Insurance Standards in the Solvency II Directive

Insurance standards that are to take effect once the Solvency II Directive is implemented in 1 January 2014 must be studied by policy holders, insurance companies, managers, business owners and everyone included in choosing an insurance policy. Insurance standards are also called implementing measures which are basically requirements that will apply to issuers.

The three main pillars of the Solvency II Directive are made to help the framework of the new directive easier to understand. Pillar 1 is the quantitative requirements that an insurer has to abide to; Pillar 1 is all about the technical provisions of the new directive along with the Solvency Capital Requirement with the use of a standard formula developed by the regulators of the Solvency II Directive or a formula from an internal model developed by the insurance or reinsurance company.

The value of the technical provisions for the Solvency II Directive is calculated this way; these are excerpts of the specific prohibitions included in the directive:

The value shall be equal to the sum of a best estimate and a risk margin. The best estimate shall be in accordance to a probability-weighted average of future cash-flows with the time value of money taken into consideration with the use of a relevant risk-free interest rate term structure.

As well as these methods of determining the value of the technical provisions of the new directive "the best estimate shall also be calculated gross without the deduction of the amounts recoverable from reinsurance contracts and special purpose vehicles. Those amounts shall be calculated separately."

Insurance and reinsurance undertakings shall value the best estimate and the risk margin separately. Where insurance and reinsurance undertakings value the best estimate and the risk margin separately, the risk margin shall be calculated by determining the cost of providing an amount of eligible own funds equal to the Solvency Capital Requirement necessary to support the insurance and reinsurance obligations over the lifetime thereof.

The International Actuarial Association has a deep role in developing insurance standards, technical provisions and risk margins. The International Association of Insurance Supervisors has requested help from the IAAA to develop a better formula to assess risk based capital and risk margins for loss reserves. The collaboration of the IAIS with the IAA has led to the development of properties of risk margins which are namely the following:

The less that is known about the current estimate and its trend; the higher the risk margins should be. Risk with low frequency and high severity will have higher risk margins than risks with high frequency and low severity. For similar risks, contracts that persist over a longer timeframe will have higher risk margins than those of shorter duration. Risks with the wide probability distribution will have higher risks margins than those risks with a narrower distribution. To the extent that emerging experience reduces uncertainty, risk margins will decrease and vice versa.

Pillar 2 on the other hand is all about the qualitative requirements for the governance and risk management of insurers. It is also for the effective supervision of insurers. It includes a system of governance together with an ORSA (Own Risk & Solvency Assessment) and a supervisory review process. Insurance firms are asked to make an assessment of their own solvency needs. The ORSA will function as an internal risk assessment process and a supervisory tool for the industry. Assessment of your own risk promises to be the best practice to improve the entire insurance industry; insurance firms who are able to use the ORSA will gain competitive advantage over other companies in the future.

Finally, Pillar 3 focuses on disclosure and transparency requirements of insurers. These include annual publication of each company's solvency and financial condition report. These pieces of information must be disseminated to the firms' supervisors to be able to assess any changes on their system, to implement better governance, etc. Disclosure of solvency reports is made through regulatory publications covering the company's risk profile and the underlying technical provisions. Checks and balances are of course necessary to ensure all published data are accurate. Pillar 3 of the Solvency II Directive will further enforce a transparent relationship between policy holders and insurance companies improving the insurance market all the more.

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Is Going Direct Really Cheaper Than A Broker Or Price Comparison For Small Business Insurance?

The UK media is currently awash with advertising slogans from direct commercial insurance companies targeting small business owners in an attempt to make them switch their provider of business insurance.

'Get 12 months cover for the price of ten' and 'You won't find us on price comparison websites' are typical of the slogans emanating from these companies, in a language more akin to the selling of car insurance than the traditional professional and almost stoic approach to the selling of business insurance cover.

In the current recession, price has become the determining factor in winning the war of market share for all goods and services and insurance is no exception. Prudent small businessmen and women are looking to cut costs in all areas of their business and the large direct insurance companies are well aware of this.

The large insurers are also aware that the UK market has over five million small businesses of which a fifth are sole traders, self-employed and people working from home, many of whom are familiar with purchasing their personal insurance direct with the provider, either by phone or on the Internet.

There are three types of provider in the current market for business insurance in the UK.

Intermediaries such as insurance brokers and agents, price comparison sites and direct commercial and business insurers.

Each has their own advantage and disadvantages, however whether one distribution channel is cheaper than another is often a subjective view from a particular trade, or dependent upon factors many of which cannot be quantified in price.

Direct Insurance companies claim to be able to offer cheaper polices because the cut out the costs of the middleman. It is certainly true that direct insurers do not have to pay an intermediary for the cost of the lead or introduction, however it is questionable whether this cost saving is actually reflected in the prices offered to the public.

