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Frustrated Customer

WWW the widest choice in the world, or is it?

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When people start a business, they simply don’t know what is required and if it’s a very simple start-up, they often just go straight to the internet and start filling in online requests!

WHY?

Because they believe its where they will get the widest choice and the most competitive premium.

The problem with this is they assume that what they ask for is what they are going to get and that is not always the case!

Going online for complex financial services is simply like walking into a supermarket.

What you see on the shelves is what is available. There might be much better options on quality and price, but you will never see them.

In some cases, there is only one product and because it’s the only one they have, that is what will be put in front of you. Suitable or not!

  • No advice
  • No guidance
  • No knowledge to make an informed decision
  • No professional selection

A professional broker will give you all of these and make sure the solution is tailored to your needs, #becauseaccidentshappen to nice people all the time.

What’s more because of the wide selection of insurer’s we can approach, our price is very often better than the internet.

Professional advice and guidance at no extra cost, why would you do anything else?

Just get in touch and let us guide you through the minefield 029 20 470 375

Have a great day 😊

Nigel A Adams

Its serious, when it goes legal!

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If a writ arrives on your doorstep, you can’t just bury your head in the sand.

When you own property, the major concerns are dealt with by the cover for physical damage, loss of rental income and liability for injury or damage. We’ve ticked those boxes, so what next?

There are of course other events which can cause concern as a landlord.  They can result in substantial cost, because taking legal action or defending it, is never cheap. It could run into tens of thousands of pounds.

These also need consideration and insurance cover.

A landlords legal expenses policy can cover the cost associated with most of them, whilst also removing the anxiety about unknown events, #becauseaccidentshappen to nice people all the time.

Here are a few of them:

  • Breach of tenancy agreements
  • Pursuit of rent arrears
  • Eviction of tenants
  • Legal defences
  • Rent guarantees
  • Boundary issues
  • Legal advice

You can call the helpline 24 hours a day and discuss any matter that might be affecting you or your tenants. You will have peace of mind that a specialist team of lawyers will deal with these matters Immediately on your behalf.

You are never on your own.

 

Nigel

Is it covered?

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I once remember getting a call from a landlord who wanted to know if he was covered!

He was asking if he could claim for a new boiler because his wasn’t working any more. I asked why it wasn’t working and it transpired that it was simply old and had worn out.

I then had to explain that all insurance policies were designed to respond to defined “perils” such as Fire, Lightning, Explosion, Storm, Theft, Malicious Damage and that these events had to happen on an identifiable date.

What they are not designed to do is replace routine maintenance, or simply pay for things which have reached the end of their natural life.

Its why all policies covering damage to property always have a condition excluding damage resulting from any gradual cause, including deterioration, wear and tear.

This includes mildew, fungus, climatic or atmospheric conditions, frost, wet or dry rot.

An exclusion also exists for vermin, insects, chewing, scratching or tearing, or fouling by pets.

There are other exclusions routinely applied and in the contents section of your policy, look for “Exclusions that apply to the whole of your policy” or a similar wording.

Most of these are common sense applied to things which ae never meant to be covered, or in some circumstances where compensation would come under law, or from the government, such as sonic booms, war, or nuclear explosions.

If you’d like to know more about the detail of your policy wording, and what is and is not covered, in any particular circumstance, I’d relish the challenge!

I don’t think there is a question I can’t answer, so have a go!

Solicitors

It’s that time of year again!

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Solicitors and their friends and associates.

When the majority of Solicitors get all hot and sweaty about their PI (Professional Indemnity) renewals on the 1st October.

I hear this a lot from contacts and associates in the city of London, where premiums for the legal sector are the highest. The one thing they always rant about (apparently) is the cost of their PI Insurance.

I get this I really do.

Premiums in the legal sector have in some cases gone up by over 400% in the last 5 years.

What is also true is solicitors NEVER do what they need to do to get those premiums down!

Because of revulsion or apathy, they engage late with the existing provider, fill in a proposal form, then wait almost until the last minute, when they are told GUESS WHAT?

The premiums gone up again.

But there is an effective way to reduce premiums.

Engage early (and that means NOW) with a whole of market broker, who works on fixed fees, and has no other focus than to get you the cheapest premium available in the market.

It also means we get commitment to quote from a range of providers, before the existing insurer/broker can close them off with fake requests for quotes. It does happen!

So, if you want lower premiums just message me here to start the process, because:

If you always do what you always did, you are always going to get, what you always got!

And that means ever increasing premiums!

Act quickly

Act Now!

And let’s look forward to lower premium – Year on Year!

Have a great week 😎

 

Solicitors

Solicitors and Legal Firms beware!

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Its that time of year again!

 

Professional Indemnity for Solicitors is always a hot topic at this time of year.

