As a business insurance broker, we are seeing an unprecedented level of calls from people whose buildings or bsuinesses have been damaged by snow.

Of course, when you stand there and catch a snow flake, there is no weight. As the snowfall persists and does not melt, the overall weight can be astonishingly heavy. Whilst we are not seeing avalanches, what we are getting is snow sliding down roofs adding more and more weight to parts of the roof that really are not designed for this weight. This is causing tiles to be ripped out, flat roofs to be torn and slates to crack.

As we have previously reported, damage by snow shoudl be covered under most policies as an insured event as it is a form of storm. You cannot reasonably be expected to clear snow from your roof on safety grounds. But, as we are being inundated, the insurers will be suffering much more. Ordinarily, we would ask you to get a roofing contractor out to get a quote for the repairs, if the cost is over a £1,000 you may be asked to get two, it depends on the insurer.

But what happens when you cannot get a contractor for love nor money? They either cannot get out to see you, cannot get on your roof or are simply very busy. You are always under an obligation to minimise, or mitigate (reduce) any loss. If this means using buckets and temporary repairs, then so be it. Most of the commercial insurance companies will not approve repairs until they have seen a completed claim form and at least two estimates. Up until the time of them giving you this approval, then you cannot simply go ahead an appoint a contractor.

If you need advice, speak to your broker and they will help you interpret the best way to proceed.

When looking around for cover, you have two choices, direct or using a broker. But what exactly is the role of a business insurance broker?

What a broker does not do, is go to an insurer to get you a price and then add their administration costs. A broker will usually earn a commission from the insurer. The broker will quote you a price, plus insurance premium tax. If you pay this premium, then they will settle to insurers, net of their commission.

For a standard, packaged commercial insurance product, say a shop, a broker will typically earn between 15 and 20%. Certain brokers, push and push the insurers to get higher commissions, based on their larger buying power. Whilst we cannot name names, you are allowed to ask your broker what commission they receive. If you are getting a quote, ask your broker how much commission and/or fee’s they receive. There are at least a dozen brokers we can think of who will shy away from telling you this, because they earn up to 50%, depending on the product.

A smaller broker, such as Businessinsure will be in the 20% region, but what service do you get that you would not get going direct? This covers a whole range of things, depending on the company.

We can only speak for ourselves, but you are looking at getting choice of providers, a personal service, quick delivery of quotes and documents and the most important of all, a good claims service.