With all the bad weather this weekend businesses may need to make a claim for flood damage.
Our friends at Aviva have put together a guide as to what information their claims department will need to know in the event of a claim. While this list is design specifically for Aviva most insurers will be asking the same sort of quests.
Take a look to give you a hand getting all the information you nee to make a claim.
With Autumn definitely upon us and winter just around the corner our friends over at Aviva have put together a Risk Bulletin with some helpful tips to get your business in the best possible position for the seasons ahead.
With our wealth of experience in the Plant, Machiney & Construction Insurance sectors, Andrew Bourne & Co will be actively targeting clients in these sectors throughout 2013 and 2014.
Watch out for our new marketing material, coming soon!
Heavy Plant Hirers & Waste Recycling Contractors, beware the markets are vastly declining following a number of high profile losses being incurred by insurers – Please contact David J Crowther – Director at Andrew Bourne & Co, if you would like some expert independent advice and a free review of your insurance programme – Tel: 0116 272 0770 / 07536117804 / david.crowther@abourne.com
With around 20% of UK warehouses and factories currently unoccupied, Insurance group Aviva is warning commercial property owners of the need to secure vacant buildings.
According to the insurer, there are around 9,000 fires in unoccupied buildings each year in the UK, and empty commercial premises, particularly in out-of-town areas, are high risk.
If not fire, other common problems with unoccupied properties include theft of fixtures and fittings fly tipping and occupation by squatters or travellers.
Property owners are therefore advised to inform their insurance company, the fire service and police when premises are empty, having first accounted for all keys and produced a list of key holders.
They should also cut off utilities and redirect mail, but at the same time keep the building looking occupied.
Rubbish and combustible materials should be cleared away leaving nothing that could be used to start a fire, or might appear to be of value.
“It also makes sense to make a note of the building’s condition when it first becomes unoccupied and maintaining a log of weekly inspections to provide evidence, should the need for a claim arise” comment’s Andrew Bourne’s David Crowther.
The Flood and Water Management Bill 2009-10 has received the Royal Assent. The Bill addresses the threat of flooding and of water scarcity, both of which are expected to increase with climate change.
The new legislation requires the Environment Agency to create a National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy, which a number of organisations will have to follow. Leading local flood authorities are now required to create local flood risk management strategies and the Bill also introduces a more risk-based approach to reservoir management.
The legislation should enable the Environment Agency and local authorities to carry out flood risk management works more easily.
In addition, it requires the use of sustainable drainage systems in certain new developments and introduces a mandatory building standard for sewers. The cost of the damage caused by the flooding in Cumbria in November 2009 topped £200 million.
According to the Association of British Insurers, its members handled 36,000 claims totaling around £206 million, with 60% of the sum relating to business damage.
Right insurance essential for empty retail units
The recession has left plenty of empty shops on the UK’s High Streets. In a new survey Aviva has reminded property owners of the importance of having the right insurance in place such as SME Insurance or property insurance.
According to research by Local Data Company, retail property vacancy rates across Britain have risen to 12%, with some towns seeing as much as 24% of shops lying empty. With the biggest two threats to an empty property fire and malicious damage, Aviva advises “now more than ever it’s imperative that landlords take all necessary steps to ensure that their buildings are adequately protected and insured correctly”.
Landlords should therefore notify their insurer when a property becomes empty, implement risk management measures and check out their policy conditions.
The group’s property risk manager, Allister Smith, comments: “Empty units must be adequately protected – every year, over three million properties are vandalised and 25% of this malicious damage occurs in empty properties with arson costing £2 billion.”
He adds: “Landlords also have a duty of care to anyone visiting the property, so failure to remove hazards or have sufficient warning signs, could mean the landlord is liable for any injury, even if a visitor is trespassing.”
David Crowther from Andrew Bourne, the Leicester Insurance Brokers suggests a number of other ways that property owners can ease their worries over empty units “attend immediately to any minor damage; regularly removing graffiti and fly-posters; ensuring intruder alarms and CCTV systems are in working order and continuing the operation of sprinkler systems and fire alarms” comments the Leicester Insurance Broker.