What risks do you take daily?

Most people do not realise how much risk that they are putting themselves at each day. People deem activities as "dangerous" where as other people see them as daily tasks. We have investigated a little further into the day to day risks that people face often without realising it.

The question is, should we stop doing the activities that are classes as hazardous?
The normal things we do constantly can cause injury, accident or even fatality.

What are the activities that are deemed as hazardous?
Being a pedestrian- Obviously people cannot stay in their houses as there is a risk that they may be run over by a car! It's the bicycles that you have to look out for, not stereotyped white van man. The reason cyclists pose more risk to pedestrians is because they are basically silent, they do not always have lights and they more often than not appear out of nowhere. This is nothing compared with buses and coaches, which are approximately 13 times more likely to cause a death of a pedestrian than small van driver. Even though they are much louder, larger and slower than most road users, you'd think you could avoid them.

Getting in a cab has also been deemed as potentially hazardous! You always strap your children into a car so why do most people jump into a taxi and not put their belt on? The facts are that 1 in 3 people killed in car accidents did not wear their seatbelt.

Working is also seen as a dangerous activity. According to the government's Health and Safety Executive, two thirds of fatal injuries fell into four categories:

• Fall from height
• Being struck by a moving object
• Being trapped by a collapsing structure
• Being struck by a vehicle

Falling whilst working makes up over half of the numbers of work related accidents whilst tripping and slipping make up 40%. Not surprisingly the profession with the most claims is the construction industry. 

There are hundreds of different hazardous activities that people do daily such as sports, swimming, crossing the street, working and even being at home! Ensure you have the correct insurance cover to protect yourself, your family, clients and members of the public.

Small Business Owners Stress Levels Rising

New research is showing that stress levels and illness are on the increase among small business owners. Nearly half of SME owners questioned were feeling more stressed than in the first half of 2011 due to the current weak trading conditions.

Small business owners said that they are working longer and harder and as a result their personal health was suffering.

In the survey by business insurance provider Hiscox, two thirds said they were still mentally prepared to cope and felt that they still had an “acceptable work and life balance”.

Graham Hearsey of Professional Insurance Agents says “The stats we have for our online quote and buy system show that one third of our small business insurance sales come outside office hours. This may well be due to the fact that small business owners are having to deal with essential business tasks, such as purchasing liability insurance, long after their offices have closed for the day”.

New Hire & Fire Employment Rules

Staff working in small businesses could lose their right to claim unfair dismissal. Companies with les than 10 employees may be more simple & quicker. Employees may need to work longer before they give the right to a tribunal. This can help small businesses to expand without the fear of costly tribunals, making it easy to hire of fire. Many companies are logged by ridiculous rules and fear high tribunals payouts. Protection can be arranged for companies by purchasing insurance policies such as Directors & Officers insurance, Professional Indemnity and legal protection insurance policies. The business secretary Vince Cable said he "wanted the process of getting rid of staff to be simple and quicker"

27% more home based businesses

According to figures from Lloyds TSB Business Insurance, around 5.9 million UK businesses are operated from a home, that's 27% more in the last year than the previous year.

IT consultancies are the most common home-based business, as well as healthcare (physiotherapy, homneopathy or counselling), construction, teaching and management consultancies.

The study found that nearly 50% of people set up their own company because they wanted to be their own boss.

The head of commercial business insurance at Lloyds TSB Insurance, Stuart Curtis, said: "The number of enterprising people opting to turn their home into their business hub is set to increase over the next year as the recession continues to bite."

According to the research, around 60% of people run their business on their own and just over one third with their spouse or partner.

Graham Hearsey of specialist insurance broker Professional Insurance Agents comments: "These figures come as no surprise as we ourselves have seen an increase in the number of request for business insurance quotes from home based businesses over the past year. It is important for these businesses to ensure they have adequate business insurance cover, the most important being professional indemnity insurance as well as public liability insurance. In some cases, particulary if there is an office at the home a good office insurance policy should also be considered."

