Insurance Archives - Small Business Insider

The importance of trace and access cover

Posted on November 5, 2019 Written by Administrator

Property insurance provides essential protection against a host of risks – whether you are the owner of your own home, a buy to let landlord or an investor in commercial property.

Consider the loss and damage that might be caused, for example, by:

an escape of water which floods one or more floors of your insured property;

a fire – or the risk of fire – caused by electrical cables that are shorting; or

a potential explosion from faulty or leaking gas supply pipelines.

What your property insurance covers

You are probably resting confident that your home, buy to let or commercial property insurance makes provision for the loss or damage caused by an escape of water, fire, or explosion – and if these risks are covered in your policy, you are indeed entitled to suitable compensation from your insurer.

By no means all property insurance policies, however, offer cover for the potentially considerable expense of identifying, tracing, accessing and repairing the source of the problem responsible for the escape of water, or risk of fire or explosion.

Unless your insurance makes specific reference to trace and access cover, it has been found that your insurer bears no responsibility for providing cover for the expense of tracing, exposing and repairing the problem – costs which may prove considerable if floorboards need to be lifted, floors dug out, plasterwork removed, or holes knocked in walls.

If you don’t have trace and access cover, and you make a successful insurance claim, only the costs for repairing the damage caused by the problem will typically be covered (less any policy excess).

Where can you buy trace and access insurance?

Trace and access cover is not provided by any standalone insurance but may be incorporated into your overall property insurance policy.

It may be included as standard, but only certain property insurance specialists and providers offer trace and access cover as a standard feature of any property insurance they arrange.

The cover ensures that you are not only protected against the loss and damage caused by incidents involving the escape of water, fire or explosion, but also the expense of identifying, tracing, accessing and repairing the root of the problem, fault or failure.

Some property insurance policies may also provide trace and access cover for sourcing problems with underground services, such as pipework for gas, water and sewerage – pipework which you are responsible for.

Just as with other headings of your property insurance, if you make a claim under the provisions of your trace and access cover, you may expect to pay an excess – and the amount of that access is likely to vary from one heading of cover to another.

Next steps

It is not always immediately apparent whether your property insurance includes trace and access cover – some policies do, but many do not.

To ensure that you are not left footing the bill and personally responsible for the cost of identifying, tracing, accessing and fixing problems responsible for loss and damage such as that caused by an escape of water or gas, for example, it is worth carefully checking your property insurance policy for the definition of trace and access insurance and specific reference to its inclusion.

If you remain in any doubt as to whether trace and access cover is incorporated into your policy, you might want to consult a specialist property insurance provider who arranges this aspect of cover as standard.

Insurance for freelancers FAQs

Posted on October 21, 2019 Written by Administrator

Freelancing is probably one of the fastest-growing sectors of the UK economy says the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE).

As the ranks of these freelancers are swelling, their need for appropriate insurance is thrown into the spotlight so, here are some of the most frequently asked questions about insurance for freelancers.

I’m a freelancer, why do I need insurance?

What is likely to have drawn you to your role as a freelancer is the freedom, independence, and potential rewards of the job. But these may also be the biggest drawback – if something goes wrong, your freedom and independence mean that you alone are left carrying the can.

Freelancer insurance is designed to help compensate you for the losses incurred as a result – and, so, protect the income you have worked so hard to achieve.

What can go wrong – what are my risks as a freelancer?

There are three principal risks you face as a freelancer – and the financial losses they may entail have to be met from your own pocket in the absence of the appropriate form of insurance:

professional indemnity;

public liability;

theft, loss or damage of the equipment you use as a freelancer.

What is professional indemnity insurance?

When you offer your services as a freelancer, your clients are entitled to a level of knowledge and competence on your part that is commensurate with your background, qualifications and experience.

If the service you deliver falls short of those reasonable expectations, if you make an error of judgment or a simple mistake, your client may sue you for professional negligence and claim compensation for any losses he or she has suffered as a result.

Depending on the losses sustained by your client, those claims may run into thousands of pounds – seriously undermining the financial viability of your freelancing business. Professional indemnity insurance covers any such claim and the legal costs associated with it.

RPC Legal has estimated that as many as 500 different types of freelancers, professionals, and the self-employed currently buy professional indemnity insurance.

