Positive feelings

It’s a new dawn and a new day and I’m feeling good!

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Bet you just sung that with a southern twang?

What gets you going on a Monday morning?

For me its knowing that I can make a real difference to people who care about getting the right advice at the right time. If they are prepared to engage with me and let me find out all about their business then I can understand what they do, assess the exposures and give them the correct advice.

Now we all hope we don’t ever need to use our insurances, but in truth that’s not the real world and with no-win no-fee legal cases on the rise, sooner or later someone disgruntled individual will probably have a go at you, justified or not.

If you have valuable assets, buildings, stock, equipment and machinery, then they must be protected correctly. If they get destroyed, damaged or stolen and your insurance isn’t correct, your claim could be void and you are left holding a very expensive piece of paper.

Getting the correct advice and guidance is essential, suitability is everything and the devil is always in the detail of the wording, which to be honest most policyholders never read.

We do, so you don’t have to.

Want some good advice, free at the point of discussion. Just call 029 20 470375 or message me here.

Have a great week 😊

BIBA 2023

BIBA 2023 Manchester Central

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As a proud member of The British Insurance Brokers Association for over 40 years, and now as a board member, I can say without any hesitation that the BIBA conference in May each year, bringing brokers and insurers together in one place for three days, is one of the best and most productive weeks of the year.

This year the theme is “Rising to the Challenge” The BIBA Conference 2023 | The British Insurance Brokers’ Association

If you have annual arrangements you wish to arrange or renew, doing it at the BIBA conference each year is probably the most effective way. The range of providers present and more importantly decision makers, all in one place make for an excellent conference.

Add to that the line up of keynote speakers and sessions each year, bring everyone up to date with what’s new and emerging as well as all the legal and regulatory matters that will affect our businesses going forward over the next 3 – 5 years. If you are an insurance professional #biba2023 is the place to be.

It’s also nice to be in the middle of something which has been in planning for the last 12 months, leading directly from the manifesto which is published in January each year. In 2023 we are #managingrisk & #deliveryingstability.

Looking forward to meeting friends old and new and securing services that will directly benefit our clients going forward.

Have a great week, I know I will.

 

 

 

Building Fire

At your peril!

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Let’s Talk about Insurance basics 101 – Part 2

MATERIAL DAMAGE is the main concern of most clients in the first instance, that is damage or destruction of STUFF!

We could be talking about buildings, stock, equipment, machinery, fixtures and fittings, computers among other things, but what are the actual events for which they are covered?

These are called the PERILS!

They include:

  • Fire, Lightning, Explosion & Earthquake
  • Riot & Civil Commotion
  • Malicious damage
  • Aircraft and aerial devices
  • Impact by vehicles, animals
  • Storm or Flood
  • Theft or attempted Theft
  • Subsidence, Ground Heave or Landslip
  • Escape of water or oil from fixed appliances
  • Falling Trees
  • Accidental breakage of fixed glass
  • Breakage or collapse of television radios or aerials
  • Accidental damage to underground pipes and cables
  • Wider accidental damage
  • All Risks cover world wide

Even with the all-risks cover you must understand, that an event must occur. There has to be an identifiable event that causes the damage, destruction or loss. Gradual deterioration over time is never covered, neither is normal wear and tear or fouling by domesticated pets.

There are a few more general exclusions which include War, Nuclear Explosions, Sonic Bangs, Electronic malfunction risks and now communicable diseases. The first three, along with diseases, are all events that would be addressed by governments or existing laws as the costs and implications are too widespread for any insurer to afford.

There are of course other extensions to cover and other more specific exclusions, so always read your policy wording, understand what is or is not covered, #becauseaccidentshappen to nice people all the time.

Better still ask a professional for advice.

Have a great day.

Eyball

Will you see the unexpected?

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It’s the most important thing in business!

Well, that is what I believe, but belief is not universal.

In my world, planning for continuity is the most important aspect of any business, and I really do believe it should have a higher priority.

The reality is that apart from buying insurance most businesses pay little attention to continuity. It’s not their bag. They just want it out of the way, so they can get on with doing their thing and making money.

Clients seldom ask me detailed questions about their cover. I give them an outline explanation supported by full detailed documentation. I’m happy to go into detail and be #openhonesttransparent but they generally just don’t have the time. I truly wish they did.

