Archive for the ‘pub insurance’ Category

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Businessinsure is back

Tuesday, November 15th, 2011

It has been tough, changing website providers and not being able to access and update the website. But, after just one month we are back in action, on the blog front at least. As far as businessinsure is concerned, we have continued to trade as we are seeing more new business activity in November than we have seen for at least two years.

Being an independent business insurance broker is a pretty good barometer for what is going on, business wise, out there in UK plc. We speak to each and every person that we provide a quote for, this way we can get an understanding of what is really happening. The entrepreneurial spirit in the UK is, contrary to some opinions, thriving as well as it ever did. It may come across as harsh, but with the banks throwing money around 5 or 6 years ago, anyone could start a business. Some were started which really had no chance of success. This is not because of the people running the businesses necessarily, but the fact that banks were not lending subject to strict criteria. In 2011, if yo can get funding, the banks have actually gone the other way and are practically asking you to get blood from a stone before they will lend you any ready cash.

In a way this is forcing the standard good, sensible business procedures on people so they do not get into too much debt, too easily. One of our big, big sellers is pub insurance, we have seen many, many businesses go in the last 36 months. Nowadays though, instead of a bank lending £200,000 without blinking, they are now setting strict criteria which makes business owners absolutely concentrate on building businesses and growing turnover, income and profit. Five years ago if you had a bad year, the bank would lend more, as an owner you didn’t really have to face the music and go out there and drum up good quality business.

Some of the left leaning newspapers are saying that the UK has never had it so bad. This is not true, we spent years saying that the UK was over-geared and in debt. This is slowly, and I mean slowly, changing. Will the good times come back? No, not in the easy money form that we saw in 2003-2007. What we will see is a lean, mean, economic machine. The good old times will be back when you only got what you could realistically afford and you realised that just because one of your neighbours had a shiny new car it didn’t mean that you had to get one as well.

Posted in business insurance broker, pub insurance, pub insurance quote | Comments Off

What next for the UK general insurers?

Wednesday, September 28th, 2011

Anyone who has individual shares, or a plan with holdings, in any of the UK financial institutions will probably not want to be reminded of the last 6 months. The back end of 2010 and early 2011 saw a slow but steady rise in the share price. But, with the Eurozone and elsewhere in the world still nowhere out of the financial woods yet, shares have taken a hammering.

But does the overall share price of some of these companies have any effect on your business insurance premium, for example. In a word, in capital letters, that are in bold and flashing lights, the answer is NO. We have been trading now since the year 2000. We have seen the tail end of the dot.com boom, the panic in the financial markets following 9/11 and, here in the UK, the financial bubble that the Labour party inflated and inflated from 2002 to 2007. After this fell apart we saw shares in some of the bigger UK insurers plummet and whilst they recovered during 2008, 9 and 10, many are not far off their early to mid 2008 figures.

The good thing is that these companies are so large and many so diverse, that the stock markets valuation (in its loosest possible sense) of their company has no effect whatsoever on the premiums they charge. And there is logic to his. The great Warren Buffet bought an insurance company because it had such a substantial “float” in the form of premium. If a companies share price is hit, and they try and increase this float too much, through increased premiums, one of two things will happen.

If there are competitors doing the same thing, then thay can follow the same wave as the market (in terms of premium income) increases. If however they are doing this on their own, then what tends to happen is that the compeititon cherry pick the best, at good premiums, and the company that are trying to increase only get to keep the dross.

All types of covers, such as pub insurance, are subject to fluctuating premiums throughout any year, but an increase of more than 5% is not going to be stomached by many punters in the real world.

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

Thatched pub insurance policies

Wednesday, September 14th, 2011

There is no such thing as a business insurance company that is happy to underwrite all types of risks. You can understand why a company that insures oil rigs is not going to be selling policies for sweet shops. But you tend to wonder why the bigger commercial insurers that are happy to offer pub insurance and not happy to cover pubs with thatched roofs.

I am not talking about the buildings risk, which is of course increased by having a thatched roof, but the trading risk. This will include the contents, stock and liabilities. Even though the sums insured for contents are low insurers seem to step back in horror when you mention thatched roofs.

Yes, experience is that there is more potential of losses from thatched premises, in quantum, ie if there is a fire it won’t be a small one. But, the experience is that the number of losses are not higher.

For this reason, along with the smoking ban, insurers should be a bit more accommodating when it comes to these types of risks. Thankfully, a good quality independent business insurance broker will know where to look. We have just quoted and gone on cover within the hour for another thatched pub. The premium, for a risk in Gloucestershire, with £50,000 contents and £10,000 personal effects was just under the £900 mark, which was pretty good.

Pub insurance needn’t be expensive, you just need to know where to look. So, instead of frustrating yourself with an online quote engine that only wants to insure concrete built swimming pools (an insurance “joke” for the perfect fire risk) try a broker today.

