Business Insurance - What Do I Need to Know?

Any commercial business operation needs to consider insurance. Good insurance is as essential as having a stock of products or a staff, but is an often-overlooked element of the foundation for many businesses. Here, we outline ten considerations for your business when it comes to getting great cover:

1.Good business insurance is vital in protecting your livelihood. Good cover will ensure your business doesn’t fail after a loss.

2.Business insurance is complicated cover. You should only arrange it through an insurance professional, not a supermarket, bank, or dotcom pretending to be such.

3.As a business you have a responsibility for your actions with the products you sell and the people you deal with. If you cause them damage or injury they will sue you. You should insure against this to protect your business.

4.As an employer, you are required by statute to hold Employers Liability Insurance. If you don’t, you run the risk of being fined at £2500 a day.

5.You should consider employment law protection insurance. You are statistically more likely to be involved in an industrial tribunal than you are a fire claim. The law being adopted from the European Union is incredibly complicated but ignorance is no defence. If you get employment procedures wrong it can prove very costly indeed.

6.A professional broker will advise you on ALL your risks. Operating a business from home or using your private car for business purposes will affect those policies too. Take professional advice and have all your policies with the same broker. Don’t guess: the best intentions and assumptions can lead to disaster. Speak to a professional broker and know.

7.A fire or a flood will affect your building and your trade stock, but what about the resultant loss of profit because you cannot trade? Take professional advice from a broker and ensure you get this cover right.

8.Make a disaster recovery plan and implement it in the event of an incident. Think ahead and be prepared. A broker can give you guidelines to follow. A disaster plan will ensure maximum efficiency when your business is struck by misfortune, and get you back on your feet as soon as possible.

9.Insurance is a complicated subject despite what television adverts lead you to believe. It pays to use a professional advisor.

10.In the event of a claim, a good broker will help you get the right settlement, quickly. You need someone in your corner to represent your interests – make sure it’s a professional, registered broker.

BJK Insurance, part of the Giles Insurance Brokers group, are specialist commercial and minibus insurance providers and have been building an excellent reputation over the last twenty-five years.

Charity Insurance - What Do I Need?

A charity or voluntary organisation has different needs to a traditional business or commercial venture, and therefore you would expect that the needs from an insurance perspective are much different. Here is a brief list of important points to make sure you have considered when arranging insurance coverage for your charity or voluntary organisation.

What you need to consider: -

What is the Charity / Voluntary organisation responsible for?

• Are you responsible for the building that you occupy; do you have contents in the building; do you have employee’s or volunteers that you are responsible for; do you have a membership that you provide a service to; do you sell items that you make? This list is by no means exhaustive, but gives you a small idea of the factors involved in charity / voluntary organisation insurance.

• Each of these responsibilities or ‘risks’ can be insured. As an organisation you will need to consider which ‘risks’ you wish to carry yourself and which ‘risks’ you wish to transfer to an insurance company.

Who will help you to make those decisions and how do you find an insurance company?

• Insurance is a complicated subject. You should work with a reputable professional insurance broker who can advise you on the covers that you are legally required to have; on the covers that are vital in protecting your organisation and the covers that you should seriously consider.

• Your broker will be able to find a policy or policies that meet all of those requirements underwritten by a financially stable insurance company or companies depending upon expertise.

How do you choose an Insurance Broker?

• It is tempting to select the broker that produces the cheapest quotation, or the company that delivers the most professional presentation. Sometimes using these criteria proves to be successful, but all too often there is disappointment with the actual results delivered by the appointed broker. Look for a broker who has expertise of working with Charities and ask to see some testimonials.

What should you expect an Insurance Broker to do?

• To develop a thorough understanding of your organisation

• Present your organisation to insurers in the most professional way to ensure a favourable response from underwriters.

• Secure appropriate cover for your organisation at sustainable best value premiums with a reputable insurance company.

• Provide first class personal professional support to your organisation whether responding to day-to-day queries or advising on risk management issues.

• In the event of a loss, your broker should track the progress of your claim to ensure that it is resolved with maximum efficiency and minimum disruption to you and your organisation.

BJK Insurance, part of the Giles Insurance Brokers group, are specialist charity, voluntary group and minibus insurance providers and have built an excellent reputation over the past twenty-five years.

Seat Belt Laws - New Regulations

September 2006

For more Information please use one of the following links:

• The Department for Transport have issued a letter dated 11 August 2006 to minibus and coach operators explaining the regulations in greater detail. Please click here to view this letter.


• The full regulations can be read on the Office of Public Sector Information - click here


• Think! Road Safety Website for further additional information - click here

Gresham Private Equity backs management buy-out of leading insurance broker Giles

July 2006

Giles Insurance Brokers Limited chief executive Chris Giles today announced the completion of a management buyout of the company in deal valued at £45 million.Click here for more details..