Relevant to every householder, whether your property is small or large. Obviously you need to get the right insurance, but also take reasonable steps to protect your property.

Typically a burglar spends about 45 minutes assessing a property, and 3 minutes to break in. Below are some practical ideas that are common sense but may make the difference between a burglar contemplating your property as a possible burglary site, or looking for an easier option.

• put gravel in your front garden and around our house – it is very noisy
• use trellis or plants under windows to deter intruders
• lock ladders away
• make your home look occupied
• don’t leave a key under the mat, in a flowerpot, or elsewhere outside
• move wheelie bins or other items that a burglar could stand on to reach a window
• install security lighting
• put lights on a timer if you are out or away
• alarm any outbuildings
• if you go away, don’t advertise the fact on social media
• keep any valuables out of sight from the outside
• keep hedges low so nobody can hide behind them
• put bolts or locks on gates

We CAN beat the burglars, and keep the cost of insurance down!

Employers are responsible for the health and safety of of their employees while they are at work – you may do your best to prevent accidents at work, but if an accident or illness does occur, your employee may try to claim compensation from you. Employers liability insurance would pay your compensation and legal costs if you are sued – the costs of defending a claim could damage or destroy your business.

Today, the no win, no claim culture encourages employees to claim for even trivial incidents such as a fall on a wet floor, and a claim can also be made if an employee believes that they have suffered illness as a result of working for you, even if the claimant has already left your employ – you need to be aware that former employees can still make a claim.

With employers liability insurance, you will be issued with a certificate to show that the company has purchased it.

Make sure you display it – it is a legal imperative.

It is necessary to continually assess risks – you may have brought in hazardous materials or equipment, started new procedures or bought or hired new equipment. Circumstances change, and you and your staff need to be aware.

You have a duty to your staff and visitors to make sure your workplace is safe. You need firstly to assess the potential hazards to either your staff, workers under contract not permanently on site, disabled workers or members of the public.

If you access the Health and Safety Executive website, they offer a checklist for risk assessments that anyone can download, and the first thing to do with this checklist is to physically walk around your site to identify potential hazards. You then need to see if the risk can be removed or contained to prevent any possible accidents. Under Health and Safety law you have to do everything ‘reasonably practical’ to prevent accidents.

Once you have decided on a risk or hazard, you need to record it, decide who the people at risk might be, and document how you have dealt with it so it has become a low risk hazard. You also need to tell the staff involved – this will help your case in the matter of a claim. Make sure all staff are trained as necessary, and keep records of the training. Checking accident records may identify more hazards you may not have been aware of.

Lastly, it is a good idea to involve staff at all levels – they are the ones on the everyday ‘shop floor’, and will see your practices and premises from a different angle.

Most buildings contain fixed sanitary ware but some commercial property insurance does not include these in the cover. In the case of an accident or damage, the cost of fixing a cracked bath, for example, can be expensive.

If you are the owner of a shop, it is possible that at some time you will have to replace the front glass window because of vandalism or accidental damage – the cost of glass is sometimes not as much as the cost of emergency glazing! The police will call someone out to board up the place if necessary, and the glazing company will charge more at night, on bank holidays etc – all times when the place is empty. Do not underestimate the cover limit you need! You do not want to over insure, but you do need to have enough cover – some good policies have an unlimited amount for glass cover. Installing shutters may protect your glass overnight and lower your premiums.

Depending on how many rooms your hotel has, what size or how many windows on your shop front, just think about how much it would cost to replace the windows, sinks and toilets in your building, adding on enough to give a little leeway, then take time to talk to your insurance broker to find out if you have enough cover. It is pointless to discover too late that you are not properly insured – be prepared!

Standard covers include public liability, (damage to people and property), employer’s liability (for staff), stock cover, including food and alcohol, contents insurance, including guestroom furniture, electronic cover for tills and computers, glass and signage, loss of licence, money and goods in transit insurance, business interruption and legal protection, with other covers as necessary.

Other options are available – buildings insurance, computer breakdown, accidental damage, employee theft, terrorism, but there are often specific questions you need to know. Some common examples are:

• I use deep fat frying equipment -do I need specific insurance?
• Are there conditions for minimum security?
• I have play equipment for children and hot tubs- how can I ensure I am covered against claims?
• Do I need to be resident in the property?
• Can I take DSS tenants?

