Archive April 2011

Specialist cover saves the day for souvenir scanning business

19/04/2011 in Case Study, Medical Device Insurance

Setting up in business is never easy but when vital insurance cover proves difficult to source, or is too highly priced to make it affordable, the process is all the more challenging.

 This was the dilemma facing Wendy Boag of First Peek Baby Scanning when starting her family business in 2009. First Peek offers parents souvenir scans of their unborn baby via clinic appointments and Wendy required failsafe medical malpractice insurance as part of her offer.

 “As a professional  sonographer working in what is an increasingly litigious climate, I wanted to reassure customers by offering the added security of this insurance cover,” she explained.

 “Souvenir scans are not medical scans – they don’t require consultant or midwife backup and are not conducted before the 20-week anomaly scan. Nevertheless there is still a small risk that someone might try and hold me liable over some diagnostic issue.”

 Yet cover for this important feature of her business proved impossible to source at an affordable price. The Society of Radiographers, of which Wendy is a member, do not provide cover for souvenir scanning; other insurers could only offer inappropriate blanket medical liability insurance at premiums which were totally out-of-reach of a small family business. Some even refused to quote at all.

 With the prospect of her business failing before it had even started, an internet search brought Macbeth Chartered Insurance Brokers to Wendy’s attention and she asked for their help.

 The Macbeth solution

• Sourced an insurance provider from a maintained roster of specialist schemes offered by a wide range of insurers, wholesale brokers and Lloyd’s syndicates.
• Secured sensibly priced cover at an annual premium of £1800 compared to previous quotes of as much as £12,000.
• Provided single point of contact to manage the whole process, from original enquiry to start of cover.

 Client verdict

“Without resolving this issue, First Peek would never have got going,” said Wendy Eoag. “So using Macbeth has been fundamental in getting us established.

 “I found them easy and helpful to deal with especially after being turned away so many times before. Being able to speak consistently with the same contact, and build a professional relationship, has been a huge plus, too.”

Cyber & Privacy Insurance – Why it’s necessary for marketing companies?

09/04/2011 in Cyber Liability Insurance

Marketing companies that run e-marketing campaigns on behalf of their clients need to be aware of the potential risks if their systems are hacked and the email data base stolen.

Some recent high profile cases involve Epsilon which sends out more than 40 billion marketing emails annually for its clients and Silverpop which runs the e-marketing for Play.com

Although the information breaches seem to relate purely to email addresses, the implications are still wide ranging with potential breach of privacy claims and of course the damage to reputations.

For information regarding cyber and privacy insurance, please contact Tony Gibbs on 0118 9452944 or complete an enquiry form.

Why is driver’s negligence insurance relevant to recruitment companies?

07/04/2011 in Recruitment Industry Insurance

If a recruitment company is supplying temporary drivers, they may be required to carry driver negligence insurance. This insurance provides cover against claims in respect of damage caused to vehicles being driven by agency supplied drivers to their clients.

Agencies may find that clients try to make them liable under contract in respect of such damage caused by the negligent acts of temporary workers. This type of insurance can only normally be purchased in conjunction with public & employers liability. Cover for driver negligence is normally limited to either £5,000 or £10,000 per claim and the premiums are rated on the number of drivers supplied.

For more information, please contact Tony Gibbs on 0118 9452944 or complete an enquiry form.

Why is cyber and privacy insurance important for recruitment consultants?

02/04/2011 in Recruitment Industry Insurance

Recruitment Consultants have access to sensitive information for the personnel they place including salary details and full employment history. Whilst discretion is paramount, there is a possibility that information can end up in the wrong hands. For companies offering an online facility there is certainly a higher level of risk as personal information could be lost if a system was to be hacked.

Our recommended product includes cover for system damage as a result of hacking as well as providing an indemnity for cyber and privacy risks. A breach of privacy issue needs to be dealt with quickly and efficiently as delays and uncertainties are likely to affect the reputation of the company and ultimately the brand.

For information as to how Macbeth can help, contact Tony Gibbs on 0118 9452944 or complete an enquiry form.

Policy review improves cover and saves money for plumbing business

02/04/2011 in Case Study, Motor Fleet Insurance

For Tony Lees and Sons, a Reading-based plumbing and heating business, having just one of its nine work vans off the road at any one time is not just inconvenient, it’s potentially damaging to the business.

So when an accident accounted for one vehicle during the firm’s busiest time of year during the winter, Tony looked to his then insurers to get his team back on the road quickly. Instead securing a replacement vehicle proved a nightmare.

