Archive for the ‘compare business insurance’ Category

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Business insurance – speak to a human being!

Friday, August 20th, 2010

Looking for a business insurance quote and using the net? We can guarantee if you go to the worlds favourite, and best, search engine Google, that you will be faced with an array of choices when you tap in your search term.

Getting a top three position in Google is the Holy Grail of most companies. You will find though, that the bigger the company, the more money they have to invest in tweaks and cheats to get to the top. But, the ones that appear at the top are not quote what they seem. I always thought that to get to the top means you are the best. However, being a small, independent business insurance broker, we have realised that however good, quick, competitive and/or recommended you are, this does not mean you will be anywhere near the top.

This troubles me, the top five or six in most insurance categories feed you straight through to a website where you, the customer, have to fill in all of the information and at no time at all do you get any advice, help or pointers about what cover you really need.

If you have got this far into this blog then you are hopefully thinking along the same lines. Have no fear though, for every company that has invested hundreds of thousands of pounds in advertising and search engine optimisation to get to the top, there are hundreds of independent brokers just waiting to offer you a personal service. When we say personal service, this means that you can actually speak to a human, get advice, understand what cover is or is not required.

Whilst we do not doubt that a website that offers to compare business insurance will get you a competitive price, who is there to confirm to you whether the cover is competitive as well?

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

Subsidence – make sure you have adequate cover.

Monday, July 19th, 2010

Since the terrible summer of 2007 and the floods across the country we have not had such dry weather. 2008 and 2009, whilst not so bad, were hardly the summers we remember from the past.

No-one will forget the Met Office announcing with great fanfare that 2009 was going to be a “barbecue summer”, only to state 5 months later that this was only a 60% prediction, which of course was wrong.

As a result of this, the business insurance companies, that insure buildings and properties, have seen a marked dip in claims for subsidence over the past four or five years.

We have had cracking weather in 2010 so far, a few blips of course, but the “phew what a scorcher” headlines have been justified. Whilst we have had a good summer, we have also had a very dry winter. A lot of snow of course, but this has not soaked through to the soil under our houses and businesses.

We are starting to see an increase in claims under business building insurance for cracks in the actual structure. The causes of subsidence are many, the main ones being a simple draining of soil, which results in shrinkage which cracks the structure and tree roots, in search of moisture, drying out surrounding soil.

With the advent of websites that “offer” to compare business insurance, as they are price driven, there is an increase in quotes being provided at a very basic level. What this means is that people are getting quotes without subsidence, because it can be 10 or 20% cheaper.

This will start to be a problem as people start to have claims and then realise that there is no cover in place. The first thing you should do is speak to a business insurance broker and get them to review all of your insurance requirements, one of them being the cover you have. Secondly, if you do not have subsidence, heave or landslip (the 3 main covers) either get this added to your policy or take out a new one with this, vital, cover.

Posted in block of flats insurance, business building insurance, business insurance, commercial building insurance, commercial insurance, commercial property insurance, commercial property insurance quote, commercial property owners insurance, compare business insurance | Comments Off

Restaurant insurance – the secrets of getting the best quote

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

If you are looking for a competitive restaurant insurance quote, you may find that it is, at times, like looking for a needle in a haystack.

As with many menus in food establishments, there appears to be too much choice. The good thing is, that most of the options available will provide you with a good, wide-ranging policy. Business insurance companies have spent years and years developing and honing their policies so that you can purchase all of the covers you may need, in one policy.

You could sit down today for an hour and spend some time on the internet or the phone and at the end of that hour, you could have 3 or 4 quotes sitting in your in box to review.

If you took them all to an independent expert, most would probably give you the cover you need for your business. But, getting the best quote is a combination of three things.

Firstly, getting wide cover. Secondly, getting a good price and lastly, getting a quote from a broker that you believe would look after you in the event of a loss.

The good price is the important bit. As we have said above, you could get a whole range of quotes, but you will face shock and horror with the differences in prices. If you go to a website that appears to offer the ability to compare business insurance, you will find that their sole aim is to plug the cheapest product. The problem here is that, unless you have the time to soft through the quotes, how do you know what is best and worst?

The other issue with the prices is that some of the insurers, whilst they offer a quote, skew their premiums so that they only get the absolute best business. This would be a restaurant that has bene trading for years, is in a non-city centre location, has the owners living in and has the best security money can buy.

For all the others, you need to ensure you speak to a business insurance broker, they are the ones that can sort the wheat from the chaff for you.

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

Getting a small business insurance quote

Friday, June 11th, 2010

If you are starting out in the world of business on your own, the list of things you must/should/could do are endless.

Somewhere on the list, hopefully nearer the top than the bottom, is the need for small business insurance. This does not mean that your new venture is small, just that you tend to start out requiring this type of policy which will then evolve into something much, much bigger as time goes by.

You need to do two things. Firstly, speak to someone that understands that you are looking for a policy that provides the essential protection required for your business, at a competitive price. Anyone can over-insure and if you visit one of the compare business insurance websites, you may not receive a bit of personal advice and guidance and end up buying an unsuitable product.

For this reason, without fail, you should speak to a business insurance broker.

Secondly, you need to get as much information as possible together for your business. The sort of information you need is the type of security, the construction of your building, replacement costs of stock, business assets and computers etc.

The more information that you can bring to the table, the more that your risk can be properly assessed. For example, most companies that provide shop insurance, will provide additional discounts if you have external grills and/or shutters across the frontage.

It is the small things that you may be asked by the broker that build up the bigger picture of your risk. Simply clicking boxes on a screen may give you a price, but how do you know the policy is suitable for you?

