There are factors relating to computer insurance you need to be aware of when purchasing a policy.

In the event of a loss, the insurers will only pay to replace the unit to the same specification, or as new as possible to that specification, no matter what you insured it for.

A higher specification is considered betterment and would incur a payment from the insured to pay for its upgrade.

Many insurers will replace the computer and some use companies to provide a replacement.  Companies will provide a new replacement to the nearest specification.  If the insured wishes to upgrade their computer, the supplier will quote an additional sum to be paid or they will advise the insurers on a cash settlement.  It is sometimes more economic to let the insurers supply a computer to a higher specification and pay the difference.

Summary

If you purchased your computer for £1500 two years ago and when the loss occurs the value is £800, insurers will either replace the computer with one of a specification as near as possible, they will not pay out for the original sum insured.  It is therefore necessary to adjust the sums insured to reflect the estimated current market value of your computer.

The same formula applies to all equipment, cameras, etc.

If you need a quotation for computer insurance or have any queries or questions please contact Bromwall Ltd on 01707 883377 or email us on info@bromwall.co.uk

Employers have a duty under the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 to keep surfaces free from substances that may cause a person to slip or trip.  If an employee has an accident and alleges that you are at fault, a claim may be made against you for failing in you statutory duties under the regulations.  It should be appreciated that you can not treat an accident as an Act of God and you must be in a position to show you have done all that was reasonibly practicable to prevent an accident.

With snow not looking too far away, displaying a disclaimer saying “we accept no liability for slippery surfaces during the current weather conditions” will not work.  This is actually saying you are aware of the hazzard!

What you should consider:

Focus your efforts on places where people are most likely to slip or trip, for example, entrances, paths, steps, carp parks, etc.  To show what you have done you should record what precautions you have implemented such as gritting, snow clearing, etc.

Reference: Safety2business

www.safety2business.com 

To discuss your commercial or liability insurance please call us on 01707 883377 or email us on info@bromwall.com

Marine Insurance

With all the problems in the EU and common currency, it is a fallacy that the EU does not want to deal with the UK.  We buy from them much more than they buy from us.  Consequently we have a very large, negative balance of payments from the EU.  So they are hardly likely to turn away from one of their best customers!

The UK should be looking more and more at other markets through out the world who are quite willing to buy goods from us such as the USA and Canada, South America and even the Far East.  

One of the major problems exporting to other countries is that they require confirmation that the seller has adequate products liability insurance, the USA in particular.  In some cases they require a vendors agreement and also demand declarations of liability cover on a Acord form.  For those holding stock in the USA, this can be achieved by a marine stock through put policy.  Transits can also be covered, USA to USA.  Bromwall can provide this service.

Unfortunately over recent years everything has turned towards Europe, making it easy for European countries to buy and sell to one another but the UK has lost out because we buy more from the single market than they buy from us.  It should be noted we have a positive balance of payments with the rest of the world.

 Those who say we cannot produce goods in the UK, think back to World War II when we outstripped Germany in production of aircraft and military hardware.  The production of aircraft was better than 70 a day at its peak.  This is during the time the Germans were raining bombs and thousands of flying bombs were aimed at the UK but the resilience of the British people won through and is something which is the envy of the world.

The secret of our success was employing the right people in the right jobs and women played a major part in this.

This is the only way the UK will be successful.  Employ more people in the private sector than the public sector and in simple terms, the private sector create the wealth and the public spend it.

To discuss liability or marine insurance please call us on 01707 883377 or email us on info@bromwall.com

1) Christmas Trees – Make sure it is a fire retardant type and keep it away from any heat sources.

2) Lights – Try and use low voltage LED lights which conform to BS EN 60598.  Always use in accordance with the manufacturers instructions.

3) Decorations – Keep decorations clear of combustible materials and make sure they are unplugged out of business hours.

4) Sprinklers – If installed, decorations and lights should not be placed on sprinkler heads or pipework.

5) Alarm Systems – Do not block PIR’s/Movement detectors with decorations.

6) Make sure staff use stepladders when hanging decorations.  Do not use chairs or desks to stand on.  You do not want a liability claim!

Have a great Christmas period and basically, use common sense!

If you wish to discuss any of the points raised contact us on 01707 883377 or email us on info@bromwall.com

A number of insurers were present which include Allianz, RSA, Aviva, Travelers, LV, Axa, HSB to name a few.  It provides a good oportunity for us to keep abreast of the new products being put forward by insurers and also meet with many of the Underwriters we deal with on a daily basis.

We enjoyed the day and thank all the Cobra staff and insurers for the presentations.

To discuss this or any other matter please contact us on 01707 883377 or email us on info@bromwall.com 

 Plant is shipped abroad very quickly and often found to be in Eastern Europe, Dubai and other Middle Eastern Countries and even as far away as Australia, where the theives usually make a very large profit.

When hired in plant is stolen, the hirer has to make a claim under their insurance and also pay for hire charges to the time the insurer settle the claim.  Plant is usually hired under CPA (Contract Plant Association) conditions where the insurance is based on the hire charges paid.  The policy can also be extended to cover loss of hiring charges.  When hiring equipment, it is important to make sure that anti theft devices are fitted to the equipment.  This enables the Police to locate any equipment that goes missing.  Good site security also plays an important part in discouraging thieves from stealing your equipment.

It is wise to contact TER which is the national database for registering and recovering types of equipment.