Posted in business insurance, business insurance broker, pub insurance | Comments Off

Pub insurance – note of financial interests

Saturday, June 25th, 2011

Many publicans lease the buildings they are in from a brewery, or pub group. As part of their rental agreement, the landlord will arrange a commercial building insurance policy, usually for all of the estate, on one policy.

We tend to find that the prices charged are not that competitive compared to an open market quote. I am sure that there are reasons for this, but still struggle to see why it is more expensive to insure in this way. If a brewery goes to one insurer with an estate of 100’s or dozens of pubs, then you would be able to get a good deal.

We can, however, in most cases get better prices for individual pubs than they get on their block policy. Someone, somewhere along the line is earning out of this and it is the publican that has to pay.

But, you can, if you have a sensible landlord, agree to get your own policy but have their financial interest noted. You just get a standard pub insurance policy and add the buildings to it. The insurers, of your policy, then note the beneficial owner of the building is XYZ Limited. This means that if there is a loss, then the insurers know that the payment does not necessarily go to the publican (you) as you do not have a financial interest in the building. This way the landlord is protected because their asset is insured and hopefully you have a much more competitive premium to pay.

The only concern for the landlord is that you may cancel the policy and not tell them. Then if there is a claim, they do not get paid. But, their interest can be noted and they can be told of any default immediately and they will be given notice, say 14 days, to either pay the shortfall in premium or to arrange their own cover.

As ever, speak to a business insurance broker, that is independent, and they can sort this out for you.

Posted in business building insurance, business buildings insurance, pub insurance | Comments Off

Pub, hotel or restaurant insurance?

Friday, June 24th, 2011

After a relative lull in new business insurance enquiries for pubs and licensed trade businesses, we are slowly starting to see an increase in 2011. I do not think we are ever going to get back to the same activity levels as 2007 when the UK banks seemed to be throwing money at new business, leisure related, ventures.  Unfortunately for many, the banks were foolish in what they did and businesses were saddled with more debt than they should have had. We all know the rest of the story, but thankfully we can last see a glint of light at the end of the tunnel.

With the new enquiries we are getting through, we are tending to see a small change, we do not necessarily get a distinct pub insurance quote enquiry. Many of these businesses are not just pubs, but maybe have letting rooms and/or a restaurant.

As far as the insurance rating is concerned, for identical sums insured there would be a small difference for each of the trades. This of course depends on which insurer you go to, but the question is how do you get the best quote? If you use one of the online providers, you will find it very difficult to pick a mixed use category. Do not be tempted to pick pub or hotel or restaurant or takeaway. What you do not want to do is take the wrong option and be faced with a claim that is turned down because the insurers say that you forgot to tell them that you were a restaurant with takeaway.

Firstly, you need to get a rough idea of how much of your turnover relates to which particular activity. For example, if you are a pub, with letting rooms, and you earn 60% of your turnover from the pub, then you will do this on a pub policy.

Secondly, you need to speak to an independent broker and let them look around the market for you to get the best possible price, for your exact business description, with the widest possible cover.

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

Choice is what matters.

Thursday, April 14th, 2011

If you are looking for a cheap business insurance quote, then the more choice you can get, or have, then the better things will be. Or, so you would think. We recently quoted for a customers pub insurance, we went to six insurers and got a range of quotes from £760 to £4,000. The customer took out the lower quote as we recommended this one, as it included legal expenses and equipment breakdown cover.

But, with the £4,000 quote, we were surprised to find out that this company had also quoted the client, through another broker at just under £1,000. The quotes we obtain were from a web quote system and if the information declared was the same, then the quote should be the same.

However, we raised this with the insurers only to be told that the broker who quoted the alternative had a “special deal” arrangement, allowing them to quote at substantial discounts. Now, I am happy to accept that a big business insurance broker that puts most of it’s business with Insurer A will get better prices. These you would expect to be in the 5-10% difference mark. 75% less is just a bit too much.

Complain as we did, the insurers basically were not that concerned. The good news is that we got the business anyway, but the moot point is that, if you think you are getting choice, then maybe it is not what you think. The best way to get proper choice, is to go to two or three different brokers, as opposed to two or three insurers direct.

Posted in business insurance, pub insurance | Comments Off

Pub insurance – best deals in 2011

Friday, January 7th, 2011

As we enter 2011, every type of business is looking for the best deals on not only physical products, but also services they buy. One of the areas where you can save is on your business insurance.

January the 4th has seen an increase in insurance premium tax from 5 to 6%. Whilst this is not a huge increase, it is something that has to be paid for by someone. Either you have to pay it, or the insurers have to reduce their prices accordingly.

We are seeing some reports in the press that companies may be using the increase in VAT to mask some other price increases. You may find some business insurance brokers will say that all insurers are increasing their prices. This is not strictly true. The answer is that most insurers are looking to increase their prices. But, if you have been claims free then you can still get a good deal just by looking around.