Certainly there are economies of scale to be made by centralising the life-cycle of a policy from sales point to claim and renewal, however all those functions that are performed by an intermediary still have to be carried out in-house by the direct company and these have a cost.

Many large composite insurers often have distinct direct divisions with their own target market and premium rates. The same company may also have a broker or intermediary division or channel.

It is quite often the case that a large broker with a large book of business of, for example, small builders liability, will receive much more preferential rates then the same companies direct channel, because that insurance company wishes to retain that brokers clients.

Commercial Insurance brokers then are often able to offer preferential rates because they have more flexible schemes and arrangements than the direct channel.

One of the main benefits of using an insurance broker or intermediary in purchasing commercial insurance for small business, cannot be quantified in price and is worth the commission or fee that they may charge. That is advice, market and product information and knowledge, access to various markets such as Lloyds and some human help if the worst happens to a business and a claim is needed.

A commercial or business insurance broker is often able to negotiate far better claims settlements than if an individual were to deal direct with the insurer. The main reason for this is once again the insurer wishes to retain that brokers share of the total risk pool and will often pay out to a broker on an ex-gratia basis. This cost of this service is not quantifiable at the quote stage where small business cover may well just be valued for the price paid or the covers bought.

The third major way in which small business owners can purchase cover is by visiting a price comparison website. All the major UK comparison sites have recently begun to offer online cover aimed particularly at the small business sector, with under 50 employees. This is in direct competition with the direct insurers for television and media advertising space, aimed in particular at self-employed tradesmen and women who require business liability insurance and perhaps commercial van cover.

The comparison price proposition is that they can compare the market or at least a small section of it, to find the cheapest business insurance. They often do not provide any assistance in the purchasing decision-making process and the reality often is, that the cheapest commercial and small business insurance can be found in one of the other distribution channels.

It is therefore important that a small businessman shops around and takes some time to compare offerings including premiums, covers and services from all three sales channels. Prices tend to vary immensely by trade across the direct, broker and comparison markets and often it is a case of finding the provider or supplier who is the industry leader for a particular business type or trade in order to make large savings.

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Commercial Insurance Combined Policies

Commercial Insurance is a wide genre with many business types, covers and risks.

A commercial insurance combined policy is modular with a basic set of cover options included. This allows various risks and cover options to be added to the policy as desired by an individual business in an incremental fashion or at a later date during the policy term, if business needs require.

The modularity of the underwriting and premium calculation allows proposers to tailor the covers to fit their individual trade or business insurance requirements whilst retaining the widest range of policy options to cover all enterprises requirements, under the same policy wording.

Most commercial and business insurance is packaged in some way, with a basic blanket level of cover and indemnities to which further options can be added. However it is possible to buy standalone commercial insurance cover for public liability and professional indemnity insurance and also for most types of commercial property insurance, for example where just buildings cover is needed.

At the sales and marketing level, commercial insurance combined packages are differentiated and sold by the various trade and business types.

This is because different business types require differing liability and cover limits, depending upon the particular risks in that business sector. For example a shop insurance package may place high value on including window and glass cover in its package, however this wouldn't be much use to a painter and decorator who is just looking for tradesman's public liability and tools cover. Similarly the shop owner would not find much use for a contractors all risk option but requires goods in transit cover for his deliveries.

Good commercial combined packages allow flexibility in their underwriting to cater for all variations of trade risks and online services allow you to freely add and remove options to build up a combination of covers that suits your business risks and pocket.

A combined policy will always contain a liability section as standard. This provides options to add employers and product liability to the basic public liability cover.

If the business owns or rents commercial property then buildings and contents cover can be added if required. Certain combined policies, such as for office insurance will offer office contents as a separate option. Similarly a shop insurance package will offer cover for stock held in the premises.

Commercial packages aimed at various trades usually also offer a plethora of add-on options for an additional premium.

Some of the more popular of these covers include business interruption insurance or loss of profits insurance which covers a businesses losses whilst being unable to trade due to a claim. Professional indemnity insurance which covers negligent advice is available under combined liability policies. Fidelity guarantee insurance protects a business against fraud or theft of money by an employee. Group personal accident cover and income protection is often available on combined policies which cover staff against accident and sickness.

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Is Your Venture Protected From Social Media Liability?

As the popularity of social websites like Facebook and Twitter continue to grow, the challenges facing the business industry as well as individuals become a critical issue that must be addressed. Many businesses are ignoring the opportunities and risks at their own peril. Those who decide on a proactive program can multiply their client base, develop new business and increase their brand recognition. Those who do not can be at risk of negative advertising and possible litigation stemming from employee or consumer complaints. A memo dated May 30, 2012 made public by the National Labor Review Board (NLRB) affirms the increasing danger that businesses encounter concerning their social media policies. It is essential that companies adequately check out their risk management policies and insurance coverage to include social media perils.