Do I also need public liability insurance?

As a freelancer, you need to worry not only about liability for work you are doing for your clients, but even members of the public.

If the actions you take – or fail to take – during you work as a freelancer results in a member of the public suffering an injury or having their property damaged, you may be sued for compensation.

Once again, the value of those claims may be significant – especially if someone is injured – so, public liability indemnity insurance is necessary to cover the potential amount of the claim and the legal costs involved.

Can I insure against the theft, loss or damage of the equipment I need for my work?

The simple answer is that yes, indeed you can.

Freelancers depend for their business on reliable and immediate contact and communication with their clients and potential clients. If you are deprived of those communications for whatever reason, you stand to lose valuable contracts and commissions.

Equipment insurance for freelancers, therefore, covers against the theft, loss or damage of your mobile phone, the computer you may use (both to communicate and on which you do your work), a tablet, printers, tools, and all manner of items used in your work.

Looking for insurance for freelancers? – Have a look at Dinghy

Types of commercial property insurance

Posted on March 25, 2019 Written by Administrator

Even against the background of uncertainties about Brexit, leading estate agents Knight Frank are enthusiastic about investing in commercial property in the UK, forecasting returns of some 7% in a market with an expected turnover of a total of £55 billion.

Since any investment also needs to be accompanied by the protection of commercial property insurance, it may be helpful to look at the various types of cover that might be involved:

Use classes

commercial property insurance – just as other property insurance – recognises the different uses to which the premises may be put;

you may be investing in the property for use by your own business or in order to lease it to tenants – the insurance recognises the essential difference in the risks to that investment;

if you are going to be occupying the building, of course, its structure and fabric needs to be safeguarded against a wide range of risks – such as fire, explosions, flooding, escape of water, impacts, vandalism and theft – and so, too, do all the contents, plant, equipment and furnishings;

as the owner of the property, you may also face claims from visitors, neighbours and members of the public who hold you responsible for injuries or property damage they may have suffered – property owners’ liability insurance provides indemnity against such claims (of up to £1 million, £5 million or even more);

if you intend to lease out the property, then the critical relationship becomes that of landlord and tenant – and your commercial property insurance needs to reflect that relationship;

while you maintain the same concern to protect the structure and fabric of the building, in the case of commercial property you lease out, your liabilities to tenants may assume a more involved and critical priority;

the landlord liability indemnity insurance incorporated in your commercial property insurance needs to resolve the potentially complicated boundaries of responsibility for ensuring that tenants, visitors, neighbours and members of the public are reasonably protected against the risk of injury or property damage;

whether you own the commercial property for use by your own business or it is leased to others, your commercial property insurance may also offer alternative accommodation or compensation for loss of rental income if it becomes temporarily unusable following a major insured incident;

Mixed-use commercial and residential property

some commercial properties are for both mixed commercial and residential use;

the most common example, of course, is the parade of shops with residential flats above;

in these instances, your commercial property insurance needs to recognise the respective uses of different parts of the property and the separate nature of the risks that go with each;

the cover also needs to distinguish between those parts of the property which are occupied by you as the owner and those for which you act as landlord, leasing either the commercial or residential parts – or both – to leaseholders or tenants;

Unoccupied property insurance

finally, remember that your commercial property insurance may be severely curtailed or even lapse altogether if the premises become empty and vacant for longer than a month or so;

to meet the unique and heightened risks associated with an empty commercial or mixed-use building, you need to consider the safeguards provided by unoccupied property insurance.

Commercial property in the UK is a buoyant and rewarding market but, just as there are many different types of property, so you may want to consult a specialist provider of commercial property insurance to ensure that you secure the appropriate type of cover – at a competitive price.

Saving money on your landlord insurance

Posted on October 13, 2018 Written by Administrator

An ever-growing complex of legislation, rules and regulations – not to mention the expense of keeping abreast of the demands these impose – makes life for the buy to let landlord increasingly difficult.

The confusion and the cost of complying with those demands is especially taxing for those 71% who might be described as “accidental” landlords, says a recent news story.

Whilst landlord insurance may not be a legal requirement – though may be obligatory as part of your buy to let mortgage contract – it is an essential safeguard in an increasingly tough environment. That makes saving money on your landlord insurance a priority.