One of our providers, who traditionally have offered very competitive pub insurance, have now decided that they will increase prices in excess of 10%, or 4 times inflation. What do we in these situations? We simply offer their renewal and then seek an alternative at a reduced price, sometimes lower than 2010.

If your broker is not looking around for you and is trying to increase a premium (subject to no claims) in excess of 5%, then you really should take the opportunity to look around.

Businessinsure still have over half a dozen commercial insurers who are looking to grow their book of business for all types of licensed trade. If you are stumped by an increase in premium, give us a call and see what we can do.

Posted in business insurance, pub insurance | Comments Off

December pub insurance deals

Thursday, December 2nd, 2010

Unlike most physical products, pub insurance policies are not available at set prices. Here at Businessinsure, we do not go in for the marketing that says we will guarantee to beat your existing premium. Usually, these deals are so tight anyway and if you have had claims or there are other “out of the ordinary” factors, the guarantee does not apply. We have also heard of one guarantee that beat the premium a customer had, but tripled the excess. Not quite such a good deal!

What we can do, is to promise you that we will always do our level best to find you the best priced quote and the widest cover. When looking for business insurance, it is a bit of a balancing act. We have to discuss with you what your demands and needs are, and to offer you the best product from our panel of suppliers.

If we offer you a dirt cheap quote, then it is likely that someone within that quote you may find that the cover is not quite as good as you used to have. What we can do, and this happens in 95% of enquiries, is to offer you a better premium, usually around 10% less, for the same or better cover.

You have a choice, you can spend days and days searching and yes, you will find a cheaper quote. But the opposite side of this choice is, if you take the cheaper quote then you will probably end up paying in the long run.

Whilst we have headed this December pub insurance deals, we will always do our best, whether it is now or in future months. Give us a call and see what we can do for you.

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

Pub insurance – what affects the cost?

Monday, November 15th, 2010

Pub insurance, as with any type of business policy, is priced (or a premium calculated) based on a number of risk factors. Insurers have years and years of statistics upon which they normally base their premium calculations.

When looking for a quote, depending on who you speak to, you will be asked a number of questions. Of these, a certain amount will have a direct affect on the premium and others will affect whether insurers will accept the risk and what terms and conditions they will apply.

The main factors which affect the cost are the location, the sums insured and the type of business.

Location can affect things in two ways. City centre pubs will attract a higher rate but, remote pubs will also attract a higher rate. Each business insurance company will build in to their pricing the potential fire risk. If you have a pub that is only covered by a retained, part time, fire brigade the potential of a higher (cost wise) loss from a higher is increased. City centre pubs are simply more likely to be broken into and/or have windows maliciously damaged.

Sums insured will, of course, affect the cost. But, you should never consider insuring for less than the correct amount to replace your contents, buildings or stock. If you do, then insurers could reduce any future claims settlement.

The type of business will also have a direct influence on your premium. Factors such as late licensing hours, whether you have doormen (even if they are agency), the entertainment you provide and whether you charge admission.

When looking for a quote, the only way you can really be assured of getting a range of prices from the market is to speak to an independent business insurance broker. Some insurers want to underwrite country pubs (and skew their prices accordingly) whereas others are happier to competitively price city centre pubs. Without going to an independent, you do not know whether or not you are getting the best “market price”.

Posted in business insurance, business insurance broker, pub insurance, pub insurance quote | Comments Off

Pub insurance – loss of licence cover

Wednesday, October 6th, 2010

Most pub insurance policies nowadays are packaged products, made up of the main types of cover you will, or may, need. Some of these are included as standard, and removing them from the policy has no effect on the premium payable.

One of these additional covers is loss of licence, but what exactly does this mean? Any establishment that sells alcohol effectively needs to authorised, or allowed, to do this. The local authority for where the business is based, will have a licensing committee, whose role it is to allow, or approve, a premises to be able to sell “intoxicating liquor”. It is not the premises that receives the licence, but an individual associated with the business.

So, there are two things that the committee takes into account. The suitability of the person and the suitability of the premises (ie where is it, what hours do they open, has the premises had trouble in the past etc).

In reality, it is a rubber stamping exercise and most licences are annually renewable. But, if the premises does not get it’s licence renewed, then the business will, usually, suffer a loss in profits. Without the licence, they cannot serve alcohol and this will usually mean less customers, or potential closure.

Business insurance policies will have loss of licence cover, usually for £50,000, £100,000 or £250,000. If the premises becomes un-licensed, a potential claim could be made.

But, and it really is a big but, this has to be something that is outwith the control of the person who has the licence. If you have had rowdy behaviour and police have requested remedial action, which has not been taken, this is within your control and your claim is not valid.

It is really important that you always read the policy wording. For loss of licence, this will only be a couple of pages, but you should make yourself aware of the exclusions that apply.

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