With effect from September 2012, squatting will become a criminal offence.  

This will come as a great relief to property owners and home owners who have unoccupied property.  At present the law treats squatting as a Civil offence however from the 1st September 2012 it will now be treated as a criminal offence.  This offence will come with a fine up to £5000 and a six month prison sentence.

This will not mean squatting will stop but it does mean that there are now provisions in place to deal with the issue with more force.  This will be greeted by many landlords as real progress in the law.

If you have  any questions or wish to discuss this topic further please call us on 01707 883377 or email us on info@bromwall.co.uk or visit our property owners insurance web page here

So what can you do?

The various cyber threats businesses face, including attacks on websites and the loss of reputation risk is increasing.  To combat this there  are various “cyber liability” insurance policies available.  Although these policies have been available for some time, many businesses do not fully perceive the risk they face and often ignore the cover.  It is thought that business in general is now at risk and cyber attacks often sited as a material risk by many.  The potential to loose confidential information through the use of social media is also thought to be a high risk.

Obviously each business has different risks associated with its exposure to cyber threats and insurance policies can be built up depending on their individual requirements.

If you would like further information or a quotation for Cyber Liability, please call us on 01707 883377 or email us on info@bromwall.com

On the 28th March 2012, the Supreme Court handed down judgment regarding the employers liability trigger litigation.  This overturned the Court of Appeal’s judgement of 8th October 2010 which was regarding the meaning of “disease sustained” in Employers Liability policy wording and reinstates the market practice that policy cover for mesothelioma claims is triggered by the date of exposure to asbestos and not by the deemed date of injury many years later.

This was all started back in 2006 with the Bolton V Municipal Mutual Insurance (MMI).  This was a public liability case that held that in a mesothelioma claim, injury occurs when the tumour starts to develop, often 10 years prior to the onset of any symptoms.  Insurers had differing wordings, some with “disease sustained” and others with “disease contracted” within their Employers Liability wordings.  Often insurers would refer to the Bolton ruling and decline claims on this basis.  A group of claimants sought to reverse the stance being adopted by insurers and issued legal proceedings. This was known as the employers liability policy trigger litigation.

The Supreme Court held that employers liability policies will respond whether the wording of the clause is “caused”, “contracted” or “sustained”.

What does this mean to business?

You should ensure within your own business:

1) Seeks to assess whether you have claims against historic employers liability policies with insolvent insurers.

2) Make sure you have a comprehensive understanding of your historic employers liability insurance, especially if there has been acquisitions.

3) Have financial provisions in place to meet the cost of possible future uninsured mesothelioma claims.

Reference: Marsh Insolutions

 To discuss this topic further or if you have any concerns regarding your own liability insurance, contact Bromwall on 01707 883377 or email us on info@bromwall.com or check out our liability insurance page here 

While in some areas we are currently facing a drought, the worry of flooding is still present in many areas of the country.

The LGA (Local Government Agency) who acts on behalf of 350 councils in England and Wales, has recently written to the Government and the Association of British Insurers to ask them to tackle the issue of the Statement of Principals, agreed back in 2000.  This means the Government backing comes to an end in June and will present businesses in high risk flood areas with huge cost implications as the industry works out how to price flood areas.

It is expected initially, rates and excesses for businesses in flood areas will increase and in some cases, cover may not even be available.

As more information becomes available we will keep you informed.

If you would like more information relating to flood or wish to discuss your own flood problems and the impending changes, contact us on 01707 883377 or email us on info@bromwall.com 

6 out of 10 people who took part in a survey by telematics provider Trimble said they were unaware they needed to insure their car for business travel if they use it for company business.  This is a very worrying finding.

Employers need to make sure an employees vehicle has a current MOT and the correct insurance.  This should be logged for future refeence.  Regular driving licence checks should also be carried out.

Reference: Cobra Network

If you are not sure what to check or you wish to discuss the above please call us on 01707 883377 or email us on info@bromwall.co.uk

So what should you do?

initially, you have to make sure your business interruption cover is up to date and on the correct basis.  We have discovered recently that many quotes and covers in the market are incorrectly constructed.  In many cases, brokers have not explained the cover or its importance or how to correctly work out the basis of cover (sums insured).  It is believed 8 out of 10 MAJOR losses are underinsured in respect of business interruption cover.  This is simply not acceptable.

So what can Bromwall do in respect of your business interruption?

We will work with your to assess the risk and ascertain the correct indemnity period and sum insured to ensure you have the correct levels of cover.  It should be appreciated – if you are not going to insure for the correct levels or sums insured, it is not worth insuring at all!  Insurers will, in most cases, subject a claim to average if there is underinsurance (for example a business should have £100,000 business interruption cover but is only insured for £75,000, a £30,000 claim occurs you may think the insurer will pay the claim as it is less than your sum insured however you are only insured for 75% of the correct level therefore the insurer will only pay 75% of the claim).

