Category : General
www.towergateinsurance.co.uk offers many different types of business insurance policies. By having such a wide range, it makes it easier for businesses to get just the right kind of coverage they need.
One type of insurance offered by Towergate is their specialist office insurance. This kind of policy was created to provide entrepreneurs with a peace of mind by ensuring them that everything is protected, including your property as well as your employees.
Specialist office insurance combines two other policies into it. Taking out an office insurance policy would also provide both employers’ liability and public liability insurance. This would provide protection to your employers and customers and protects you in the event that an accident occurs on your premises for which you are responsible. Employer’s liability policies can be taken out for amounts as high as £10 million. Both public and product liabilities have coverage amounts at a maximum of £2.5 million. With these policies legal expenses also are covered.
Coverage will also include protecting your business premises from certain events, this would also include the furnishing and office equipment within the building. Other businesses have a great deal of equipment that is not used on the business premises, for instance, laptops can be taken to a variety of locations to conduct business off site. You can add what is known as an all risks protection to the insurance, this will protect business equipment that is used off site.
Another benefit of office insurance is that it will provide coverage if your business is interrupted and this sort of coverage can be taken out for maximum of £3 million. Also, if your business is the victim of theft, these losses can be recouped with this type of insurance policy. This office insurance coverage will cover accidental damages. There are some exclusions that do apply and these would include incidents as a result of war, nuclear risks, and pressure waves caused by aircraft or acts of terrorism.
When you take out a specialist office insurance policy, there are some options in regards to excess. Typically, the excess would be £100. However, for incidents of subsidence, the excess would be £1000. The excess for glass is £50.
Home is where the heart is, but it’s also where we keep everything that we own and love, so protecting it is second nature. With that in mind, when it comes to choosing a home insurance policy, make sure you shop around and get the best deal.
If you’re a first time buyer or you just don’t know what sort of coverage you need, here’s a quick guide to the different types of home insurance here in the UK.
Buildings Insurance: Building insurance cover your house itself; the structure of your home is vital and it’s compulsory to have it. Buildings insurance will cover your home if it is damaged and will cover the rebuilding costs if your home is completely destroyed, such as in a house fire. Most people cannot afford to do this themselves, so buildings insurance is absolutely vital to take out when you are buying your home. Building insurance will also cover any permanent fixtures in your home; so built in kitchens, bathrooms and bedroom furniture would also be covered.
Typically, buildings insurance policies will cover damage caused by the following:
● Fire, smoke or explosions
● Storm and flood damage (if you live in a flood prone area, you will need additional coverage)
● Burst pipes or water damage (such as leaking)
● Subsidence, heave or landslip
● Vandalism or third party damage to your property
Contents Insurance
Contents Insurance is very different to buildings insurance and covers your personal belongings, and unlike buildings insurance it is not compulsory, but it is well worth having. In the event of a break in or fire you would be required to replace all of your contents out of your own pocket.
If you are a homeowner, you can get cheaper combined buildings and contents insurance policies, such as the ones from Endsleigh Insurance. Contents Insurance will generally cover anything that is moveable, including furniture such as beds and sofas.
Most insurers now replace items on a ‘new for old’ basis; generally this will cover the cost of replacing the item that is lost or damaged with a brand new one.
If you are setting up a business having adequate insurance is a must. In the current economic climate it can seem like an added expense that the business can do without but in fact business insurance must be considered as a necessary expense.
Without the right level of cover you could find yourself open to costly compensation claims, expensive legal bills, or financial difficulties when caused by needing to replace assets and disruption to your business.
What would happen to your business if a fire were to break out and destroy all your equipment and stock? What can you do if your computer breaks down and you need to replace it? There is a break-in and you lose valuable equipment? Or a member of the public or one of your employees is injured on your premises? Would you have the funds to cope with the loss or legal bills? However, with business insurance you can concentrate on growing your company rather than paying for expenses out of your control.
Of course as a business leader there are certain legal requirements that need to be considered. Insurance doesn’t just cover your property it can also cover you from costly legal bills. You have a responsibility towards your employees, customers and the public. If an employee or a member of the public were to have an accident as a result of your company’s actions you would be held legally responsible and as such risk being sued.
If you employ people you must, by law, have employers’ liability cover of at least £5m. In fact you can be fined up to £2,500 for each day that you don’t have the necessary insurance cover, which is a lot to cough up and it is far cheaper to have insurance.
If you are operating in the business-to-business sector having the right level of insurance cover proves to other businesses that you are respectable business which takes its responsibilities seriously.