Here are some tips and suggestions about doing just that:

Shop around

just as you would before making any important purchase, make a point of carefully shopping around;
you need to make sure that the landlord insurance you buy is tailored to your specific needs and circumstances, covers all that you require, but leaves out anything you might not, and is, of course competitively priced;

Consult the experts

since that shopping around is likely to prove more difficult than you first imagine – there are so many competing providers and packages, after all – you might want to draw on the expertise and experience of a specialist broker of landlord insurance;
a specialist broker may be well-placed not only to advise on the cover likely to satisfy your needs, but also to offer among the most competitive quotes – so, helping you save money;

Consider your market

the landlord insurance you need is likely to be influenced by your target market as far as tenancies are concerned;
some insurers, for example, do not cover the risks involved when your tenants are drawn from groups such as students, the unemployed, welfare claimants or asylum seekers;
if these are included in your potential target market, therefore, consider choosing landlord insurance providers who offer cover for any tenant group;

Avoid voids

tenants come and tenants go – during that interval between tenancies you are earning no rental income, of course, and so-called “voids” therefore need to be avoided;
prolonged voids may also have an impact on your landlord insurance, since most policies stipulate that cover becomes severely restricted, or may even lapse altogether, if your let property remains vacant for longer than a month or so;
in that event, you are likely to need further cover, in the shape of unoccupied property insurance – which, of course, involves further expense;

Excesses

like practically every other type of general insurance, your landlord insurance is likely to incorporate an excess on any claim you may need to make;
by sharing the risks with your insurer and agreeing to a higher amount of excess, you are likely to reduce the cost of your premiums – but remember that this calls for a greater personal contribution to the settlement of any claim you subsequently make;

Avoid making many small claims

since you’ve paid your landlord insurance premiums, you might be tempted to put in any small claim when something gets damaged or lost;
try to avoid doing so, since a succession of small claims is almost certain to undermine your no claims discount – making next year’s premiums that much more expensive and, potentially, reducing your chances of securing the cover you need in the future.

Landlord insurance remains an essential safeguard for any buy to let landlord – accidental or otherwise – but fortunately there remains a number of ways in which you might save money on the cost of it.

How insurers need to adapt to changing consumer attitudes and the sharing economy

Posted on July 9, 2018 Written by Administrator

With car ownership numbers falling and peer-to-peer lending becoming increasingly popular, there is little doubt that the sharing economy is only set to grow. With cars in London idle for an average of 23 hours a day, the solution is to ‘unlock’ the wealth of cars that are parked for almost the entirety of the day. Rather than increasing ownership of cars, we want to increase access. A shift in positive attitude to sharing assets and a next generation that values access over ownership means that in order to stay ahead of the curve insurance companies need to adapt to the change in consumer attitudes and how we view car ownership.

PwC has estimated the sharing economy is set to be worth £140 billion by 2025 and the rise of ‘Generation Go’ means there is a greater demand for flexibility, not only in accommodation with renting, but now also transportation.

As the only true keyless peer-to-peer car company in the UK, hiyacar enables people to earn money through renting out their cars. It is crucial that we offer a solution to protect owners’ cars in the event of a traffic accident. That is why we secured a unique, comprehensive, insurance policy with AXA that supersedes personal policies and protects our owners. In the rare event of any damage this policy will cover 100% of the costs and will not affect their current personal insurance policy.

Taking this one step further, we also recently introduced a new product called ‘Mates Rates’ which allows people to hire cars from their family and friends at a discounted rate, without jeopardising the car owner’s own insurance, which is a risk when adding friends or family to an existing insurance policy.

For drivers hiring a car, the insurance premium is calculated per individual based on age, driving history and the car chosen and is added to the hire fee which the owner can discount by up to 80% by issuing a voucher (with the remaining 20% being retained by Hiyacar as an arrangement fee. This policy delivers the most affordable prices for short term insurance on the market, with prices starting at £13 a day.

Not only does hiyacar deliver best value for money for sharing between family and friends, its keyless technology, Quickstart, ensures the sharing of a car does not take up unnecessary time for either party. Quickstart enables a hirer to unlock the car through the mobile app and therefore there is no need to meet the owner.