In regard to employees' online activities, businesses need to figure out what types of control are needed for their individual circumstance. Do staff use online media sites as a part of their job? Are they allowed to use company resources even when posting on personal sites? In the NLRB memo mentioned earlier, many businesses were cited as using unlawful practices to control their employees' social networking activities. Many companies were vague or too broad in the language used and the language could possibly be understood as a violation of their free speech rights. Wal-mart was favored for their social media strategy because they explained any ambiguous language so as not to disregard any associate's First Amendment or state-constitutional free speech rights. Failure to authorize appropriate controls have the potential to lead to illegal employment practices, misleading advertising, discrimination against a legally protected status (e.g. race, gender) or breaking of federal and state laws. There could also be further liabilities to those businesses under the purview or direction of a regulatory association.

In regard to business records management (RM) procedures, Symantec among other security control organizations stress the importance of implementing an official retention plan to cover against risks. A Forbes.com article about social media risks included a comment from Gartner Group figuring that by the end of 2013 half of all corporate litigants "will be asked to produce material from social media websites for e-discovery". Absence of a sanctioned RM policy could stifle the ability to produce records mandated by the court as well as add to the chance of unintentionally releasing material that would otherwise be kept from public exposure. Development of a transparent and executable policy can protect against legal liability or an embarrassing public relation situation.

The public wants the power to connect through online sites like Facebook and Twitter so the business industry needs to respond, adapt or lose an opportunity to see the great gift that comes with these growing technologies. One way some companies are taking advantage of the prospect is by developing "canned" text or pre-approved topics/statements that may be posted by employees. This approach can be a practical way to initiate a proactive social media policy and secure their investment at the same time.

In essence, businesses need to understand the risks and address social media policies in regard to crisis/risk management, intellectual property, client/employee privacy, and compliance with federal and state laws and industry regulatory restrictions. With the increasing use of technologies, companies should also speak to their insurance agents to ensure they have satisfactory insurance coverage - some providers require special riders in order to grant coverage against social media liability.

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Builders Insurance and Building Construction Risks

If you are a builder or are one of the many different trades involved in construction it essential that you consider all the risks that may occur on a building site and plan to take measures to avoid them. It is also essential that you have a proper back up plan in the form of insurance, should things go wrong.

Second only to farming, building is the most riskiest business in the UK.

Risks to builders and risks to others through their building activities exist at all stages of a building project no matter the size of the works, except that the larger the size construction the more likelihood for a risk event to occur.

The risks that present themselves to builders, building tradesman and members of the construction industry vary depending upon the stage of the development.

When ground-works are being dug on a new site, it is important to initially secure the site to prevent members of the public and unauthorised personnel straying into the building works area and potentially getting injured. Particular attention should be made to exclude the risk of children or animals gaining entry to the site.

People working on ground-works risk injury from diggers and mechanical equipment and a host of other risks. Large holes for foundations are obvious dangers, but the risk of ground collapse around the hole maybe not so obvious except to the professional. Badly stored materials and concrete deliveries have been known to cause many an accident.

The initial stages of a building works contract are often the most dangerous as there is a constant stream of traffic delivering building materials and the workforce is unfamiliar with its surroundings.

The build stage presents different risks to builders, construction workers and members of the public, all which mostly involve the use of heat or the dangers of working at height. Blow-torches used by plumbers or open boilers used by flat roofers for pitch can ignite buildings or material and cause serious loss through fire.

Bricklayers working at height may easily slip and be seriously injured or knock a wheelbarrow full of cement onto a passer-by. similarly scaffolding has been known to collapse in high winds.

Fortunately for builders and building trades business, specialist builders insurance exists to cover all potential risks that a small builder, medium-sized building firm or large building contractor would face.

All building and construction trades can be covered including Air Conditioning engineers, Electricians, Fabricators, Plumbers, Bricklayers, General Builders, Roofers, Carpenters, Joiners, Ground Workers, Labourers, Window and Door Fitters, Scaffolders, Damp Proofers, Heating & Ventilation engineers, Skip Hirers, Demolition workers, Kitchen Fitter, Bathroom Fitters, Painters and Decorators and Lift Engineers to name but a few of the construction tradesman insurance schemes available.

Builders Insurance covers all liabilities for which the builder may be sued. This includes public liability insurance which covers damage or injury caused to other people or property through the negligence of the builder or one of his employees. Without this cover in place even the biggest builder could face crippling damages and costs awarded against him in a court.

A building trades insurance package will also contain provision to cover against being sued by employees and sub-contractors who may have an accident at work. This is known as employers liability insurance and is required by law if you employ any staff even on a temporary basis, such as labourers.

Aside from liability to the public and employees, the biggest threat that a builder or building tradesman will face on site is the theft of tools and equipment essential to carry out the works. Most builders insurance liability packages contain an option to protect these vital pieces of equipment on a replacement indemnity basis, the appropriate level of which can be set by the builder.

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Builders Insurance Explained

Builders Insurance is designed to cover self-employed builders, small building firms and building tradespeople against all potential liabilities they and their staff might face in the daily course of building works.

