Archive for the ‘retail insurance’ Category

Do not rely solely on your business insurance for winter.

Tuesday, October 11th, 2011

Just read another report this morning about the potential of another harsh winter in the UK. I have all but given up hope that certain organisations have the ability to accurately predict the UK weather more than ten minutes in advance. We have now had two potential “barbecue” summers in 2010 and 2011 and to be honest, they have not exactly lived up to expectations.

I am not sure why they feel they can predict the winter weather better than the summer, but they have said that 2011/2012 will be number three in five consecutive bad winters. Whilst the UK retail industry look to the summer forecasts to see firstly what to stock their shelves with and secondly, whether they will make any money, in the world of business insurance, we look to the winter forecast in more detail.

Being of a certain age, I know that the UK is in that zone where we do have bad winters, we do get on with things and life really does not have come to a grinding halt. Where the weather forecasters predict something similar to last year, we need to plan on two sides. Firstly, as a business issue, being a Scottish based, but UK wide, business we have staffing concerns to be aware of. Whilst we say that the country should not grind to a halt we need to think about staff. If it is not safe for staff to come to work then we have to manage that. Living locally myself there is always going to be an element of cover here. The second point we need to be aware of is that there may be a large influx of burst pipe claims.

Whilst we are preparing and considering the effects of the winter weather, it is worth pointing out that all types of business need to consider what can happen to them. We have blogged long and hard about the need for a god quality policy but you cannot rely solely on your policy. We saw a lot of shop insurance claims last year, where the businesses were shut for a number of days following defrosting, burst, pipes flooding the business premises. Whilst their policies paid out, this does not help you with lost customers that do not come back.

A few simple steps can make all the difference to a business suffering either no claim or a small claim. It is worth making the effort, if possible to visit the business as many times as possible over the weekends and when the thaw kicks in. It may well be that the forecasters are just hedging their bets and saying it will be a bad winter. But, it is always better to be prepared.

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Restaurant insurance, with and without buildings

Monday, February 7th, 2011

If you are looking for a restaurant insurance quote, including buildings, you may want to go one step further and get yourself two different quotes.

There are some insurers that offer very competitive prices for restaurant policies, but as soon as you add the buildings, the price shoots through the roof. So, the option you have is to get one policy for the restaurant and then a separate one for the commercial building insurance. There is absolutely nothing wrong with doing it this way, contrary to what some brokers may tell you.

Some will say that you should always put the insurance covers with the one insurer. But why would you do this if the cost is prohibitive? If it is cheaper, and you are not losing out on cover, to have one policy with insurer a and the other with insurer b, then why not do this?

If the broker you get these two quotes from had any qualms whatsoever about the rights and wrongs of doing this, then they would not consider it because we have to, at all times, offer you the best product.

You may decide to put the buildings insurance in a limited company or individuals name and then the restaurant insurance in a different name. This happens a lost when people have pensions that own buildings which are then rented to their own business. Unless there are common directors, you cannot (usually) insure different limited companies on the same policy. So, if the building is owned by a different company (although associated) to the restaurant, you need to speak to someone like businessinsure as we understand the different ways that cover can be arranged.

We do not like to say we can guarantee to beat anyone else, because there are always some very, very cheap prices out there (with very , very basic cover). What we can do is offer a very good service with prices that in 80% of cases are better than you would get elsewhere.

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Shop insurance – getting the best deal on multi-location risks

Tuesday, January 11th, 2011

Think of any of the large UK based retailers and most started from humble, single premises origins. If you operate from one address, it is relatively easy to get yourself shop insurance. If you have read any of our previous posts, you will be well aware of the need to make sure that you get a policy that gives you two things. Firstly, wide cover and secondly, a competitive premium.

This is where is it is sensible, if not obligatory, to use a business insurance broker.

But what happens if you are starting out on the steps to grow your business and are looking to take on additional premises? In the news this morning the British Chambers of Commerce have said that the services sector, which includes retail, has not grown by as much as we envisaged. We understand December is a busy, busy time but the affects of the bad weather are, I think, being underestimated.

However, some businesses are looking for growth opportunities and commercial rents are still way down on the heady days of 2005-2007 when prices were absolutely through the roof. So, you may think now is the time to negotiate your new premises, in the hope and belief that things will start to pick up as we get to the end of 2011. It is depressing to effectively write a year off, but 2011 is going to be tough, but not too tough.

You have a choice when lookign to insure your additional premises. You can either add to your exisitng policy, or take out separate cover. The benefits of one policy are a commone renewal date but you also have a common payment date. If you pay im full, it can be hard to pay two premiums on the same day. The best thing you can do, is to discuss with your broker and maybe get options for both adding to your existing and taking out a separate policy.

Posted in business insurance broker, retail insurance, shop insurance, shop insurance quote | Comments Off

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.

