We have every sympathy for residents and business owners who have suffered damage to their properties in the recent troubles.

The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) is advising those people unfortunate enough to be affected by the recent riots around the UK to speak to their insurance broker as soon as possible so they can assist with their loss.

Most home insurance should cover people for fire, looting or damage and many policies will also cover people for alternative accommodation costs if they cannot stay in their home. Commercial insurance policies will normally cover businesses for damage to their premises, including the financial loss due to interruption to their business as a result.  

If you suffer any damage as a result of riot, civil commotion or malicious persons you must ensure that you:

1)       Notify the Police immediately and

2)       Provide written details of the claim to your Insurers within 7 days of the event.

The majority of insurance providers operate a 24 hour claims line and can help people arrange for emergency repairs and the damage to be inspected as quickly as possible.

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact your Darwin Clayton representative for assistance.

The HSE has introduced new arrangements for online reporting of injuries and incidents.

Please click the following link for more details.               

http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2011/hse-icc.htm

The Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE) Regulations are due to be laid before Parliament shortly.  These regulations will make it an offence to be the registered keeper of a vehicle which may not be covered by insurance following a check against the Motor Insurance Database (MID) even if the vehicle is not driven on the road. A comparison will be made of the MID and DVLA records and registered keepers suspected to be without insurance will receive a letter and be given the following options:-

• contact their insurance provider to ensure registration on the MID is accurate
• update the DVLA record
• declare the vehicle SORN (Statutory Off Road Notice)
• purchase insurance 

Enforcement will follow if the keeper fails to comply with one of these options and will result in:-

• fixed penalty fine of £100
• their vehicle being clamped, seized and disposed of
• possible court prosecution with a maximum fine of £1,000.

Please be aware and ensure that all of your vehicles are dealt with by one of the methods detailed above.

It is normal business practice to insure the assets of a business against damage or loss.  Generally speaking this cover is adequately arranged but it is in the provision of protection of income that deficiencies are often found.

Business Interruption insurance is readily available.  A business may choose to insure its full revenue or alternatively opt for ‘Gross Profit’, i.e. turnover less costs that vary with turnover such as purchases, thus providing coverage for the business’s standing charges, payroll and Net Profit.

Increased Cost of Working cover only may be considered appropriate for certain businesses where turnover would not be lost in the event of a premises being affected (e.g. offices).  The cover is restricted to “reasonable additional expenditure incurred to minimise interruption to the business”.

Extensions to Gross Profit are usually available for such as the following:-

Contract Sites
Suppliers’ Premises
Customers’ Premises
Storage Premises
Denial of access to own premises
Failure of utilities

Coverage will apply from the date of the loss for a certain specified indemnity period.  The business must decide how long it will be affected.

A business should seriously consider implementing a Business Continuity Plan.  Nowadays this is considered best practice together with regular testing of the plan.

The plan should assist in deciding upon the type of cover required and the indemnity period selected.  We can assist here by providing templates for business continuity plans.

Our Account Executives are experienced in Business Interruption insurance and can assist you in ensuring you have the correct cost effective coverage for your business.