A typical package will always contain public liability insurance to guard against all claims for loss or injury made against the builder by clients and members of the public.

Additional optional covers include Employers liability, which is a legal requirement if the builder employs full- time staff and bona-fide sub-contractors, tools insurance which covers all the builders tools on or off site and Goods in transit cover which covers damage to goods and materials in transit to and from a building site.

Most policies will include Products liability as standard cover. This covers the builder against any defective materials he may have supplied.

All builders will require public liability insurance because of the numerous amount of accidents and losses that can occur at a builders workplace.

At ground level all sorts of risks present themselves for which the builder could be held liable.

Electric cables, tools, power tools, toolboxes, building materials such as limestone cement, paint and other chemicals, moving machinery, pollution risks and damage to neighbouring property, are all real risks of building activity, from which all too frequently accidents occur injuring other workers on site, clients or members of the public.

All builders insurance polices ask about the types of building work you do and especially about whether you work at height.

Scaffolding, timber, bricks, walls, roof tiles or even paint pots falling from height can seriously injure or even kill members of the public or other site workers.

A typical builders insurance policy or liability package classes the type of risk into different height defined types each with their own policy clauses and restrictions. A further division is made by the type of property that the builder usually works on, either private houses or commercial buildings.

Builders who work on single storey extensions and do groundwork and interior alterations to private houses and buildings, are considered the lowest form of risk by the underwriters. The cheapest policy available on the market would be for a sole-trader builder or handyman who does this type of work and only requires Public liability of one million to cover on-site risks to clients and the public.

A second class of builders insurance is for small building firms or sole traders with or without sub-contractors, who work on private houses and new builds. The height restrictions for this type of cover are usually set at two storeys or ten metres to allow for taller townhouses. This is the most popular form of small builder insurance and covers the majority of firms and sub-contractors working on new housing estates and private self builds.

The commercial builder class covers small to medium-sized building firms who work predominantly on commercial property such as offices, shops, pubs, hotels, government buildings and projects and also large blocks of flats and private condominiums.

Public liability insurance for these companies is usually set at ten million for any one event, as required by the contract conditions for this type of work. An expensive extension to this cover but often necessary one, is that of working in hazardous environments, such as in industrial plant or at extreme heights.

If a builder uses heat in the course of his work, for example using a blow torch on metal pipe work, this presents a much greater risk to the building from fire and quotes and premiums offered will consequently be much higher. Insurers may well also demand higher levels of liability limits to cover heat work.

Aside from any statutory regulations and contract commitments, if a builder employs any labourers, ground workers, bricklayers, carpenters, roofers, glaziers, plumbers or painters and decorators, even on a temporary or part-time basis, they would be foolish not to have employers liability insurance cover.

Unfortunately accidents to workers are all to common on building sites, second only to farms in terms of risk. Workers can be seriously maimed or injured and will undoubtably turn to their employer as responsible.

Finally builders should not forget to cover their tools against theft loss or damage. Replacing a cement mixer will cost more than the average builders insurance policy premium. Most policies allow the proposer to set the level of indemnity cover for the value of the tools. If claims for loss of tools are made the Insurance company will often reduce the claim amount paid, for wear and tear.

An all risks builders liability and tools insurance policy can be purchased relatively cheaply currently as it is a class of business commercial insurance companies want to encourage and offer competitive rates for. For this reason it pays builders to shop around for cover and the Internet provides offers from all the top underwriters and insurance companies with online quotation systems.

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Comparing Commercial Property Insurance Quotes Online

If you are in business it is more than likely that you either own, rent or lease some type of commercial property or premises in which to carry out the business activities.

The buildings and or premises contents will need insurance cover, however if you are just starting out in business it is unlikely that you are aware of either the costs of commercial property insurance or the types of policy and covers that are available.

In the past businesses tended to rely upon the services of a local commercial insurance agent or broker to advise upon property cover and research quotes.

Times have changed and today the Internet allows an individual business person to research online for commercial property cover and compare premiums at the click of a mouse.

There are many types of providers of this cover online from small insurance brokers offering specialist services and quotes from schemes through to large price comparison websites comparing quotes from multiple providers and direct commercial insurance companies offering their own products.

Within these groups of providers are various types of policy and package aimed at differing business premises and trades for which property insurance quotes are provided.

Office packages cover all businesses operating from offices, for both buildings and contents. Many offices are rented and the tenants can get quotes online to compare for just the contents property.

Commercial property insurance comparisons for landlords and let property are widely available online from comparison sites, insurers and brokers, for when buildings only cover is required by the owner.

Similarly with a shop package which covers buildings and contents insurance for all types of high street properties from shops to take-aways and restaurants, quotes can be obtained from all three sources online and for either building or contents risks combined, or alone.

