Cyber Insurance addresses the first and third-party risks associated with e-business, the Internet, networks and informational assets. Cyber Insurance offers protection for exposures arising out of internet communications and other areas of exposure that traditional policies may fail to address. Areas to protect are privacy issues, brand protection, the infringement of intellectual property, virus transmission, user-generated content, business interruption as a result of a virus or hacking event or any other serious trouble that may be passed from first to third parties via the Web.

What should your cyber insurance policies look to cover?

•Cyber liability, privacy liability and privacy breach notification costs
•Media liability, including cover for user generated content
•Defamation, including libel and slander
•Intellectual property rights infringement
•Invasion of privacy
•Property and business interruption arising from cyber perils

For help and advice about Cyber insurance please contact Scott Sayce, Head of Professions on 0118 9165 483, or complete one of our enquiry forms.

Telemetric systems act in a similar way to the “black boxes” that are fitted to commercial aircraft. The system records the location, speed and braking performance of a vehicle, which is very useful information if the vehicle is involved in an accident. More sophisticated systems are linked to recorded video.

Although telemetric systems have been around for a few years now, the cost of the technology has been rapidly coming down in price with a basic system costing as little as £200 per vehicle.

There might be some resistance to these systems as drivers may see them as “big brother” keeping an eye on them. The feedback from insurers who have been trailing telemetric programmes has been good, with premium savings of 10-15% not uncommon.

According to insurers another spin off benefit for fleet operators using such systems is a reduction in fuel cost.

For further information on telemetric systems and how they can reduce fleet insurance premiums, contact Tony Gibbs on 0118 9165485 or complete one of our enquiry forms.

Fleet policies tend to work well if the number of vehicles is likely to increase as new vehicles automatically enjoy the fleet discount that applies to the policy. When starting a fleet policy, most insurers can take into consideration no claims bonus that has been earned under either company car or van policies.

For more information on the pros and cons of fleet insurance, contact Tony Gibbs on 0118 9165 485 or complete one of our enquiry forms.

Below are some professional indemnity claims that technology companies have faced:

• The insured designed a customer management software package. It was alleged that the software failed to comply with the agreed functionality. Amount paid: £350,000
• The insured configured an off-the-shelf software package for use by the client, and sold and installed associated hardware. There were serious difficulties following installation, leading to the client refusing to pay the balance outstanding and threatening a claim. Insurers paid the outstanding balance to the insured, avoiding the expense and reputational damage of a legal case. Amount paid: £55,000
• It was alleged that there were substantial deficiencies in the design of a software package, resulting in the system failing to meet the client’s requirements. Amount paid: £450,000.

For help and advice about insurance for your technology business please contact Scott Sayce, Head of Professions on 0118 9165 483, or complete one of our enquiry forms

Over the years insurance has evolved to meet the changing needs of the policyholders with wider covers now available. So are any two insurance policies from different insurers exactly alike? The answer to the question is no, although the basis insured perils are likely to be the same, there will be subtle differences that could mean the difference between a claim being paid or not.

Right to Manage (RTM) companies should be looking for a property insurance policy that provides the widest possible cover as, in the event of an uninsured loss, the cost is going to have to be borne by the company as a whole. For instance, some property policies can now cover breakdown with cover could be particularly useful if a block of flats has lifts.

As claims for water damage are common in blocks of flats it is important that there is adequate cover for trace and access. The cover extension pays for the cost in tracing a leak and, rather surprisingly, is not standard cover in many policies.

For advice on building insurance for Right to Manage properties, contact Tony Gibbs on 0118 9165 485 or complete one of our enquiry forms.

Therefore risks that games developers should consider insuring against include:

– Breach of a written contract
– Infringement of someone else’s intellectual property rights
– Legal action taken against you worldwide, including USA

Any of these areas can be potentially disastrous to a games developer and, given the rise in compensation culture, an increasingly likely occurrence.

Professional Indemnity Insurance covers you for liabilities that arise from the professional advice or services your organisation provides – helping to protect your reputation and giving you the peace of mind to concentrate on your business.

A specialist and expert approach

As a specialist broker for the games development industry we have the expertise to source bespoke insurance policies specially designed for this sector. We pride ourselves on understanding the unique requirements of games developers and how much this differs from other professions.

For help and advice about games developers insurance please contact Scott Sayce, Head of Professions on 0118 9165 483, or complete one of our enquiry form

Oil companies will typically be looking for these companies to carry public liability, employer’s liability and in some cases professional indemnity insurance.

We are often asked the question “Is employers’ liability really necessary?” The situation is that if the providing these companies have just one director and no other direct employees or sub-contractors there is no legal requirement for employer’s liability insurance.

As employer’s liability can be a costly for offshore work there maybe scope to save on premium by excluding employer’s liability from the insurance programme.

Macbeth have access to a number of facilities are for offshore Liability is aimed at contractors working at oil refineries, wind-farms, offshore rigs and the like.

For further information in respect of offshore liability insurance, contact David Mann on 0118 9165 486, or complete one off our enquiry forms.

Over the last month there has been a dramatic increase in the sale of water butts as householders and businesses’ look for efficient ways to converse water. Although water butts are a great means of saving water, there use can lead to security issues as thieves can use them as a means to gain access to windows and roofs.

Churches and businesses with lead roofing should be extra vigilant as metal theft is a considerable problem in some areas due to the high demand for scrap metal.

For other risk management, security and business insurance advice,  contact Tony Gibbs on 0118 9165 485 or complete one of our enquiry form.

You may believe that you can rely on your company to indemnify you but this is not always the case, either because it is against the law or bye-laws of the company or financially they are unable to do so.

Directors’ & Officers’ Liability Insurance protects a companies’ directors, officers and senior managers against claims arising from their decisions and actions taken whilst managing their business. The policy covers defence costs, settlements, damages and claimant costs. It’s basically a legal expenses policy for directors, but where cover is provided for defence costs from the outset and there is no condition of agreement that reasonable grounds for success are needed in order for the policy to pay.

Claims can come from a number of third parties including Shareholders, Employees, Competitors, Auditors, Liquidators and Government & Regulatory bodies to name but a few.

Whether your company is big or small the same laws apply so if you want to protect your own costs, time and reputation then D&O Insurance should be considered.

For help and advice about Directors’ and Officers’ Insurance please contact Adam Lawrence, Client Manager on 0118 916 5484, or complete one of our enquiry forms

One example:

A recruitment agency supplied a construction project manager to a London local authority, who over the course of two years was accused of approving 17 false projects and defrauding the council out of a staggering £2.8m. The council argued they are not supervising nor employing the worker, and that the recruitment agency is responsible for the actions of the workers they supply and are suing the agency for their loss.

For help and advice about insurance for the recruitment and staffing sector please contact Scott Sayce, Head of Professions on 0118 916 5483, or complete one of our enquiry forms