“They put it out to another company who couldn’t locate an exact replacement and tried to palm us off with a smaller vehicle which just wasn’t practical or acceptable,” he recalled.

“It took three days to find us a replacement vehicle and that’s a long time to be without a key part of your work fleet especially with all the re-scheduling that was involved.”

The firm’s vehicle insurance had evolved over time as vans were progressively added to the fleet and was based on single van cover each with a named driver. This in itself was limiting and, together with the valuable time he personally had had to spend on the accident issue, prompted Tony to seek a review of his insurance cover.

He turned to Paul Macbeth of Macbeth Insurance Chartered Insurance Brokers.

The Macbeth solution

• More flexible ‘any driver’ fleet insurance with one convenient renewal date replaced the previous single vans cover.
• Some vehicles switched from comprehensive to third party cover to secure premium savings.
• A nominated Macbeth account manager put in place to handle all the firm’s insurance queries and claims.
• Annual premium reduced by more than £200.

Client verdict

“Macbeth now take care of any contact with the insurance company which is a service I didn’t know was available and had never experienced,” said Tony Lees. “I thought I had to do it.

“That spells real peace of mind for me. If we have a problem we can ring Macbeth and they’ll represent our interests to the insurers without me having to take the time and trouble to get involved.

“I’m free to get on with my business.”

Specialist insurance cover pays dividends for Art Collector

02/04/2011 in Case Study

Accidents happen, even to investors in fine art whom you’d expect to take every necessary precaution to protect their paintings – from having them professionally hung to checking the security of the wall bracket.

In the case of one collector, it was the latter which failed causing a valuable nineteenth century painting to fall to the floor tearing the canvas.

Happily he was also a Macbeth client and had taken out fine art insurance cover which not only paid for the physical repair to the heirloom but also brought an added bonus – a £16,000 compensation payout for the painting’s loss of value.

Macbeth Operations Director Ben Butler explained:

“While standard household insurance will pay for the actual repair, loss of value is a feature of specialised cover, something we’d advised our client to consider when he brought his business to us.

“Although this painting was repaired to a very high standard, a professional valuation would still detect the restoration and mark down the overall value accordingly should it ever be placed in a sale.

“Thanks to our advice our client has been compensated for this depreciation even though he has no intention of selling.”

The Macbeth solution

• Specialised fine art and antiques cover and advice – not widely available elsewhere
• Tailored insurance to suit individual requirements
• Compensation for any loss in original value due to damage
• Complete freedom to source your own repair professionals and services

Client verdict

“Obviously our client was delighted with this outcome,” went on Ben, “even though the damage caused to an heirloom which had been in the family for years did cause some distress at first.

“The quality of the repair and the level of compensation paid – even though the painting was never going to sale – more than justified the responsible approach taken to its care and preservation.”

Important changes regarding Employers Liability Insurance

01/04/2011 in Employers Liability Insurance

From April 2011, the Employer’s Liability Tracing Office (ELTO) will replace the current voluntary Employer’s Liability Code of Practice. Insurers will be required to supply data on all of their employer’s liability policies, to be stored on the Employer’s Liability Database (ELD)

The changes have been brought about because if employees suffer sickness or injury at work, it may not immediately be apparent—in fact, in some cases, symptoms may only emerge decades later. This makes it extremely difficult to identify who the employer’s liability carrier was at the time. This new initiative will ensure that full records are kept in a single central Employer’s Liability Database (ELD), making it a simple matter to pinpoint exactly who insured the employing company when the illness or injury occurred.

Our responsibility as insurance brokers placing employers liability insurance, will be to inform insurers of the employer reference number (ERN)—this is also known as the ‘employer PAYE reference’, which is allocated by HMRC and appears on PAYE forms and documents.

For more information about the ELTO or about employers liability risks contact Tony Gibbs on 0118 9452944

Professional Indemnity insurance premiums for expert witness work set to rise

01/04/2011 in Professional Indemnity Insurance

Professional indemnity insurance premiums for expert witness work are likely to rise, following the abolishment of the principle of expert witness immunity from lawsuits, in relation to evidence given in civil proceedings.

The 5 to 2 majority decision was handed down by the Supreme Court on 30 March 2011 following Jones -v- Kaney.

It is likely that professional indemnity insurers will now ask questions relating to expert witness work on their proposals forms and rate risks accordingly.

For advice regarding professional indemnity insurance risks, please contact Tony Gibbs, Sales Director, on 0118 9452944 or complete one of our enquiry forms.