Posted in business insurance, retail insurance, shop insurance, shop insurance quote | Comments Off

Retail insurance – not from a shop premises

Monday, September 27th, 2010

Most business insurance companies in the UK, have packaged policies for different types of trade. When we say packaged, this is similar to your car insurance. A car policy has a package that can include the vehicle itself against damage, the contents of the vehicle against theft, the windscreen and third party liability if you hit someone else.

Businesses are the same, you will have a package that covers the assets and stock, including buildings, liabilities, money, legal expenses etc. Some insurers have had these packages in a similar guise for years. One of these is retail insurance, or shop insurance. For the last forty or fifty years the policies have not changed dramatically with the one main point about them is that insurers only want to insure “traditional” shops. But, the retail world has evolved and embraced the Internet more so than many other industries.

A good percentage of retailers do not have a shop, with a glass frontage, and a serving area for customers. Those that operate as internet retailers tend to trade from either home, an office (with a fulfilment house supporting them) or an industrial estate.

Some insurers feel that they represent not only different, but increased, risks of loss. There are only two areas we can really see this having an affect. One is that they may be on an industrial estate which will be empty at night and weekends and the other is that if there are problems with phone/broadband lines, they could have an interruption to their business. Aside from this, the risks are much better. You do not have windows to smash, the security tends to be better, the stock is more secure, you do not have customers coming in and a whole host of other reasons.

If you are finding it difficult to get a competitive policy from the various “quote comparison” sites, call a broker and speak to a human being about your insurance. You will be amazed at what sort of deal they can get for you.

Posted in business insurance, commercial insurance, internet retailers insurance, online shop insurance, retail insurance, shop insurance, shop insurance quote | Comments Off

Shop insurance – excess levels

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

Every shop insurance policy will have certain levels of excess against the different types of cover provided. An excess is an amount that you must pay towards any claim.

You either have to pay the excess directly to the insurers, or they deduct the amount of the excess from a claim. If you have every had insurance for your car, you will be well aware of the fact that excesses apply. Usually when you start to drive or a re a young driver learning, you will have a higher excess. The reason being that insurers feel that you are more likely to have a claim.

The same can be said of different types of insurance cover. You are more likely to have a claim on your business insurance shop policy for a smashed window that you are for, say, legal expenses. Most insurers therefore apply a much higher excess for this level of cover.

The thing is, you need to shop around not just for a cheaper policy, but also one that offers better cover. Anyone with a modicum of computer skills and a telephone can get a cheap quote. But, if it is at the expense of cover and with higher excesses, then it really is not worth it.

Shops and retailers are having an awfully tough time, there is one way though that you can save money. Speak to an independent (this is very important as they will work with many different insurers) business insurance broker and they will get you two things. Good cover at the cheapest premium they can.

Posted in business insurance, business insurance broker, retail insurance, shop insurance | Comments Off

Shop insurance – 5 covers your package must include

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

In the UK, the vast majority of the major, brand name, commercial insurance companies will have a range of policies for most industries. The basic parts of these policies are the same across the board, however there are differing terms, excesses, conditions and of course price.

What you do need to ensure is that and shop insurance quote you receive includes the following five types of cover, as an absolute minimum to help protect your business in the years to come.

Business contents, this will cover stock, machinery, plant, computers and importantly, any customers goods in your care, custody or control.

Commercial legal expenses, this will cover employment tribunal costs and inland revenue tax investigation (either aspect enquiries or full investigations) costs.

Business interruption or consequential loss. If the business suffers an insured event (ie fire, flood, break in) then there will be an interruption to your trading profits, this covers the losses you suffer. 

Combined liability, including employers, public and products. We are a more litigious nation than ever before, make sure you have adequate liability insurance.

Shop front glass cover, if you lease the premises you are 95% likely to need to insure the glass and possibly the shop front (frames etc) in its entirety.

Posted in retail insurance, shop insurance quote | No Comments »

Business insurance premiums on the increase?

Friday, February 5th, 2010

Private car insurance premiums have increased by nearly 20% during 2009. Of course, there are still bargains to be had but overall, the average premium per policyholder is increasing at nearly 40 times inflation.

What lies in store for business and commercial insurance premiums during 2010? Insurers traditionally by many different forms of re-insurance to  protect themselves in the event of catastrophic and/or significantly high (in value) losses from a single event.

For every pound that you spend on, say, shop insurance, approximately 15 to 20 pence is paid to re-insurers. So, if the re-insurers ramp up their prices then this is passed down the line. Re-insurance renewals are the same as most policies and run for a year, they tend to be renewed in early January, or at the end of Q1.

We have not seen reports of significant increases in re-insurance premiums so far. This does not mean though that there will not be increases. The less efficient insurers, and there are too many, simply are not capable of controlling their costs effectively. They run inefficiently and the costs, whatever they say, are passed on to you and I.

So, the way to deal with this is to look for an underwriter, or capacity provider, that is lean and mean, they want your business and their expenses are pared to the bone. This way, they can offer you the best deal.

Posted in commercial insurance, retail insurance, shop insurance | No Comments »