 

Traditionally all firms renewed on the Law Society scheme on 1st October, but since that scheme was broken up, at least 60% still renew on that date, with another chunk who chose 18 month policies, renewing on the 1st April and a smattering of new start-ups at other times.

 

This is a nightmare for firms and for the insurers.

 

Firms looking for alternative options to the existing provider are asking the limited number of underwriters not only to deal with their existing customers, but also prepare terms for the ones they don’t hold, all in the run up to 1st of October. In total there are over 600 firms.

 

The secret is to start early and I mean NOW!

 

That way we can approach insurers when they aren’t quite so busy with renewals. We can get a commitment to quote, which means if an existing broker then approaches them to “block off” that market, with a fake request for terms they can’t, because we already have commitment.

 

Also don’t fall for the option to “ONLY” consider a short declaration to get renewal terms. These short declarations do not hold enough information for alternate terms to be obtained. You’re just going to get the terms they want to give you, secure in the knowledge you’re not looking elsewhere.

 

It also means they don’t have to give claims experience to anyone else, because you signed a declaration to them. This is particularly prevalent at times when premiums are likely to reduce, like NOW!

 

If you want to get lower premiums work with a broker who works for fixed fees, or a % of the reduction achieved, and is not commission focused, with an interest in seeing your premium rise and their earnings with it.

 

Want to know how we can save up to 20% on your total spend?

 

Just message me here and don’t wait, there isn’t much time and the weeks are passing quickly.

 

Have a great week

 

Testing Testing

Corporate Continuity – Part 6

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Now to make sure it all works, and we have enhanced operational resilience across the organisation.

The final stage in any good continuity plan is VALIDATION. We need to know that the programme will remain effective, because things change in any organisation and continued validation will ensure overall resilience is maintained.

Validation is achieved by Exercising, Maintenance and Review.

First we must develop an exercise process to meet the needs of the organisation. Exercises can come in a number of forms.

  1. Discussion based
  2. Scenario exercises
  3. Simulations
  4. Live situational
  5. Tests

Each type has its own characteristics and will fit a particular need but should always involve as much realism as possible. They should manage the risk of disruption to the business, and maximise costs and benefits.

Thorough planning and support is required. There should be a clear method to STOP the exercise if necessary and thorough debriefing is always required, followed by a detailed report.

These plans must be maintained over time, and reviewed regularly. Self-assessment, quality assurance, performance appraisals and supplier performance should be measured, and this should always be followed by a thorough management review, to #preserveprofitability

Now relax and enjoy the weekend

Meeting

Corporate Continuity – Part 2

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Embedding Continuity

How long will that take?

I really need to get this done quickly.

Once I have buy in from the top management in an organisation, I need to “embed” business continuity within it. To do this you almost need to talk to every member of staff, and at the very least all the middle management and operational managers.

They need to know that this is a core discipline within the business. Part of this process is reassuring them, that they will get adequate resource and support from their chain of command.

It is the operational and middle management that will have to implement the plans and activate response structures when things go wrong, whilst top management deal with communications, the press and reputational issues.

There are lots of ways to do this – seminars, training sessions, awareness campaigns, right down to toolbox talks on the shop floor.

So, to answer the first question, how long will it take?

This depends on the nature of the organisation, the number of staff and locations over which they operate, and it can be anything from 6 months, to 3 years.

Business Continuity is ongoing process which will lead to enhanced operational resilience at all levels and embedding that is absolutely critical.

Have a great day and watch out for part 3

Planning

BCP – Do you know what it means?

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In business we think about growth and development plans all the time. How are we going to get from where we are now, to where we want to be in 5, 10,15 or 20 years time. How do we structure our business to achieve those aims and goals?

We know there are many things that could happen to frustrate those goals, and we pick off the easy ones buying business insurances once a year and then forgetting about them, but what about those things you can’t insure?

Whilst some of them might cross our mind occasionally, businesses founders seldom set time aside to consider the implications and even more rarely plan for events and incidents that could seriously interrupt the activity that generates income.

Here are a few you may not have thought about:

  1. Failure of a key supplier or customer
  2. New competitor buying into the market
  3. Legal and regulatory changes
  4. Import export restrictions
  5. Failure of critical IT systems or production machinery
  6. Long lead times on acquiring critical equipment
  7. Sudden increased material costs and stock shortages
  8. Cyber-attacks and financial crimes
  9. Micro-biological contamination
  10. Internal teams leaving to set up business

All these things can and do happen from time to time. I know, as a business continuity advisor I look at them all the time and make sure businesses can #justkeepgoing when unforeseen events really do occur.

With a little planning and foresight, you can develop plans and response structures that can kick in the minute an incident occurs, so that you can continue your income generating activity with little or no disruption and that can be the difference between success or failure.

Resilience = Consideration + Planning + Implementation + Ongoing Validation

If you’d like to know more, have a look at our website www.severnbay.com or call on 029 20 470375.