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

Compare business insurance – now is the time!

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

Anyone who is in business, will by now, half way through 2010, have realised that there are changes afoot in the premiums being charged for commercial insurance.

For the past 7 or 8 years, we have seen a steady decrease in premiums being charged for good quality insurance business. When we say good quality, from an insurers point of view, this simply means a risk with a good claims history. It could be a pub, shop, property owners, manufacturer – anything – as long as the history was good, insurers would give you the premiums you wanted.

However, if your insurance was due for renewal in the past few months, you will have found that your premium had increased, only by a few percent probably, but a positive increase nonetheless.

If this is happening to you, then now is the time for you to set aside a morning or afternoon and go through the process to compare business insurance with at least two other providers. If you do, this will result in two things. Firstly, and probably most likely, you will find that there are better prices available. And secondly, if you do not find a better price, then at least you can rest assured that your current provider is charging you the market rate.

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Online business insurance – one of your smartest moves

Friday, April 9th, 2010

Getting your business insurance online is, thankfully, much easier in 2010 than it has ever been. You do have to consider though what “online” actually means.

You have two options when going to the internet for your insurance. Firstly, you can choose a website where there is no interaction whatsoever with human beings. These are sites that have great big banners that say they can compare business insurance and save you pounds.

The second option you have is to use the net to find a broker that you can speak to over the phone and actually have a good, decent conversation about your needs and wants as far as your coverage is concerned.

So, you can guess from the above that we prefer the second option. Whilst going to the internet is your smartest move, you need to make sure that you speak to someone rather than rely on inputting data which comes up with an answer in the form of a quote.

Why do you need the interation? Simply put, every single business in the UK, whether a shop, pub, restaurant, wholesaler or manufacturer is different. Car insurance is slightly different in that as there are millions and millions of vehicles, insurers can categorise and compartmentalise to their hearts content. Businesses however, need to be treated differently.

You may have two sweet shops in neighbouring towns with the same stock levels and claims experience. But, one of them may be in a building of slightly different construction or have differing security. These are the small differences that can mean a cheaper premium or better cover. A machine is never going to ask you all of the questions you need. A human being can chop and change the information they seek as they go through the quote process.

This will, in nearly every case, lead to you, the business owner, receiving a better service, better price and better cover.

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Compare business insurance – how do I know I am getting a good deal?

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010

After the serious financial events of the past few years, now more than ever, everyone is shopping around for every single business expense.

A significant cost for any company, is the annual premium paid for business insurance. The difficulty is, that you are not physically buying a product, so you cannot experience whether it is any good until you get to the stage, after a claim, when you really need it.

This causes problems if you are looking around for alternatives and through your web surfing, come across a site that offers to compare business insurance. You may think that this is where you want to go and happily punch in all the details and numbers for your business, to end up with a range of quotes.

These sites typically take around 15 minutes for you to input the relevant information and then when you press the final button they come up with a list of prices. You will notice, that the price is the biggest thing that is promoted. It may be flashing, red or orange or anything that is designed to drag your eyes to the price, and the price alone.

The problem, as noted above, is how do you know you are getting a good deal? You are being pushed and pushed to buy on price, but it is up to you, and you alone, to read through the small print of the wording. At this point, you need to realise that a business insurance broker will do this job for you, and in addition, they will decide which is the better option for you.

You will be getting a good deal, because in the unlikely event of any difficulties with a claim, the broker has to prove (to the Financial Ombudsman if necessary) that they were offering you the best product at the best price.

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Preparation required for a quick and cheap hairdressers insurance quote

Monday, March 15th, 2010

Anyone who has worked in an office and been on one of those seemingly pointless, but somehow necessary, training courses, may have been told about the 6 p’s. Proper planning and preparation prevents poor performance. There are alternatives, some with a four letter “p word” inserted between prevents and poor.

This, believe it or not is something that will help you if you are looking for a cheap hairdressers insurance quote. You have different options nowadays for arranging business coverage. You can go to a broker, direct to an insurer or, if you like to take risks, you can use a website that offers to compare business insurance.

Personally, as we are one, we think a broker is the best option. This is borne out in reality as well as you will receive a better quote for wider cover in the vats majority of cases.

But, you do need to prepare yourself. Getting a bit of useful information together before you make that first phone call is something that can help the broker do their job even better. If you are looking for a renewal quote, you must have your current insurance policy (and schedule) and your renewal offer. In addition, you will need details of all claims and losses (whether insured or not) in the past five years. This applies to all claims you have made whether the insurers paid out or not.

You do not need to declare to your broker your current premium, but it does help.

Preparation for a new business involves having your business plan to hand and knowing how much it would cost to replace all of you business contents and stock.

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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.

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Fish and Chip Shop Insurance – tips to reduce your quote

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

The first tip we always say to potential customers when looking for a cheap fish and chip shop insurance quote is to speak to a professional.

In every town and city the length and breadth of the land, there are business insurance brokers screaming out for your business. You may have been with the same broker for years and accept the 5/6/7% increase they apply, year in year out, now though is the time for change.

Your insurance is high because there are businesses that are run with less professionalism, they are the ones that have the fires and the liability claims, if you have a good claims experience, use it to your advantage.

Other pointers are to let your broker know if you have shutters on your windows, do you live in, how often is your frying range serviced, do you have a formal health and safety policy etc. All of these things make a big difference in insurers understanding what is good about your business and giving you a better price.

The tip we do not recommend, is going to a website that “promises” to compare business insurance. Quite simply, don’t bother. There is not one of these sites in the UK that actually compares ALL insurers. They charge so much commission to insurers that only certain insurers can afford to deal with them.

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