There are so many possible questions – go to someone who has experience in this field..

Even with stringent health and safety measures in place, you are dealing with members of the public and staff, who can be unpredictable. Insurance for your business can protect you against damage in the event of third party claims being made against you, and protect against damages to your property or equipment. A reputable broker can assess your needs to find you a package which best suits you and fits your budget, so you can be reassured to know you’re covered against the worst that can happen.

Regency Commercial Insurance Brokers can deal with risk assesments and insurance for hotels with out of the ordinary situations – with swimming pools, gyms, fitness centres and golf courses, or extras such as beauty rooms, function rooms, business facilities and conference centres. At the other end of the scale, they have a wealth of experience with individual bed and breakfasts, and they will allocate an account manager with experience in your sort of business.

As insurance brokers, Regency use a panel of specially selected companies to find you the best policy at the best price, and when it comes to the hospitality industry, they know that every business is unique, so they will make sure that your insurance policy is designed specifically for your business and you will only pay for the type of cover your individual business needs. They are members of the Financial Services Authority, so you know you are dealing with a professional and regulated insurance broker, who will find you the right insurance package for your hotel, guest house or bed and breakfast at the right price.

There is a much easier way to get your business insured – an independent broker. They will give you good business advice, whether you are an existing customer or not, backed by the fact that they have to achieve certain financial, compliance and training standards to be regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), and can be in trouble if they sell you the wrong product. They have a specialist knowledge of the field, and a wide understanding of the market.

They will not advocate that you cancel policies mid term, but will probably be able to suggest a better deal in one way or another than your existing policies when you come to review them in your particular trade or business. The policy they offer will not necessarily save you money on your premiums, but may contain more or different cover – remember, the broker wants you as a client so they will offer you the best they can. A broker will make the choices for you, and will know from experience that a certain policy is the best for office insurance or another suits the restaurant trade. It saves you both time and money , and you will also get their full support for the period of the policy.

So why not compare business insurance via a website? There are companies out there offering this service – you just put in a few facts about your company and you will end up with a price and some details about the cover. The problem is that every company is different – you need to match your company and the policy very carefully, and using a website just cannot do it. There are often hidden terms and conditions you could be unaware of until you try to claim on your policy – you will always be happier buying a policy from someone you can talk to if there is a problem, and it is comforting to have someone fighting for you in the event of a claim. It is more useful to spend ten minutes on the phone with a professional than filling in simple website questions!

A good insurance broker is worth their weight in gold – they have access to the latest products, are able to find the best deals in the market and will be able to recommend a bespoke solution for your specific needs and budget, but above all, they will treat you as an individual and will build on the relationship as your business develops.

Chris McLaughlin, Account Executive at Regency Brokers (incorporated into Marsh and Company Commercial Brokers), has been invited to become a member of the Bristol branch of Business Network International (BNI), a successful network organisation, who meet weekly to explore how locally they can cultivate a team of colleagues to whom they can cross-refer business.

David Wimblett, regional director for BNI, says:

Too many businesses overlook the power of word of mouth referrals – ninety eight percent of businesses rely on word of mouth for referrals, yet only three percent have a strategy for gaining new business in this way.

BNI sets up groups of business people with only one representative from each trade or profession in a group. These groups meet on a regular basis for only one purpose – to give a supportive and structured environment for men and women to develop their business through word of mouth recommendations and networking skills, and in this way to be thought of when new contacts, friends or colleagues are faced with the opportunity to give a business referral. The power of networking is that you never know who knows who, and business networking has proved that if you know and like someone, it makes it that much easier to refer business to them.

Chris McLaughlin says:

These meetings are not about getting people to buy your products or services, more about developing relationships with other professionals, and eventually seeing the widespread results. We each have a 60 second spot to tell the others about the business we are in, the kind of leads we are looking for, and anything at all that will help the other members generate business for them.

This ensures that each member understands all other members’ businesses in the group, so if opportunities arise to pass on a lead, it can be given to the right person, who will take it from there.

This is a fast growing type of social network with over 15,000 members in the UK, whose reason for existing is business activity. It can give sales opportunities and contacts, with the added advantage of recommendation and personal introduction in a mutally beneficial relationship.

The environment alone can cause problems – make sure all gas and electrical appliances are turned off whenever possible, and think about leaving the heating on at a low temperature if the pipes might freeze – this may prevent burst pipes and flood damage.