Clients are unhappy when they are told they can’t claim for something, which has never been insurable and never could be, but they assumed it was. They seldom read the documents.

Good examples are matters of maintenance, like leaky roofs and worn-out boilers, as well as non-damage related business interruption claims, which have been much in the news lately.

Apart from loss of trading profit after an insured DAMAGE loss, there are  5 main extensions, they are:

  • Failure of Public Utilities
  • Physical damage at a suppliers premises
  • Physical damage at a customers premises
  • Murder death or suicide, on the premises
  • Denial of access due to surrounding property damage

If clients were willing to spend more time understanding their insurances, they would plan better for the things which aren’t insurable, and their businesses would be far more resilient in difficult times. The pandemic proved that beyond any reasonable doubt. Very few insurances had any cover, (for very good reasons) but many assumed they would be insured.

I can explain all this for clients, simply and efficiently, I just need to have a pleasant chat.

Tel: 029 20 470 375

EM: nigel@severnbay.com

Always by your side

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Always by your side.

I’m sure there’s a song in there somewhere, maybe Barbara Streisand, now I’m really showing my age. The oldies are the goodies anyway.

And some things never change, insurers still want to carry out physical surveys of premises, ask questions and generally have a poke around, to see exactly what the are covering and how “RISKY” it is.

Fire hazards are the main concerns when dealing with large scale commercial warehouses and the like and that’s before we start talking about many millions of pounds worth of stock and equipment, #becauseaccidentshappen to nice people all the time.

When we talk about fire hazard, we are generally talking about two things, sources of ignition and combustible materials, wood, cardboard packaging and the like. Keeping these two things apart is fire safety 101. Keep them apart and you are 50% of the way there.

After that we look at measure to reduce the problem if a fire occurs. These can include extinguishers, sprinkler systems and alarms, connected to key holders, monitoring stations, the fire services, police and other emergency responders.

Always there, well what I meant by that cryptic comment, is that we will never leave you alone to meet with insurers, surveyors, or professional risk managers. We will always be there to provide advice and guidance, turn up in advance and brief you about the likely course of those meetings and be there as they happen in real time.

Today I travelled 141 miles 2 ½ Hours) to be with an important client, whilst a fire survey took place. I cemented the relationship with the client and built a new one, with another industry professional and I’d have it no other way. It’s #openhonesttransparent Its what we do, day in and day out.

Have a great week.

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40 Years in the making!

Well, it had to change at least once.

All my professional life I’ve said one thing has never changed and that is the rates charged for standard construction buildings insurance and they were, per £1,000 rebuild sum insured:

£1.50 for Residential property

£2.00 for residential let property

£2.50 for purpose-built blocks of flats

£3.00 for shops with residential flats above

£3.00+ for high fire hazards, restaurants, takeaways, chip shops, furniture stores etc….

 

These rates have held firm for the last 40 years, but now that is all changing. Some rates ae going up by as much as 100% dependent on area and construction. So, what’s causing all this:

  • Worldwide property rates woefully low and claims costs are increasing year on year.
  • 5 Major storms since December 2019
  • Insurers Solvency Margins – having to reserve more capital, so claims pot is reduced
  • Cost of International Re-Insurance used to spread risk, rising rapidly
  • Lowest investment rates in history means nothing to offset claims costs
  • Personal Injury claims increasing with ever higher awards, so insurers reserves depleted
  • Covid 19 was the icing on the cake, already estimated at £5 Billion in UK alone

Since then, Brexit has increased labour and material costs, especially in the construction industry, with the cost of steel, concrete and timber the worst, so rebuild costs are also increasing at the same time. The war in Ukraine can only lead to further instability about the supply of raw materials.

So, what can you do about property insurances you hold:

  1. Make sure you get a new rebuild costing, if you’re underinsured any claim will be reduced by this percentage, the responsibility lies with you, not the insurer. Do it now don’t wait until renewal of your insurance.
  2. Don’t wait to the last minute to review your insurances and make sure you get your renewal quote early. In most cases there is no reason why you shouldn’t get it at least 2 weeks before.
  3. Approach alternate broker for terms and ask for formal quotes. This is the best way to get maximum market coverage as brokers may have 20 different insurers to compare.

If you’d like to know more please just get in touch for an #openhonesttransparent review

Call 029 20 470 375 or email info@severnbay.com #becauseaccidentshappen to nice people all the time.