Even those larger businesses that use the services of an intermediary due to the complex nature of their business, can easily compare commercial property insurance online to assert or not as the case may be, that their broker is providing the best deal.

Where a commercial enterprise does not fit a standard online property insurance quotation system, the business owner will need to complete a more comprehensive application which specifies the property risks they wish to insure.

This is known as a commercial combined property insurance policy and it is not possible due the multitude of various businesses that do not fit standard underwriting criteria, to compare quotes for these types of commercial property online.

As with all insurance it is a straight-forward process to search online and shop around for commercial property cover. When comparing prices and premiums online it is important to remember to compare the policy covers as well, as not all policies are the same.

If you are a small business owner with a turnover of under 2 million per annum and no more than fifty employees then the Internet can provide some of the best value quotes available in the current property insurance market.

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The Considerations Before Opening a Takeaway

One of the most popular shops for first time business owners is the takeaway. Most people make the big mistake of thinking it's an easy option and this is the reason that takeways make for a huge percentage of the small business ventures that fail.

As a takeaway you don't have the same challenges as a restaurant but the business still requires careful consideration and planning.

The first decision is what kind of takeaway. For some it is a matter of culture or ethnicity. Indian and Chinese takeaways are very popular and tend to be run by people from those races. Others, like kebab shops, fish and chip shops, pizza house or sandwich bars are more general.

The key to any business is sales so you need to give major consideration to location and trading times. For example a sandwich bar near a large industrial estate is going to be good for daytime trade but it's probably pointless being open in the evening or weekends. A kebab or pizza shop would probably do well close to pubs and nightclubs. Of course, check out the competition and check practicalities such as parking and loading restrictions.

You can also consider whether you will include deliveries in your service, possibly a good idea if your location is close to a large residential area. A free delivery service as an opening offer is a good way to build up an initial clientele. You can bring in a charge after the introductory period.

To make things just a little easier, find a location that already has the right licence. If the building has previously been associated with food it will be a good deal less hassle than have to change the use registered with the local authorities. As well as having the right licence, you will need to comply with health and safety regulations and taking a basic food hygiene course would be an advantage.

As well as thinking about fitting out your shop and which suppliers you'll work with, you must think about and get the right takeaway insurance. You will need building insurance to protect the shop, insurance to cover your stock and contents, business interruption insurance is a good fail safe, public liability insurance is an absolute must (and a legal requirement) and you'll need employers liability insurance because you'll have staff working for you. If you're unsure about the whole question of takeaway insurance, consult an agent or research thoroughly on the Internet: www.specialistrisks.co.uk is an excellent place to start.

The key to success is planning. Getting things right first time is vital because making changes could mean a severe hit to the budget.

At, the end of the day though it is the quality of your food and the customer experience that will dictate whether you succeed or not.

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Events Insurance Explained

If you are holding a special event of any type which involves people outside your immediate family, home or business premises, you will require an events insurance policy to cover your liability to others and any property that may be used for the event.

Events insurance is a type of specialist commercial insurance that is usually sold as a policy package of liability, property and cancellation cover options.

Cover is available for individuals or companies who are either organisers or participants in the event. Nearly every type of event is catered for including sporting events, club meetings, fetes and fairs, festivals, exhibitions, parties and anniversaries, weddings and special events.

All polices will offer a minimum basic cover of public liability insurance which protects the event organisers against any costs or damages awarded, resulting from being sued for injury or loss to third-party members of the public. This includes claims from the event's attendees.

In the United Kingdom the minimum level of public liability cover offered is one million pounds, which can be raised up to five million for large events.

If an organiser is arranging an event where a licence is required from the police or local authority, such as a street party or gathering in public, the usual minimum requirement is two millions pounds of cover.

Unless you are Superman it is highly likely that you will employ people to help contribute to, run or organise the event. Even if these people are unpaid, it is still a legal requirement that the event organiser has employers liability insurance cover in force to protect against claims from workers and helpers who may be injured.

All events insurance policies include options for both types of liability cover for organisers, participants, performers and exhibitors.

A popular option for which an event insurance policy provides cover is that of event cancellation. This covers the costs of having to abandon, cancel or postpone the event due to unforeseen circumstances. For example a policy will cover cancellation if caterers fail to provide food, entertainers or performers do not show, your staff are unable to attend or even if the venue has become unavailable or double booked.

An expensive additional cancellation cover against extreme bad weather for outdoor events, called 'pluvious' cover, may be available for certain types of event such as weddings at certain times of the year.

The third type of cover offered by events policies is that of property cover. This is insured on an indemnity basis where the organiser declares the replacement value of property used for the event. This could be cover for anything that is hired in, such as marquees or dinner services, or against damage to property loaned or leased for a day, such as a local village hall.

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Commercial Insurance Quotes

If you operate or are responsible for any type of business entity or commercial enterprise, in order to obtain the right insurance for the company you will need to find and compare suitable commercial insurance quotes. A quote is an offer of certain defined insurance covers in a policy for a monetary price.

