Business Insurance has a hidden weakness – does your policy protect you properly?
Insurance claim departments are taking a hard nosed approach – make sure you’re covered
I recently heard about three businesses who have been robbed of £250,000 assets and their company insurance is not paying out. Today, I heard about another case of a business getting caught out and insurers used terrible judgement to decline the insurance claim. I am trying to use the information superhighway to show you how to ensure this doesn’t happen to you or people you know that run businesses.
The scene of the crime
Criminals have been climbing into manholes and cutting telephone lines at targeted premises. This triggers the alarm and Police and a member of staff attend the premises. There’s absolutely no evidence of a break-in so the Police and staff withdraw. After everyone has left the premises are then broken into yet the alarm doesn’t sound because the lines have already been Read the rest of this entry
Want to secure cashflow despite bad luck?
Fire risk assessments are not exactly high on the list of priorities for everyone. Some small businesses might think fire evacuation procedures are not important. So spare a thought for the business owner in Scotland who didn’t think a fire would ever affect his organisation.
The business was unlucky enough to suffer a fire and they didn’t have an evacuation procedure, they probably couldn’t find the time to do it – especially as there 101 other things to do every week to keep the business afloat.
The fire brigade arrived yet the absence of an evacuation procedure (which should be tried and tested) meant that no-one at the premises could tell the brigade if anyone was left in the building. Read the rest of this entry
Health & Safety Inspections – coming soon?
On the spot fines following these inspections have been increased to £20,000. Find out if your business is at risk and review our 7 free top tips on Health & Safety.
There are three reasons why you may hear from the health & safety “police”. All of them are beyond your control. Read the rest of this entry
Customer Service – Where did it all go wrong?
I recently read an article in a newsletter from marketing expert Dave Croydon, Hilltop Consultancy. David was voicing his concern that automated telephone systems were of little benefit to customers, going as far as to call them a “customer disservice”.
The article mentioned that we wouldn’t accept it from the emergency services yet we’re already having to. My Mum broke her ankle last year and called me. Being made of stronger stuff than some of the celebrity icons of today, Mum didn’t want to bother the Ambulance service until she was sure it was broken. It was and I dialled the famous three digits, something we all dread.
How annoying to be put on hold by an automated system that informed me I was in a queue, at 9am on a Thursday morning. I was very, very Read the rest of this entry
Landlords gas safety certificates – how to choose the right contractor
A plumbing and heating engineer has recently been jailed for carrying out gas work whilst not being registered. He had used another engineer’s registration after he was served with a prohibition notice. His work left innocent households with heating systems without hot water. Subsequent inspections determined the work was not up to “current standards”
Gas registration rules have changed and the body now approved is the Gas Safe Register. Approved engineers will supply a Landlords Gas Safety Certificate after checking your systems.
People are still killed in the UK because of faulty gas appliances. Landlords are responsible for the safety of their tenants and the HSE recommends checking contractors Gas Safe Register identity card.
It makes sense to use a local contractor. To find one, you can search the http://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/ For further information call the HSE Gas Safety Advice Line 0800 300 363.
Click here for our 7 top tips for property owners.
Health & Safety
Discover how to help your business before your neighbours suffer a catastrophe
Did you know insurance claims don’t always get paid when health and safety investigations are underway? There are four companies being prosecuted for H&S failures following the Buncefield fire of 2005. Have their claims for loss of profit and damage settled quickly and swiftly? Imagine the neighbouring businesses had assumed that they didn’t need to arrange their own cover because the site was “bound to have insurance”. A lot of people I’ve helped over the years originally thought they didn’t need insurance for that reason.
At the very least it will take ages for the case to be heard and a successful prosecution could lead to the insurance companies recovering their losses from the companies concerned. I expect that this case will be a watershed much as the Piper Alpha disaster of distant memory.
It is common for health & safety to be maligned yet the small concerns that businesses feel need little attention are often the areas that lead to bigger problems. Health & Safety is about having a robust system for identifying hazards and reducing their impact. If every business did that there would be no need for the “sledgehammer to crack a nut” approach that stifles common sense.
So ask yourself, is your business safe enough to work in? Is it safe enough for your child to work in? If you hesitate to say yes you may not have done all that is reasonable. And if you haven’t done what’s reasonable you’re probably not complying with legislation. And your insurance is dependent on that.
Top tip: Visit the HSE website and search for what you need.