If you wish to discuss any of the points raised or cover for your plant insurance, please contact us on 01707 883377 or email us on info@bromwall.com

So what should you do?

1)  Firstly ascertain if your fork lift truck is owned, hired or leased.  If owned see step 2.  If leased you need to insure to the requirements of your leasing company.  If hired, what conditions are you hiring under? The normal conditions are CPA (Contractors Plant Association).  Your insurers will grant an indemnity policy based on the total annual hiring charges.  Be aware some hirers have been known to put the figure of replacement value in the contract of hire but insurers will only settle on current value (indemnity).  Do not agree to this type of contract.  It is also important to include in the policy, loss of hiring charges as you will still be charges until the claim is fully settled.

2)  Make sure you cover the fork lift truck under your commercial insurance policy.  The sum insured should represent the REPLACEMENT cost and not the 2^nd hand value.  If you do wish to cover the fork lift truck for the 2^nd hand value, make sure your insurers are aware!  Failure to do this will render you underinsured.

3)  Do you operate the fork lift truck in or around the vicinity of a car park or road?  You must have road risks cover.  Business public liability will, in 99% of policies, exclude motorised plant.  If you drive into a vehicle or hit a person, you will not be covered.  Road risk policies are very cheap and essential, failing that do you have fleet insurance?  You should have no problems placing the fork lift truck on your fleet policy.  If your broker has not mentioned this before ask them why?

4)  Under current legislation all lifting plant has to be inspected annually and a certificate issued (some plant is more frequent).  This may be carried out by the company who service your fork lift truck, however if this is not the case or you do not receive a certificate, you insurers can carry out the inspection for you.

5)  Breakdown cover – if your fork lift truck suffers a mechanical breakdown, insurance cover is available to pick up the cost.

6)  Lifted goods cover – If goods are being lifted and are dropped, for example, due to a pallet splitting and damage occurs to the goods, cover can be in place to take care of this type of situation.

7)  Own surrounding property – If damage occurs due to use of the fork lift truck to your own property, again cover can be in place.

We are happy to discuss any queries or questions you may have relating to the points raised.  Call us now on 01707 883377 or email info@bromwall.com or go to  our commercial insurance page here

Health and safety – Both for your staff, customers and clients.  Make sure you monitor the temperature and keep up to date with the latest weather forecasts.  As the weather deteriorates,  put procedures in place to prevent icy surfaces forming and keep staff and visitors away from these areas, where possible.

Try and allow staff to work from home if possible.

Make sure your have a good business continuity plan in place.  Get basic procedures in place, make sure you have all the contact numbers of your staff and ensure only essential business travel is made.

From the physical aspect of the business, make sure plans for snow removal are made and check the heating before a problem occurs!  Make sure all stock is kept off the floor (pallets height).  Most policies carry a stillage warranty so to avoid having a claim turned down following a frozen pipe, make sure ALL stock is off the ground.

Provide a stock of salt or grit, especially if you operate car parking facilities.

If you operate a fleet of vehicles, carry out checks and make sure they are all in working order (tyres, lights, wiper blades, etc).  Make sure vehicles are equipped with blankets, de-icer, shovel and a fully charged mobile phone.  Basic stuff, but so important if bad weather suddenly occurs.

Its all common sense but so often overlooked.  We are happy to discuss any questions or concerns you may have.

Contact us on 01707 883377 or email us on info@bromwall.com

Bromwall were pleased to attend the Marsh roadshow today in Broxbourne.  Three new members of staff attended together with Roy and David.  The show consisted of displays by various underwriters and insurers together with insurance schemes and wholesalers.  The roadshow acts a a good platform to not only put “faces to voices” but also keep abreast of the new policies being introduced to the market.  There were some interesting scheme providers, for example Sky Insurance who have a self drive hire scheme and Nice 1 who provide cover to protect your policy excess.

Marsh were promoting their new network Pro Broker which appears to compete with the other broker networks in the market but has been set up on the basis of only accepting brokers who display a high level of expertise. 

Our thanks to Marsh for the informative afternoon.

Keep an eye on our website for details of some of the new policies and features available in the market or soon to be released.

Any queries or questions? Give David or Roy a call on 01707 883377 or email us on info@bromwall.com

A long term agreement or LTA as it is often known, is an agreement you can enter into with your insurers which allows a discount in return for you agreeing to stay with the same insurer for a set period of time, usually 3 years.

So whats wrong with this?  If you have a bad year (a number of claims), insurers can often “get out” of the agreement.  If you obtain a more competitive quotation elsewhere, you cannot get out of the agreement!  The discount you usually receive for being in an LTA is around 5 to 10%.  It is considered in the current market, not a good idea to enter into a contract as many insurers are fighting for business and if you sign up for an LTA you will be locking yourself in.  When the agreement ends, if the market is “hardening” (rates are increasing) you will be at the mercy of the market!  If you do want to get out of the agreement before it is ended, depending on the insurer, you will have to pay the discount back for each year, thus increasing your insurance expenditure.

Many insurers are offering LTA’s.  Before you agree, ask yourself:

- Do I really want to be locked into a 3 or 5 year policy?

- If I have problems with the insurer and want to terminate the agreement, do I really want to pay a premium to do this?

Remember, insurance is only as good as the last claim…..

To discuss any of the points raised or if you have any queries call David Walton at Bromwall on 01707 894402 or email us on info@bromwall.com or check our commercial combined insurance page here