This is an area of insurance where exposures differ so markedly from one business to another that it is difficult to sum it up in short paragraph. A professional will need to insure against an allegation of negligent advice. A tradesman will need to insure for physical damage to property owned by others. Health and Safety breaches will mean a claim under a Statutory Liability policy. This is all true, but the subtleties in the detail mean the difference between cover and no cover when claims are made.

 

Here are some examples of where policies did not meet the client’s needs. We will help you avoid these types of situations:

• A client’s professional indemnity policy had an exclusion for claims made by related entities or family members (including employee’s family members). These related entities weren’t disclosed to the insurer, so there was no protection against them.

• A public liability policy didn’t cover faulty workmanship or property being worked on, which meant there was no cover for repair costs when an item was damaged.

• A loss occurred as a result of hazardous substances that hadn’t been declared, or if they were declared the warranty that the insurer imposed on the policy was ignored, so the insurer declined the whole claim.

• A business description under the policy didn’t cover the activities the business was doing at the time, so the insurer declined the claim.

• A business owner signed a contract with a supplier or a larger entity to whom she contracted, and within the contract she agreed to accept liability for a loss, or agreed not to hold the other entity responsible. The insurer wasn’t told of this agreement, so they declined a claim. This contractual issue occurs frequently, because contracts are often signed to secure a deal, and are not reviewed regularly

 

There are a wide range of risks that you can be protected from. Some examples are:

• Employment disputes

• Employee theft

• A claim against a director that alleges negligent management or defamation

• cyber or crime losses.

 

We work with you to establish which risks you are comfortable with managing yourself, and which you would like insurance to protect you against.