New technology means change in way we think about car ownership, both for consumers but also for the insurance industry. Hiyacar’s close partnership with AXA reflects that forward thinking insurers can keep up with the pace of innovation. Hiyacar and AXA can now not only enable easy sharing between communities, but also best value sharoing between friends!

How It Works:

Sign up to hiyacar and list your car in just a few clicks using the website or app
Once your car is live, create your Mates Rates discount codes as you would like them. Go to ‘My cars’ – ‘Promote’ tab
Send the code to whoever you wish, share it via email or on your social network

About the Author

Graeme Risby – CEO and Co-Founder of hiyacar

How to save money on your landlords’ insurance

Posted on July 2, 2018 Written by Administrator

Successful landlords need to master many different business management skills.

One of those is cost-containment and that in turn means some focus should be put onto the cost of landlords’ insurance.

Keep price in context

It’s going to be important to try and keep some control over the cost of your various forms of insurance cover. However, before discussing how to save money on landlord insurance, it’s important to say a word or two about balance.

It’s something of a cliché but even so, do remember that any insurance policy exists to provide you with financial protection.

If you need to call upon that for assistance in the event of a claim, you won’t care how much the policy originally cost you. What you will care about is the cover it provides!

So, don’t go shopping for landlords’ insurance based on the lowest cost. Look closely at the cover offered as well and compare the cover on a like for like basis.

Take a higher voluntary excess (if possible)

Some policies might permit you to opt for a higher voluntary excess – that’s the amount you agree to pay towards the cost of any future claims.

If they do so, the savings on your premium might be significant.

Combine your policies (if possible)

Insurance providers like to offer incentives to take more of your business. That’s normal commercial life.

What that means though is that if you’re able to offer them not only your buildings cover but also things such as your contents and perhaps other forms of your insurance, you may benefit from more attractive pricing.

Another option here relates to landlords with multiple properties. Putting them together in a package through one insurer might yield real cost savings.

Construct specific packages of cover

There’s little point in paying for insurance you don’t need.

So, if a landlords’ insurance policy automatically includes cover for contents whereas you’re letting unfurnished, you may wish to remove that element of protection from your policy. That assumes, of course, it’s something the provider can accommodate and that you’ll see a price reduction as a result.

In passing – be a little cautious on this one. Check that the buildings-only component includes cover what you think of as “fittings” but the insurer might define as “contents”.

Think about high-risk tenant categories

Some policies might cover all tenants but others might exclude, from standard cover, what the insurer regards as “high risk” tenants. That might include students, asylum seekers and housing benefit recipients etc.

If you’ve selected a policy that differentiates between tenant categories, you may wish to look for one offering “any tenant” cover if you wish to avoid extra charges or gaps in your cover.

Don’t make small claims

The biggest single cost-saving element when trying to save money on landlord insurance is likely to be your no claims discount/bonus.

It might make little sense putting that at risk by making relatively small claims. Do your sums carefully first to see just how much that claim is likely to cost you if it results in your discount being lost.

Use specialists

You may find that specialist providers of landlord cover are able to source more appropriate and therefore typically more cost-effective solutions, than what might be termed “generalist insurers”.

It’s worth making the effort to check!

Save money on your let property insurance

Posted on May 29, 2018 Written by Administrator

Looking for ways to save money on insurance is, for most people, a perfectly natural instinct.

True, it can be a little dangerous to become fixated on the price associated with a policy to the detriment of thinking about what cover you are getting for the money. Nevertheless, trying to keep costs down will always be a major objective for most policyholders.

Here are a few ideas as to how you may be able to do so in the context of let property insurance.

Look for the broadest available cover

At times, an insurance policy may seem to be available at a stunningly attractive price but upon inspection, it may become apparent that it contains numerous exclusions or other gaps in the cover it provides.

What can then happen is that as you add elements that are tagged as “optional”, typically at cost, the price starts to climb. At that stage, it may be the case that the policy is now costing more than another one which had those elements included as standard, at the outset!

Just one example here might be subsidence cover. Not all policies include this as standard and adding it in as an optional extra can change the overall price significantly.

Exploit the discount options where they exist

Some policies are relatively rich in discount offers. Others may be less so.

