Insurance Myths – Part 4
To claim or not to claim
I’m often told that businesses have been advised not to make insurance claims because premiums will go up. This is certainly true in some cases yet I feel that analysing trends is the most appropriate way to work out if an incident will lead to a premium increase.
Insurance companies want to make profits. If you have been with an insurance company for 3 years and made two small claims you are still profitable. If the claims were for similar reasons the insurance company would rather nip the trend in the bud than increase premium. Small incidents can lead to larger losses if lessons are not learned.
There are complicated calculations to be done by the underwriters who work for insurance companies because premiums are sometimes broken into sections. If a series of claims are for flood, that part of the premium may have moved into the red and an adjustment can be made to the rate or the excess.
What’s best for both parties is to eradicate the incidents so organisations that are proactive will secure the most competitive rates for the long term. Premium stability is the mark of good rapport between customer, adviser and insurer.
A new insurance company means new policies, terms, conditions, exclusions and warranties. Chopping and changing to improve premiums can sometimes mean your new insurance company takes a hit in the first year. Terms are likely to deteriorate at renewal.
TOP TIP: Discuss every incident especially “near misses” with your adviser. They may have experience of risk prevention strategies which can prevent recurrence. These can prevent minor problems leading to preventable losses which are usually followed by increased costs.
See our top tips section for simple ways to help yourself today
Insurance Myths – Part 3
Here’s some handy tips to combat workplace stress
Not all employers’ liability policies cover all types of stress claims because stress is not an illness or an injury.
Stress is a modern buzzword for allsorts and you probably have a very simple way of helping anybody in your organisation that might be suffering but you might not know about it. Part of health and safety relates to identifying and addressing stress and insurers know that the cost of looking after employees is significantly reduced if proactive assistance is provided. So they give you help lines, usually for free (some even have free phone lines).
All you need to do is create a plan to identify those that are at risk and enforce it, here’s a handy guide http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards/downloads.htm. Provide information and advice to employees, including the help lines, keep a record and plan to review your procedures at least annually. I’m happy to help guide you to the appropriate adviser.
TOP TIP: The help lines are confidential and numbers can be placed on notice boards, in company handbooks or handed to those with symptoms of stress, definitely in private.
