Don’t just let things happen with your business insurance policies

With a lot of things happening on a daily basis in people’s lives it can be so easy to overlook what you are paying out and how you can reduce bills quite easily. People who run their own business can be so engrossed and involved with their business that they forget their household bills.

We hear a lot of people also saying that “you will never be able to save me money on my home insurance and business insurance as I have the best possible policy.

The most common excuses are

• I am ok where I am at the moment?
• Done it before and it never really worked?
• Have not got the time?

Well the issue is that unless you look at options you will never know.

These are unprecedented times and the forecasts are that things are about to get a lot tougher in 2012 for both businesses and residential consumers.

Reports that people in Britain are now an average of 13 pounds worse off every week. With utility bills rising and average families paying out 10-25 percent of their money on utility bills the reason to look at cutting back on expenditure is never more needed.

House Insurance is normally sorted when taking out a mortgage most often people will leave this till the last moment and just go for the easiest option.

Even our own staff members had been paying £200 more a year than they should do! Something they say they’ll never repeat again – House Insurance is not a thing to cancel or to never look at purchasing but it does prove that you can be too busy to be simply smart with your bills at home.

The scary thing is that in a recent survey people would rather cancel their home insurance rather than their television or internet package – not a very good idea.

With business insurance it is imperative that you get the right level of cover as you have to have confidence that all areas within the business including its operation are covered properly.

Here at ‘Squashed Bills’ we encourage businesses to get in touch with us before they make a decision on insurance. Public liability is a requisite when operating a business but there are other forms of insurance which need to be taken into consideration depending on what kind of business and industry it operates within.

• Vehicle Insurance
• Commercial Insurance
• Landlord Insurance
• Liability Insurance
• Tradesman Insurance

Vehicle insurance is an area where we find that an existing insurance broker has set up a policy for a business which is often expensive knowing / assuming that no one in the business has or will carefully looked at the fleet insurance policy for a long time, years in some circumstances also insurance policies can often be outdated as businesses progress.

So make an effort, don’t just let things happen with your business insurance policies have a look and get in touch as we can look at an insurance policy just to check the details to give you piece of mind.

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Business needs faster payouts for insurance claims

When a business claims on their insurance it can take up to 6 months for the claim to be paid out which the Law Commissioner has said that “contract law” in England and Wales is unfair.

Therefore business insurance is now under the microscope of the Law Commissioner in England and Wales and changes in the processes of paying out on a claim are possibly going to be altered to help small businesses receive payments on their claim(s) faster.

In England and Wales a business can sue their insurance company if the contract is broken but can’t seek compensation if a large delay happens in the business actually receiving the insurance pay out from their insurance claim.

David Hertzell the Law Commissioner said that the Business Insurance rules in England and Wales are “unfair, unprincipled and out of step with 2011’s commercial business realities”.

Concern is that due to the riots in the summer of 2011which caused damage to a lot of small businesses – the worrying aspect is that even though the business has a valid business insurance policy in place are they are finding it hard to get back on their feet – which is not helped by having to wait for the money to replace broken windows and damaged or stolen equipment.

A shop in Birmingham who put in a claim on the 9^th August 2011 for loss of cigarettes and alcohol, all of which totalled to a claim value of around £6000 to £7000, the shop is still waiting to receive cleared funds from their insurance claim. As a result the business owner has had to put their own money in to counter act the loss in cashflow thus causing stress and anxiety to the business owner.

So the action which is proposed to increase the insurance claim payout timescale could be a real help to businesses especially with the viewed continuing lack of support from the banking industry with decline in overdrafts and loans hindering many companies throughout the United Kingdom.

Is it worth the risk to not have business insurance?

When people take the plunge and decide to set up their own business there are a lot of things which need to be taken into consideration. Most often a lot of time will be taken over the name of the business, the business cards, the website, and location, with insurance being considered as the uninteresting part of a business set up.

The one thing which can’t be predicted in business is the unexpected events which may happen such as accidents and mishaps. A business can be affected by an accident of some kind or by it being held responsible for an event which causes misfortune to people who inturn may make a claim against the business.

So an understanding of what business insurance your company needs is possibly the most important action that needs to be taken when you are starting your company.

Companies in all sectors can be covered by various types of business insurance and the necessity and legal obligations can differ depending on what type of area your business operates in.

Public Liability insurance covers a business if a customer or a member of the public suffers any losses or injuries as a result of its business activities. An example being if damage was caused to someone’s property while working on a project on their behalf or if you left a piece of equipment unguarded and a member of the public injured themselves on it and they made a claim for compensation you as a business would be covered.

When a company or organisation employs people it is required by law to have what’s termed as employer’s liability insurance. This type of insurance covers members of staff should they suffer injuries in the working environment. It is important to note that this form of insurance is different and is not the same as public liability insurance.

The cost of Employers Liability & Public Liability insurance policies always depends on what sector or industry a business operates within. Tradesmen due to the physical nature of their work without doubt need Public Liability insurance and Employer’s liability as they often use potentially dangerous equipment and accidents are more of a common place than in other sectors. Also on some work / business contracts it is a requirement that the supplier(s) are able to produce evidence of Insurance cover prior to being awarded the contract or before any work can be carried out.

If your business is involved in sales or offers advice then Indemnity Insurance is the type of insurance cover which is required. Examples of those businesses that need to take out indemnity insurance are the likes of: – accountants, solicitors, insurance brokers and financial advisors.

Indemnity Insurance would cover against claims or losses made against your company by one of your clients or via a third party. The consideration in ignoring but knowing you need such a policy is, could you afford to pay out if a claim was made on either a mistake being made, or a cause of interruption of service to a company.

The final consideration is to think about a scenario : a potential customer arranges to visit you at your office to sign a lucrative contract, when he opens the door and walks in he slips on the carpet banging his head on the floor he then has to be taken to hospital . You then receive a call that he is seeking compensation and has taken advice. How would you cope and pay the Bill? Or one of your employees slips down the stairs injuring their back!!!! The next thing you know is that they are seeking advice and trying to seek compensation, OUCH.

It all comes down to a decision ignoring the fact you need insurance and pay the penalties for ignorance, or take out the correct insurance and pay an otherwise affordable premium which would give you peace of mind.