If you’re in a position where you can take advantage of those offers, you may save substantial amounts of money on your let property insurance.

Examples might include:

fitting alarms and other enhanced security devices to your property;
agreeing to take a higher voluntary excess on the policy (that is essentially the amount you will agree to pay towards the cost of any successful future claims);
consolidating several properties under one property portfolio insurance deal with the insurer – where you, as a landlord, have more than one property.

There may be many other examples that are worth looking for.

Conduct annual let property insurance reviews

There is a balance to be struck between having an established and good working relationship with your insurance provider and becoming stuck in a rut through auto-renewal.

New policy offerings arrive on the marketplace regularly and it might be in your interest to review the market each year, rather than simply drifting into automatic renewals. If you don’t have the time or expertise to do that for yourself, there will be experienced landlord insurance brokers who will be able to do it for you.

Think carefully before more making small claims

Typically the largest single cost saving open to you is when you have built up a substantial history of no claims and then are able to find insurance providers who will value that accordingly through attractive discounts.

Sometimes, putting that no-claims situation at risk by making claims for relatively small sums of money might not make economic sense.

Align your tenant letting categories to the policy

Although this is an occasionally controversial area, at the time of writing some insurance providers are excluding certain categories of tenant from their standard let property insurance cover. That might typically include groups such as students, housing benefit recipients or asylum seekers.

Such policies may offer to include them but only upon payment of additional premium thereby pushing the costs up (other policies may decline to cover such categories at all).

There are policies that provide “any tenant” cover as standard but if you are considering a policy that does not, then you will need to ensure that you do not let to excluded categories of tenants if you wish to keep your insurance costs down.

Landlord Insurance FAQs

Posted on May 14, 2018 Written by Administrator

Being a busy landlord, you’ll want to ensure you have the most cost-effective and appropriate cover for you. Here are some landlord insurance FAQs to get you started.

Do I have to have insurance to be a landlord?

There is no legal obligation to arrange landlord insurance before you let a property to tenants.

Given the size of the investment you are likely to have made in the purchase of the property and the liabilities faced by your buy to let business, however, you might consider landlord insurance to prove a more than prudent safeguard.

The need for landlord insurance becomes especially important in two further situations:

if you arranged a buy to let mortgage to buy the property, the lender is almost certain to have made it a condition that you maintain adequate building insurance at all times – sufficient to protect the outstanding mortgage loan you owe; and
if you employ anyone else in the running of your buy to let business, the law says that you must have at least £5 million employers’ liability insurance – cover which may be arranged entirely separately but may also be incorporated within your landlord insurance provisions.

How is the building covered?

Landlord insurance typically provides cover against threats of loss or damage to the building itself from such events as an escape of water, flooding, fire, impacts, storm damage, vandalism and theft.

The total building sum insured needs to be sufficient for clearing the site and rebuilding the entire property in the aftermath of a major disaster resulting in its total loss.

Can I cover the contents I own?

Landlords typically own at least some of the contents of any let property – if only the furnishings in common areas such as hallways and staircases.

Landlords contents insurance may be incorporated into your landlord insurance policy in the amount you consider sufficient to replace lost or damaged items you own – your tenants are responsible for insuring their own possessions.

What if I lose rent when the property cannot be let?

If your let property is so severly damaged following a major insured event that it becomes temporarily uninhabitable, your landlord insurance may provide compensation for loss of rental income.

There is likely to be a time limit during which compensation is paid, and the amount is typically limited to a prescribed maximum – often calculated with reference to the total building sum insured.

Can I get indemnity for my liabilities as a landlord?

A landlord’s responsibilities, obligations and liabilities are many and varied.

Ensuring the health and safety of your tenants is, in many instances, prescribed by specific legislation, but you also have a general duty of care to prevent tenants, their visitors, your neighbours or members of the public from suffering injuries or having their property damaged through any negligence in your role as a landlord.

If any such accident occurs and you are held liable, you may be ordered to pay substantial compensation – especially if any injuries are involved.

For that reason, landlord insurance typically incorporates landlord liability indemnity of at least £1 million – and often, depending on the size and type of let property concerned, considerably more than this (up to £5m with some landlord insurance specialists).

Landlord insurance, therefore, may be the way for protecting the financial security and very future of your buy to let business.