Quotations can be obtained from numerous sources including locally from specialist high street insurance brokers, over the phone from insurance companies or brokers, or from the many online companies and comparison sites offering all types of insurance cover.

A commercial insurance quote forms a legal offer and is the basis of the contract of insurance between the proposer and the underwriting company. The information you provide on the quotation form is used to calculate both the premium quoted and the levels of cover offered on a policy. The quote data a company provides will be used to complete the policy documents. It is therefore very important that when applying for commercial insurance quotes that the information you supply about your business activities is correct and truthful.

Most companies offering quotes will agree to honour the price offered for a period of thirty days or one month following its issue. When obtaining a quote, regardless of the source, ensure that you retain the reference number which will enable you to either take up the or recall and revise the offer at a later time. Prices offered can fluctuate and a premium offered one week may not be available the next.

Quotes and premiums can be obtained for all business types and all business and commercial risks for both business liability and property insurance, either separately or combined in what is known as a package.

Commercial property insurance will typically provide cover for buildings and contents of business premises of varying types and sizes. For example a shopkeeper would be interested in covering his glass shop front and shop stock whilst a small draughtsman business would require a price for covering the business office equipment. For this reason quotes for a business are often given by insurance companies for packaged policies that are property specific, such as shop insurance quotes or office insurance quotes.

When looking for cover search for companies that offer quotes for your particular type of building. Let property buildings only insurance quotes are available for landlords who just want to cover the buildings, fixtures and fittings. Equally commercial property tenants and lease-holders can obtain quotes that only cover the contents, stock or liabilities.

Liability quotes can be obtained with either combined property insurance packages or as a standalone quotation for individual business liabilities. The most popular liability products quoted for are public liability insurance, employers liability insurance, product liability insurance and professional indemnity insurance.

Commercial liability quotes are widely available online for most trades and professions. Packages often offer all risks cover and if you are looking online most systems allow you to pick and choose various liability coverage options

When comparing quotes online you will not have the assistance of a broker to advise you. It is vital therefore to ensure that you check that the levels of indemnity and covers offered are sufficient for your business, because levels of commercial insurance cover quoted for, can vary as often as the price.

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Know What to Insure in Your Studio Business

Studio based businesses are one of the common businesses that account for a significant portion of the UK's small and medium sized business category. Different types of businesses like music studios, recording studios, beauty salons, tattoo parlours, etc. are included in this category. Because of the small size, any unanticipated events like natural calamities, fire accidents, compensation claims, etc. can cause major financial loss to these businesses.

If you are one among them and would like to safeguard your business from all such unexpected events, get a right insurance cover for your business. Following are few covers which are commonly and equally important for every studio business.

Premises and equipment Businesses like music studios, photo studios, beauty salons, etc. are often well furnished with attractive interiors. Many of these studio businesses also use expensive and professional equipment. Any damage to the equipment will affect the work and results in financial burden. Moreover, interiors furnished with wood ceiling or flooring are more prone to damages in the events of fire accidents. Natural calamities like flood, earthquake, tsunami, etc. also cause significant damage to the premises and equipment.

Such damages interrupt your business until the repairs are done, burdening you with repair costs as well as the loss of income during interruption. So, to stay safe and stable in all such circumstances, you need to insure your premises as well as your equipment. Proper insurance enables you to claim for the repairs, damages, and also for the loss of income incurred to your business.

Public and product liability Any injury to a third person or your own customer in your business premises will make you accountable for the damage. A badly fitted carpet can make someone trip and fall from the stairs and can result in a severe back injury. The victim may sue you for compensation. Having public liability insurance provides protection against all such claims filed by the third parties.

Product liability is applicable to the businesses that manufacture and sell their products to the public. If the products cause any injury or harm to the consumer, he may sue the company for the damage. Product liability insurance policy saves you from all such risks.

Employees in case of on-job injuries Despite of the safety precautions taken, your employees may get injured or die while handling the job responsibilities. In such cases, the injured employee or his family can claim for workers' compensation. You need to give financial assistance, which can be a huge burden on your small business. So, getting yourself ready with workers' compensation insurance helps you in taking care of employees in such events.

Studio insurance offers a comprehensive cover Every insurance cover mentioned above seems to be equally important for any kind of studio business. But taking them individually is not worth. Here comes the role of studio insurance policy, a comprehensive package, which covers all the insurances required for your studio business under one umbrella. Depending on the specializations of your business, the policy also includes some additional covers, which suit your business requirement.

Approaching an insurance broker always helps you in getting a right policy. A reliable broker often analyses and identifies all the risks associated with your business and suggests a tailor-made policy that best suits your needs.

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What To Look For When Choosing Your Hotel Insurance Policy

Owning and running a hotel or any other type of accommodation is a challenge, especially during the current tough economic climate, but there is no excuse for not making sure that your business, staff and guests are covered by the correct level of insurance.