Locals Say Cost of Quinn Administration is Scandalous

Locals in the border counties of Ireland say the huge cost of the Quinn Insurance administration and the downfall of the business since it was taken from the Quinn family are the real scandal at the centre of the Quinn story.

When the Quinn Insurance company went into administration more than a year ago it appeared to have excess assets of around €300m. Now, though, it has a €600m blackhole that will be paid for by a levy on insurance policies. Premiums have fallen to less than €700m this year from more than €1bn previously.

Michael McAteer, of administrators Grant Thornton said "We didn't run it into the ground, but no company ever runs well in administration,

"Having the words 'under administration' under your name when you're selling insurance is not very sales and marketing friendly."

Mr McAteer went on to say that the €600m black hole was the result of inadequate cash set aside for insurance policies written before the company went into administration - a problem that wasn't apparent until actuaries went through the books.

Australian lawyers angry over court's professional indemnity decision

Lawyers in Australia are puffing at the chest after a New South Wales Supreme Court case has highlighted their importance in choosing professional indemnity insurance cover.

Newcastle-based financial services firm Prosperity Advisers went into administration after it became involved in a battle with its former professional indemnity insurer over legal claims from unhappy investors.

The dispute with the company's former professional indemnity insurance provider relates to advice given to clients in 2004-05. Sfter following this advice, some investors lost money. Over 160 clients sued the company for negligently advising them to invest, which resulted in  $17 million AUD (£11 million) in losses.  The company referred the claims to its professional indemnity insurer.

What the company has labelled a "technicality" meant that the insurer would only cover part of the claims.

Prosperity’s insurer rejected the broker’s opinion that only one excess of $40,000 was payable on the entire case, and instead, required separate excesses to be paid for each individual claim.

Law firm Colin Biggers & Paisley says that the case demonstrates that organisations which rely entirely on a broker and do not seek separate legal advice on the suitability of their insurance policies are taking careless risks.

According to the law firm, the Court found that the insurance broker who provided incorrect advice had breached his duty of care.

Special counsel Kemsley Brennan, of Colin Biggers & Paisley, said assessing whether an insurance policy effectively meets the needs of a business requires a lawyer’s input. 

"You cannot determine a business’s real exposures, if you’re not qualified to identify potential liabilities in employment and customer contracts. And you cannot advise on whether deductibles or limits are appropriate unless you have a strong understanding of insurance law principles,” said Brennan.

“The bottom line is that directors should always have a lawyer review the organisation’s insurance program and map it against the business’s needs. A good insurance lawyer will then identify coverage gaps and arm the organisation with the knowledge to ensure they ask the right questions of their broker, to get the insurance product that’s ultimately right for them.

“The right policy can mean the difference between business insolvency and success, so it’s important for organisations to get a lawyer involved at an early stage as a vital complement to their broker’s services,” he said.

The Court found that the broker had breached his duty of care to Prosperity.

Brennan said that ultimately however, Prosperity’s negligence claim did not succeed, as it could not identify an alternative insurance product available at the time that imposed a single excess.

Chaucer leads new charterer’s product for Marsh

Chaucer Syndicates has announced leadership of a new default insurance product for charterers which will be offered by Marsh. The product includes specialist wordings developed by Chaucer and Marsh.

The insurance provides protection for the income of the shipowner, including provision for the impact of changes in spot charter rates, if there is a financial default under the charter party,

This is the only product in the Lloyd’s market that provides this protection and Chaucer stated that the specialist exposure required both an extensive knowledge of trade finance and an understanding of the chartering market.

Nick Kilhams, political risk class underwriter for Chaucer’s Syndicate 1084,  comments: “This is an excellent new product for shipowners looking for income protection and demonstrates how Chaucer’s trade credit and marine underwriters work successfully together”

He goes on to say: “Combined with our access to the Marsh global distribution network, I am confident of our ability to realise the great potential of this product in the Lloyd’s market.”