What is the dirty little secret of Insurance?
There are hidden clauses that loom large in policy documents and some are more sinister than others. Here I explain what the secret is, why it is dirty and how it’s still a secret.
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What is insurance companies dirty little secret?
The insurance market has a reputation of escaping from legal contracts using small print.
When businesses have a dispute they often seek legal recourse. The complainant will sometimes have insurance to cover such disputes. They ask their insurer to cover the cost of taking action yet policies prevent insurance buyers from taking action against insurance companies. Not much help if an insurance company has refused to honour the policy they issued.
Insurers do not make this clear. It’s difficult enough when commercial disputes arise, it’s galling to find that you have been given a false impression by the people you had invested in. Insurers paying claims want to reduce the most obvious or exclude them. It’s unfair when the exclusion prevents you taking action against a supplier that has obviously got something wrong – as is often the case when claims are badly handled. But for insurance companies to close ranks in this manner, that’s pretty low. Whatever their reasons.
Why it is dirty?
Because it’s industry wide, it’s tantamount to a cartel. Have all insurers secretly agreed that they will support claims against any industry except their own? If not, why hasn’t an entrepreneurial insurer stuck their head above the parapet and issued a policy that covers taking such an action?
Insurance disputes are common and it’s not always the broker that makes a mistake. Insurers are often culpable yet it costs almost £20,000 to take action against them. That is bad for UK business. Of course, it could be down to the fact that the insurance actuaries have worked out that insurers nearly always win cases. I suspect this is because complainants often run out of money to fund their legal case. If I’m right the figures will always be skewed.
Why it’s a secret?
I doubt if insurance companies place this exclusion at the back of their policies by accident. It’s not front and centre as you would expect such a sweeping exclusion to be.
There are other secrets in policies that are difficult to unearth and comprehend. Yet the dirty little secret of not allowing your client’s to take action against your competition is the most sinister show stopper.
Wrap up: Insurance companies do not pay claims when the insurance contract between them and their policyholder has been breached. If they refuse to pay a seemingly valid claim policyholders need to dig deep to ensure they get what is due to them.
Top Tip: Spend time assessing the key risk to your business and make sure you understand your insurance policies which are legally binding contracts. Make sure that important contracts and agreements are not excluded from your policies.
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You don’t want insurance companies to pay fraudsters – especially if they’re using your premium
Have you contributed to Madoff’s legal defence costs?
Not all insurance disputes should be won by the insured, especially if they are fraudulent.
Usually I’m furious when I hear that an insurance claim has been declined. This time I was pleased; Lloyd’s of London successfully defended themselves in a US court when Madoff tried to appeal that Lloyd’s were wrong to cut off the funding of his defence costs.
Lloyd’s had already parted with $4million whilst the legal eagles prepared their cases. They pulled the plug after one of his cohorts pleaded Read the rest of this entry
Professional Indemnity Insurance – Discover how to avoid losses
Professional advisers are not always protected by their insurance
Want to know why some indemnity insurance claims are declined? I have two examples of claims being declined, one more extreme than the other, yet both prove small errors can prove costly. And I’m going to tell you why they were declined and how to avoid it happening.
The first is the most recent, only a few months ago an insurance company refused to cover a claim for a company that was being sued for £47,000. The claim related to an incident that occurred in July 2005 when they had translated a document (allegedly incorrectly) yet it would have been covered if the insurance company had been made aware of it earlier. Read the rest of this entry
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
Can contractors insurance enhance a reputation?
Here’s a brief explanation of how accidents can happen, the benefits of quality service and how reputations can be enhanced when bad luck turns up.
There seem to be a lot of people damaging windows in Bond Street these days. Not all of them are sinister. Here’s a true story about what can be done to prevent accidents turning into disasters.
A client had the misfortune of damaging the window of a jeweller on Bond Street whilst he was working there. The windows are supposed to be “bullet proof” yet it didn’t stop a sparky’s screwdriver – he was working inside when it happened.
This electrical contractor has a great reputation. Often working at high class restaurants and retail outlets in airports, they have always been careful to ensure they have adequate cover. And they insist we arrange insurance with companies that are willing to help as soon as a claim occurs.
This happened on a Sunday and a call reassured the jeweller that they had adequate insurance and they could order an immediate replacement window because the damage would be covered without admitting legal liability of course. They were able to do this because they understood the claim process and knew who to call to check they had the right cover. How many people can say that?
The new window was installed without delay yet we were asked to intervene when the cost of the glass (£18,000 from Germany) increased because the pound had weakened between the time the order was made and the settlement cheque delivered. We contacted the loss adjuster and they arranged for the increased settlement. And the insurance company benefitted from their willingness to see reason.
The end result was a win for everyone. The contractor had increased his credibility, the jeweller is certain they used the right contractor, the insurance company paid the claim and secured the client’s business for years to come. The insurance company also learned to settle claims promptly or suffer the consequences of currency fluctuations.
These are not the only challenges contractors face, click here for an article highlighting how subcontractors can avoid problems with HMRC.
Top Tip: Always ensure you know your claim process. It’s extra prudent to try the claim reporting number and enquire about the claim process before you buy. And get your broker to check the insurance of anyone working on your premises – you don’t want to suffer a dent to your finances because they haven’t insured themselves properly.