Even though the run up to Christmas may be your busiest time of the year, think about your premises before you close and take as many security precautions as you can. Give yourself peace of mind over the festive season by using some of these tips:

• Make a complete check of the premises on the final day, including closing all windows and doors.
• Set the alarms and make sure that the keyholders know who they are and when they will be expected to be available. Check they haven’t changed their phone numbers!
• Ensure staff know who to call in case of an incident – make sure the relevant staff have emergency call numbers.
• Liaise with your security company if you have one.
• Make sure all deliveries are cancelled – you may come back to ruined stock left outside.
• Lock away or remove vehicles and keys from the premises.
• Take away all cash from the business.
• Do you have outbuildings or stock stored outside the premises? Check it is as secure as possible.
• Take away any ladders, large bins etc that may be used as help to break in to the premises. Check and close fire escapes if possible.
• Remove rubbish from outside that may be used to start fires.

Before the festive period gets under way, it might be worth contacting your insurance company to check that your policy will cover you adequately in case of a disaster while your business is closed – a good company will be able to let you know and amend your policy if necessary.

All that’s left to do after that is -

relax and enjoy yourself!

Again and again in recent times Insurance Brokers are coming across clients trying to claim against thefts of lead from roofs, and often also copper, sometimes from inside empty properties. Not all insurance policies will respond to these types of losses, and it is often not just the theft of the metal that is the problem – a roof without lead flashing is no longer weatherproof, and therefore there will be damage to the interior of the building – it’s not just the cost of the metal being stolen, it’s the damage being caused to the properties.

Churches are the obvious targets but certainly not the only ones – theft of lead from a roof of a Woodford Green Secondary School has recently led to a ceiling partially collapsing and classrooms being waterlogged, and the rail network, historic buildings and hospitals and all been involved in criminal activity. Every year in the UK an estimated £1billion worth of material is stolen, and because it is often too difficult to establish whether metal sold to scrap yards is genuine, the police are finding it difficult to come up with the proof they need to prosecute. However, Avon and Somerset Constabulary have recently joined Operation Tornado, originally trialed successfully in the North East, where legitimate scrap dealers must get sellers to show ID and proof of address ahead of any potential sale. Questions are also due to be asked in the House of Commons with a view to changing the law.

With reference to insurance cover, it is important that if you have lead on your roof that you check that your policy does cover both the theft and possible damage. If you have been unfortunate enough to have been targeted, it is recommended if possible to replace the lead with an alternative – at St Augustine’s church in Birmingham, the vicar, Mr Tomlinson said

Risk management controls may also help bring down the cost of your premiums – CCTV, locked gates, security lighting, anti-climb paint, tarring the lead, regular patrols and checks, and restricting easy access to the roof (it is astonishing how many trees, water butts or ladders can give easy access) – all may help your costs.

So – if you might be a possible victim (and remember, £1billion worth of metal is stolen every year) -

CHECK YOUR PROPERTY
AND
CHECK YOUR ROOF COVER POLICY

Campsite owner Stephen South from Landre in Wales told the Daily Mail – “excluding the caravans, we could have £300,000 to £400,000 worth of damage … it’s just devastating.”

A major flood can close down a holiday park for a whole season, with its resultant loss of income. Caravan parks and chalet sites can be complex to insure. Whether it is a small park or a multiple chain each will need individual insurance cover, and a specialist to deal with it. Regency Brokers, part of Marsh and Company, work closely with some of the UK’s leading insurers to make sure everything you need is covered – there are so many areas that can be forgotten.

They can offer a basic all risks cover with add on extensions to cover extra areas as required – some parks will have a clubhouse, some a swimming pool, children’s play area, restaurant – the list goes on…

They can add on insurance cover for:

• Amenities and contents
• Loss of revenue
• Buidings cover and underground services
• Re-siting charges
• Cover for freezers / food
• Landscaping
• Too many to mention!

Exactly why you need a professional specialist experienced in this area, who will do all they can to help in the case of a claim, plus offer risk management ideas so you can get your business back up and running with complete peace of mind, even if regulations change.

Running a site is not an easy job, so to know that in the stressful case of a disaster that you are covered by the correct policy and can rely on Marsh and Company or Regency Brokers, with someone you know to listen to you is just one less thing to worry about.