Archive for the ‘takeaway insurance’ Category

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Fish and chip shop insurance

Friday, April 16th, 2010

Anyone want to take a guess on what day of the week we do not receive any enquiries for fish and chip shop insurance? Today being Friday is a big clue. It is the same with most types of takeaway insurance, as the week rolls on, the businesses become busier and busier and as Friday arrives, the last thing they want to do is to spend time on administrative duties.

So, what can we do for takeaways and chippies to make their job easier? We have many years of experience in doing the donkey work for you and if you are looking to compare business insurance, whatever you do, then you need to give us a call.

If you think across most aspects of business life, there are intermediaries or third parties who can help you access the services and products you want. Insurance is no different, You have the choice of going direct (= no choice and no independent advice) or going to a broker (= lots of choice and independent advice).

The good thing for the chip shop owner is, when they receive their annual renewal, all they need to do is give us a quick call, any day of the week is fine(!) and we will do the rest for you.

Our job is to look around for alternatives, we are legally obliged to get you a good deal. If you go direct, you only get one product from one insurer, what is the point of that? Go to a broker and at least you know you are getting a few options.

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Takeaway insurance – public liability for deliveries

Friday, March 5th, 2010

All businesses, whether large or small, will have some potential liabilities. Whilst the risk may be there, the likelihood, in percentage terms, is usually very, very low.

As and independent business insurance broker, our role is to discuss with customers what their potential risks are, and to arrange insurance cover wherever possible.

Some risks are uninsurable (ie shop lifting & damage caused by wear and tear or poor maintenance) whereas for most, if you are prepared to pay, risks are insurable.

The key is to ensure that your policy does take account of all of your business activities. When we are considering takeaway insurance, we need to think about the additional risks beyond those at the risk, or shop, address.

One of these is the public liability risk when undertaking deliveries. We are not talking about the motor insurance, but the risk of your delivery driver causing damage. You may not think there is a high risk but there have been a fair few claims for curry stains to carpets when a bag has split.

Some policies will only cover this risk if you get it specified on your policy, others will include it as standard. The two things to be aware of are first, that your policy notes that you do undertake deliveries and second, that your third party property damage excess is not too high. A reasonable excess is £100, some insurers increase these to £500 which in reality, makes the cover not worthwhile.

Speak to an independent insurance broker and get some good, free, professional advice.

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Chinese Takeaway Insurance – do I need a special policy?

Saturday, February 13th, 2010

Different types of food establishments essentially present the same risks to insurers. Whilst there can be a vast difference in the type of food cooked, how it is cooked and how busy the business is,  most underwriters will tend to have a very simple, dual pricing, for takeaway insurance.

The dual pricing only refers to the fire risk presented by the business. If you have a fixed frying range, as we describe it, the Frank Ford type, then you will present a slightly increased fire risk (to an insurer) and consequently you will need to pay a higher premium.

It is always best to declare the fullest information possible, to prevent any problems in the event of a claim. So, Chinese takeaway insurance is really no different from Cantonese, Vietnamese, Italian or Spanish – to an underwriter.

Specialist policies are not really available across the market. If there is one it tends to only have cosmetic differences aimed at trying to gain market share. The nuts and bolts of the policy really are the same. If, as you have in Scotland, it is a Chinese takeaway and fish & chip shop, then it needs to be declared as such.

The only real difference to the insurers may relate to cooking using a wok. They will put on a condition excluding losses attributable to fires from unattended woks whilst cooking. It is difficult to repudiate a claim on this condition, it is really there to remind the business owners that they must not leave a wok, over a naked flame cooker, unattended.

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