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
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
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
What is cyber insurance?
Twitter has experienced problems this week. Could it happen to you? What happens when your website is hacked or your e-commerce platforms compromised? Does your theft or loss of income insurance kick in?
The answer is that all three are unlikely yet there is something you can do to . Modern risks can be covered by contemporary insurance policies. Ever heard of cyber liability? It is an emerging form of cover designed to protect businesses in the virtual World. Read the rest of this entry
Have you got All Risks insurance?
The insurance definition of unattended items is a tricky one. Believe it or not this case history was made in the 1960′s when a sales rep left his car in a layby on A road. Then watched with disbelief as his car was driven off andhis samples were stolen. The judge ruled the items were unattended and not insured; are the same judges making the rules today?
The rule of thumb is whether or not you are close enough to the items to affect the outcome of a theft or other loss. If you don’t notice an item disappearing, cannot give chase or fail to intervene when an incident is occurring your policy may not pay out. Examples are laptops left in the luggage rack of a train, samples or equipment left in a hotel room, jewellery or cameras put in luggage kept in the hold, anything left in a vehicle or unlocked building.
Insurers are not likely to pay out if you cannot prove otherwise. I heard of a car boot being broken into at an airport and £7,500 luggage being stolen. Fair enough they were high rollers yet only £750 was offered in settlement. The original 1960′s case mentioned above followed the theft of diamonds left in the glove box of a car. They car was left for less than a minute. The diamonds were gone. The claim was declined.
Not all cases are this clear cut. As evidenced when sneak thieves rummage through bags on trains or at busy train stations. In theory, the owner was close enough to prevent the loss – yet they didn’t. They probably didn’t notice their property disappearing. Would you?
Top Tips: Always check the definition of unattended items in any policy covering items away from your premises. Interpret it in the worst case possible and keep a tight rein on anything you don’t want to lose. And check which policy you should claim from, your adviser will help you make the best choice. Visit our top tios page for more free information.
See our top tips section for simple ways to help yourself today.
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What happens if your neighbour has a fire that affects your business or your home?
Is your business or home close enough to be affected by problems next door? Have you assumed that you will be covered by your neighbours insurance? If you do, you may get a nasty shock, as insurance works best when you cover yourself. Especially if your neighbour assumed nothing would happen to them and decided not to cover themselves. Businesses in central London had to evacuate their premises recently for exactly that reason.
Click here for a recent story showing what happened.
You can arrange for your insurance to pay for income you lose or alternative premises yet only if you have asked for that type of cover before the problem begins. Don’t rely on the features of the policy that was sold to you. There are lots of terms, conditions and exclusions that can trip you up if you’re not aware of them.
In order to arrange this cover your adviser would have helped you calculate how much cover you need to hire alternative premises and equipment, worked out how long you want you might need temporary premises and totalled the cost of relocating everything essential to the new address. This is also true if you work from home, speaking of which – here’s an unrelated yet handy risk assessment for those that do.
So what can you do today to ensure you’re covered? Call your adviser and ask “how much cover have I got if my premises are out of action, when does the cover kick in and how long does it last?” If the answers seem wishy washy, request a reply by email.
Top Tip: You probably don’t have the time to develop a business continuity document – even though it could be as small as one A4 page. So keep a list of equipment that is critical to your business off site so you don’t have to rely on your memory. Remember what happened on “snow day” and focus on what didn’t work in your business that day. They’re probably your weak points.