Hotel insurance is not just for hotels, because you can also find the correct type of insurance often bracketed into this insurance category for the following types of accommodation:

• Hotel • Guest House • Bed And Breakfast (B&B) • Motel • Hostel • Guest Accommodation

Although there are many types of insurance policies when it comes to hotels and accommodation, some of the things that you really should look for in your cover include:

Buildings and Contents - As with any type of building that you own, you need to make sure that you insure both the building and the contents for the correct value, because should the worse happen, you need to make sure that your level of insurance is enough to cover the money you need to get the hotel back to its original position.

Liability Insurances - Public, employers and product liability are all types of insurances that could be vital when it comes to your hotel, guest house, B&B or other type of accommodation. Liability insurance can help protect you if a guest should fall and injure themselves, with employers liability helping to protect your staff should they be hurt or injured whilst working in or for your hotel.

Business Interruption - This type of insurance cover is sometimes overlooked but can really act as a business and life saver should your business be closed down for a short to medium term period. For example, if your hotel was flooded in June (it does happen) and you had to close down for three months to refurbish, having this type of insurance cover would offer you some income to keep your business going.

Legal Expenses / Protection - Running a hotel means that you will probably be employing staff and you will definitely be hosting guests and this type of insurance provides cover for any legal expenses which are incurred following any disputes with customers and also staff. For example, if a member of staff decided that they were going to try and sue you for a particular reason, this type of insurance cover can help to pay the bills if the case goes to court etc

Above all, you should always check that your insurance policy offers the correct level and type of coverage for your business.

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Declaration Pages and the Named Insured's Agent or Broker

We have previously discussed about the name of the particular insurance company that is providing coverage is listed on the declaration page and now we are going to look at some other names that are listed on the declaration page. The name of the insurance agent and/or broker is usually found on the declaration page. If the name of the insurance broker is not the name of the broker you have been dealing with it is probably because your retail broker has gone to a wholesale broker in order to place the coverage or has partnered with another retail broker.

In realizing that your broker on the declarations page is not the same person you have been dealing with you need to be aware that this relationship can sometimes create delays and coverage issues. If your retail broker is using a wholesale broker that means that the retail broker does not have a direct contract with the insurance carrier. So your retail broker does not have the authority or ability to bind coverage and or change the policy by endorsement. There is nothing wrong with this relationship and sometimes it is quite necessary but you should be aware that there will normally be delays and an increased possibility of errors due to having a middleman in the process. Sometimes your broker has placed your insurance with another retail broker who has a relationship with an insurance carrier that your retail broker does not have. Again there's nothing wrong with that relationship other than you do need to be aware that delays and/or errors are more prone to happen with multiple parties in the mix.

One appropriate question to ask your retail broker is why they have gone through a middleman to obtain coverage on your behalf. The reason you should ask that question is that it is almost always more expensive to go through multiple brokers in order to access a particular carrier versus going through one broker that has direct access to that carrier. There are exceptions but normally that is the case. If you do have a claim in the future it would be prudent to submit the claim to both the retail broker and the wholesale broker so that there is no miscommunication of reporting the claim to the carrier.

In a multiple broker relationship, the insured must pay more attention in your correspondence with all parties. Putting all responsible parties on notice is your best protection for any mistakes that are made by any of the brokers. Just by knowing on the declaration page who is the broker of record can provide you with the information that you need to know as to what type of contractual relationships you have entered into with your broker.

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Online Commercial Insurance Brokers Offer More Than Simply Business Insurance Price Comparisons

Consider a commercial insurance broker the next time you buy insurance online, until a recent resurgence of interest due to new online commercial products, they have not had a good Internet experience.

Brokers provide service, knowledge, quality products, claims help and advice as well as comparing insurance quotes, qualities that are rare or missing in the alternative self-service world of the online price comparison websites.

When direct personal lines cover became an acceptable method of selling and delivering insurance via the Internet, the soothsayers of business doom were crying the tolling of the death knell for the insurance broker as a profession. Even more so for the business insurance specialist intermediaries.

Commercial insurance was notoriously difficult to provide auto-quoting underwriting systems for and it was believed by the mandarins that commercial policies could not be sold online to an ignorant public.

It was imagined that all insurance business would be dealt with direct either by phone or online and the broker trade would decline.

What these people failed to realise at the time though, was that the broker business model, one based on comparing covers and tailoring policies to suit individual needs, was a time tried and trusted method that would re-emerge online as the peoples favourite method of buying insurance, albeit in a new bigger form of the price comparison site.

Commercial insurance price comparison websites were then predicted to replace the broker, as in effect they are providing the same comparative quotation service as the brokers but on a much larger scale.

Commercial Insurance Brokers realised that they were missing out unless they embraced the comparison site competition. Many of the larger and more Internet savvy brokers decided to take on the comparison sites and offer comparison websites of their own, often with great success.