It is also easy to underestimate how much risk your business faces things like floods, fire and thefts can easily happen and even simple things like road works and police cordons can affect the day to day running of your business and having the right insurance can help pay for this.
If you do business with the public, then you are responsible for customers and members of the public who come onto your business property. Some businesses are run out of the home but they too are also liable for visitors. Often accidents can occur that cause someone to be injured. You are liable for losses incurred in these situations. Having public liability insurance can often protect you from claims that might be made in these situations.
If someone is injured on your property, they may choose to make a claim against you. The injury might be caused by either you or your employees. Public liability insurance will help you with the costs associated with this claim. Damage to property is also covered with this type of insurance. If a customer sustained damage to their property while dealing with your business, then again you would be protected. Often times you may need to secure legal assistance if a claim is made. Public liability insurance will help pay for these services. Public liability insurance does not cover any claims that employees could possibly make against you.
The amount of coverage obtained from Public liability insurance can differ. This amount of coverage will be different for different types of businesses. For example, small businesses may only need a Public liability insurance policy worth about £1 million. Other businesses may need to secure larger amounts of coverage.
While given the benefits of having Public liability insurance, it is not mandatory for most types of businesses. Although some businesses are required to have Public liability insurance. It is important to note that the laws states that a business must pay for any losses that occur from either the business itself or its employees. If you are found to be guilty of the claim in a court of law, you were required to pay the full reward to the claimant. With public liability insurance, you will have assistance with this. Keep in mind that these awards can be made for significantly large amounts of money. You might end up losing your business if you are unable to pay.
When you are a business owner, it is very important to protect yourself against certain claims. Without protection, your livelihood could be irrevocably harmed or forced into bankruptcy. In order to protect a business, employers should always carry both public liability insurance as well as employers’ liability insurance.
Employers’ liability insurance is designed to help business if one of their employees is either injured or becomes ill while on the job due to the employer’s fault. Employers have an obligation to their employees. If the employee is injured or ill they can pursue receipt of compensation. Even if the business doesn’t have the liquid funds to pay for this, the business could possibly be forced to liquidate.
In the United Kingdom it is mandatory that an employer have employers’ liability insurance. This legislation establishes the minimum amount to be £5 million. However, many employers do opt to take out policies with even more coverage. If you have any employees working within England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Island, they must be insured. If an employer does not have this coverage, they could be faced to pay some steep penalties. The Health and Safety Executive may levy a fine of up to £2500 a day.
There are some situations where employer’s liability insurance is not required. If your business is a limited company then you do not have to get this sort of coverage. If you do have employees but they are close family members, do you not have to obtain employer’s liability insurance. If you are the only employee of the limited company then you do not need this coverage. However, this does not mean that people in this situation cannot purchase this type of insurance if they want.
Some employers are confused as to what qualifies an individual as an employee. There are specific guidelines to help determine this. For one, the person must be under a service contract with you. From their salary you make deductions for National Insurance as well as income tax. You have control over where they work as well as when and how. Another definition include that they cannot obtain a substitute for themselves when they cannot come to work.
If you are a landlord, or thinking of becoming one, you are required by law to have a property licence. If you are in such a position, you should be sure to familiarise yourself with the legal requirements laid upon landlords, all of which can be found online. Going into the property owning market blind is not a good idea; as with any enterprise, there are a whole host of things that can go wrong if you are not entirel
y sure what you are doing. Reading up on the details of what the landlord role requires, expectations that your tenants are likely to have of you, and planning carefully in advance the jobs and tasks that you will need to perform, are all essential preparations for becoming a fully-fledged landlord. If you are already a landlord and haven’t performed these basic steps, you may find that you are having trouble dealing with your finances, properties and tenants.
Landlord insurance, although not required by law, is almost essential. There are a great number of risks associated with entering the buy to let market; your property may undergo damage, your tenants may make a claim against you, or you may find for various reasons that you are unable to make your income from rent for a substantial amount of time. Should any of these undesirable circumstances arise, you will need to be sure that compensation will be available to help you through it. You will find numerous policies available at endsleigh.co.uk. Unexpected incidents do happen and can cause a serious amount of financial loss if you are ill prepared. The property itself will need to be covered against damage, as well as anything you own within the building such as furniture, light fittings and so on. A comprehensive landlords insurance policy will also offer compensation in case of legal expenses, should a tenant make a legal claim against you, or in case you cannot earn rent for some time; for example if the property suffers damage that makes it inhabitable, you need to be sure that you will receive compensation not only for the cost of the repairs, but for the rent you will lose during the reparation process.