It is imperative that the cover is correct. 

To obtain a review of your current cover call us on 01707 883377 or email us on info@bromwall.co.uk or see our Insurance Risk Management page here

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If you have any questions or queries or wish to discuss your insurance, please contact us on 01707 883377 or email us on info@bromwall.co.uk

All businesses need to think about their risk management and in doing so you can keep your liability premiums at an affordable rate.  So what do you need to do?

1) Staff training is essential and must be recorded.  Obtain the employees signature every time.  This will reduce the possibility of a solicitor suing for negligence if the employee has received instructions but fails to adhere to them.

2) Do not accept the fact that the employee says he/she is experienced in a particular activity.  Operate strict supervision to ensure that he or she knows what they are doing.

3) On hired in equipment make sure that instructions are provided by the hirer and adequate supervision is provided for the operative.

4) Make sure all safety equipment which is specified for a particular job is being used correctly.  Do not allow anyone to carry on working if they refuse to meet the rules.  Remember, you are responsible.  Again, record all instructions given to an operative in their personal file.

5) Although courts are now much stricter on claiming and even throw out claims they think are not justified, insurers would rather settle out of court for a figure which would be a quarter of the sum that a court may award even if the negligence is not fully proved.

6) Many accidents occur by the misuse of machines.  Training is particularly important but make sure risk assessments are carried out and involve the operative in any Health and Safety assessment.

7) Stress can be another area where claims can arise and you should make available a stress councillor line and advertise it on your notice boards.  Your legal fees insurer should be able to provide this facility for you.

If you would like to discuss your risk management requirements further or have any queries please call us on 01707 883377 or email us on info@bromwall.co.uk or check our Insurance Risk Management page here

Communication is one of the most important factors in any business especially the insurance industry where decisions and actions have to be taken very quickly.  Any delay can cost you an order or a contract

Problems can arise at any time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week and if you are in business you need that backup.  Emergency numbers to contact the broker should be available and displayed on the brokers website and a senior person from the brokers should be contactable.  The broker, in turn, should be able to contact a loss adjuster out of normal hours should it be required in order to react to a claim which in turn can reduce costs to the benefit of the insured and the insurer.

A broker is normally able to give advice on many subjects concerning business. If they are unable to provide the answers themselves they should be to obtain the answers or guide the client to someone who can.  There are other facilities that a broker can provide with the assistance of the insurance industry as a whole.

Brokers can play an important role for exporters by providing marine cargo insurance and stock cover in other countries.  In Some countries buyers require proof of public and products liability insurance and many insurers will exclude cover in North America.  A vendor’s agreement and an acord form, the latter providing proof of cover in the USA is also required.  This will give the UK insurers NAICS number (North American Industry Classification System) is the standard used by Federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments in the USA and replaces the SIC code.  It also states the limit of indemnity in US dollars.  Brokers have to be international in the contracting world as business gets more demanding.

Another important activity of a broker is to stress test the insurance cover establishing the highest risk and being able to cope with the fallout.  The main aim is to be able to continue in business and not have to wind up your Company.  It is a fact that 80% of all businesses suffering a major loss are under insured or have their claim declined.

More than 40 per cent of businesses affected by The Manchester bombing went out of business, Never to return (reference Expecting the Unexpected issued by London First).

Beware of brokers cost cutting, you must have value for money but cover must be correct and fully able to respond in the event of a disaster.  Having a suitable insurance plan is not like searching for components or packaging for your business.  It is a fallacy to think you can obtain more competitive quotations by going out a large number of brokers.  Select about two professional brokers and instruct them to fully review your business and provide recommendations for cover.

Your broker should also inform you of cover you may require and have not taken out (demands and needs).  You do not have to take out everything you are advised to cover but you should be aware of the areas you are self insuring.

We refer to the case law: Geismar v Sun Alliance and London Insurance (Solicitor) where Judge J Talbot ruled that following loss by theft, there is no indemnity in respect of articles illegally imported as a result the claim was repudiated.

What Does This Mean To You?

It is vital you declare any purchases brought in from outside the EC.  It is becoming more and more common for gifts and holiday reminders to be brought back to the UK but if you are spending large sums of money, do not leave yourself open upon return to effectively having no insurance.

To discuss your personal possessions insurance requirements or if you have any queries call us on 01707 883377 or email us on info@bromwall.co.uk.  Check out our prestige home insurance page here