they act as your agent to the insurers that they have agencies with. This can be three, four or fifty insurers. This is what you need and this is where you get the choice. A broker will take your details, get the required information from you and then decide which insurer to approach.

They will not go to every single insurer they deal with. The reason is that certain insurers like certain risks. One may be happy to underwrite pubs and takeaways, whereas another may (based on their experience) not want to cover these types of risks.

This is where the broker comes into their own. Within about three or four questions, most brokers will already have an inkling or idea as to where they will go to get the best quote for you.

So, in answer to the question, at leas 2, if not more quotes and always, always from a broker.

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Trading without business insurance – a risk not worth taking.

Thursday, December 9th, 2010

Throughout all the years we have been involved in the industry, there will always be companies that decide it is ok to continue trading without business insurance. Whether times are good or bad, some people disagree that it is a risk not worth taking. Given the past few years and the terrible economic plight we have been through, there are more and more business owners, deciding that the will trade without cover.

Of course, there is a cost element to buying insurance, but you do have to sit down and decide whether it is a risk you are prepared, or financially capable, of shouldering.

There are two sides to the coin. On the one side, you have the legally required cover, such as employers liability insurance. Trade without it and you will face the potential of a huge claim if an employee is injured. Coupled with this, you could also face the prospect of a £2,500 fine per day, that you trade without cover. Just under £1,000,000 per year, not thanks.

On the other side, you have the covers which are not legally required, but ones that the sensible and prudent business person will take out. Look around the country today and you will see that there are numerous buildings that are suffering burst pipes after the recent cold snap. Dripping water is a serious danger to business equipment, contents, stock and computers. You would be amazed at just how much damage can be done over a few days (the weekend) from a constantly leaking pipe.

If you do not have cover, the best thing you can do is to speak to a broker and get them to organise or provide you with a business insurance quote. At least that way you can decide whether the cover is worth having or not. You may be surprised at the premiums that are quoted. Combine these with the option of monthly instalments and it may be worth taking the cover out.

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Falling icicles – property owners liability insurance

Wednesday, December 8th, 2010

Under a standard residential or commercial building insurance policy, you will have certain covers. One of these will be in respect of your liability to third parties, whether this is physical property or people.

Cold snap seems such a lightweight phrase, given we are now sitting at -15 in Scotland and most of the UK is likely to spend the next day or so at sub zero temperatures. But, whatever we call it, is dangerous out there. As buildings start to heat up, this causes the snow to melt on roofs (only slightly) and as the water follows it’s gravitational force downwards, icicles are forming everywhere.

But what do you do if an icicle falls, without damaging your building, and damages someone’s property (ie a car) or worse still, hits someone? Falling icicles, if they cause damage, will be covered under your property owners liability insurance.

As the owner of a property, you can be held liable for things falling off of roofs and the structure. In the main, this will relate to business insurance policies. But, your policy in respect of your house will also cover this, although it is more likely for people and property to be injured by high street type buildings.

The golden rule, is that if anyone alleges anything against you, you must inform either your broker or insurer as soon as possible. Take the persons deatils and if necessary, offer and administer first aid (if you have a competent person to do this) or alternatively offer to call an ambulance. Always make sure though that you get a claim raised against your policy as early as possible.

Posted in business building insurance, business insurance, commercial building insurance, property owners liability | No Comments »

Converted house insurance

Tuesday, December 7th, 2010

If you live in a house, the market is very competitive from personal lines insurers, as can be seen from the millions that are spent on TV and internet advertising. But, if you live in a flat, you may find that it is not quite so easy to get cover.

Flats will be one of two type. Either in a purpose built block or in a house that has been changed into flats. Purpose built properties are much easier to get cover for, because many insurers will place these on a block of flats insurance policy. But, the harder ones to place are for the flats in older houses, typically Georgian or Victorian, which have been converted.

A lot of insurers will provide converted house insurance, under a flatowners policy, although you do need to look around because the costs vary so much. The reason for this is because the converted dwellings tend to suffer a higher ratio of losses than the modern constructed dwellings.

A purpose built block of flats will typically be a more solid, modern, construction and importantly, they will have concrete floors. Concrete floors are much better because the spread of fire loss between floors is vastly reduced. The older properties with wooden floors, if they have a fire, tend to allow this to spread very, very quickly.

The other issue with an older property is that they tend to have older water pipe work, older rainwater goods (gutters and down pipes) and older electrical wiring. As a result of this, when they have a loss, for example a burst pipe, the cost tends to be higher.

Having said all of this, business insurance companies, who supply the policies, do recognise that owner occupied flats are a good risk. As a result, if you speak to a broker, then they will be able to approach the various different insurers to get you a quote that covers three important points. Firstly, that you get a competitive premium. Secondly, that you get wide cover and thirdly that you have reasonable excesses.

Posted in block of flats insurance, business insurance, business insurance broker, converted house insurance | No Comments »