They took their back office comparison systems and web-enabled them to provide a user-friendly interface. The larger commercial insurance sites now rival the big four price aggregators and many offer a wider range of covers.

With the ability to offer specialist products a broker has an advantage over a price comparison site, however many Specialist schemes from commercial insurance brokers can now be found on price comparison sites. You will often need to look deep and really research the market of quotes offered, to find them though.

Although many smaller brokers have signed up to the large price comparison websites, when you search for their products you are rarely shown these offerings. This is because many brokers have put tight underwriting criteria to the type of business they want from the comparisons site.

Often these restrictions mean that the price aggregator cannot quote their policy because of the restrictive terms imposed.

All online commercial comparison websites suffer from rigid acceptance rules defined by the underwriting company.

The fact that if for example, an office does not reach strict security requirements, then the office package comparison system is algorithmically instructed to decline the business.

Computer says No!

Consequently when the comparison sites quotes compared are returned to a prospective buyer, they are usually displayed in the order of cheapest first, showing those without any endorsements or cover restrictions.

Those smaller but maybe more relevant schemes that are maybe slightly more expensive or need some adjustments to the information entered to quote, are not getting a look in against the large insurers who can compete on price.

Many people, especially small businessmen on a tight fixed budget, mistakenly believe that the cheapest insurance is sufficient for their business needs.

This is particularly true of the sole-trader or self-employed tradesman who resents being told he must have public liability insurance to work on a building site for example.

His likely first port of call will be a search engine followed by a big brand price comparison site looking for the best deals.

Most commercial insurance brokers do not want this type of cheap liability business anyway, which is more trouble than it is worth if there is a claim.

They do want good bona-fide small business and registered companies for which they have the advantage over the price aggregators of offering not just specialist packed policies for shops,office, restaurants, pubs and commercial property but also a human face.

Today, more and more trade specific packaged policies are appearing on commercial insurance websites each month as bringing the product to market becomes easier.

Online brokers can offer telephone help, callback services, claims services, market knowledge and advice over price, human versus computer or simply just service. All things that are missing from the price comparison sites.

The new online commercial broker is taking back the initiative and levelling the playing field for the distribution of Insurance on the Internet.

On the whole the future looks rosy for the forward-looking broker who is willing to adapt and change from his Main Street outdated business practices and embrace the Web for all its potentiality.

On a cautionary note, many a local broker with traditional product offerings who does not adapt, will not be found by the general public and his market reach will always be local.

The Internet has allowed online commercial insurance brokers to introduce specialist risks and cover to the business market that would probably not previously been aware of the policies.

It has also spawned new risks itself such as cyber risks cover, professional indemnity and liability for consultants in every IT and online profession, and even commercial property insurance for web server farms.

The local broker is now international if he has the placement facilities.

Niche brokers with niche schemes are now providing these services to new global markets.

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Public Liability Insurance: Often Neglected But Very Essential Aspect of Every Small Business

You may be one of those who got tired of having a 9 to 5 job and wanted to build your own small business instead. There are so many things that you have to consider in starting up your own business. You need to conduct a feasibility study, choose the location for your business, determine how many employees to employ, employee's salary, etc. But one of the often neglected aspects in starting up a business is securing public liability insurance.

You may think why you should get public liability insurance since you only have a small business. As a small business owner, you may not have enough resources to cover for unexpected expenses such as accidents within your business premises. And this should be the reason why you need a liability insurance cover. Obviously, your business is going to deal with customers. If you have a physical place of business, a shop for example, people come and go there. Your responsibility to your customers is not only to give them quality service but also ensure that they are safe whenever they come to your shop. But some things are inescapable and no matter how prudent we are, accidents still happen.

In countries like Australia, public liability is taken seriously. So, if someone met an accident while within your business premises, you are liable for the injury that person suffers. The same is true with their property. For example, a customer parked his car in front of your shop and your signage fell and broke the windshield, the owner of the car can claim for the damages his car suffered. This is where public liability is very useful. This insurance cover will cover for the cost that may arise because of the injury and damage suffered by your customer or a third party.

Imagine if you don't have public liability insurance cover, you will be paying for the cost of repair and other incidental expenses that the third party may claim. It is not also impossible that he will sue you knowing that people have become litigious these days. So if you are just starting and don't have enough resources, you might find yourself spiraling in the drain. What if instead of the car, a person was hit by the signage and is seriously injured? Will you be able to be able to cover for the hospital and other medical expenses that person may incur? If not, then public liability insurance is the answer.

Aside from that advantage on your part, there are customers who will only make business with entities or enterprises that have public liability cover. They also want to ensure that if something happens to them while doing business with you; you'll be able to take care of them. They are confident that you won't run away from your responsibility and that you take their welfare seriously. You'll be able to earn their trust and become your loyal customers.

So as you can see, public liability insurance is very important especially for small business or those that are just starting up. Even from the start you are ensuring the future of your business.

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