A case in Scotland, which recently resulted in three companies being fined over the same incident, provides a reminder of the health and safety responsibilities of all firms involved in any part of the construction supply chain, not just the contractor.

The companies were – between them – fined over £300,000 following a fall of over 6 metres by a worker on to a concrete floor. The accident happened when the worker was installing a security system. The companies that were fined were the customer, the contractor firm and the firm to which the job had been sub-contracted – which was the injured man’s employer.

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) found that the customer had not requested a written risk assessment of the work from either the contractor or the sub-contractor. The contractor was understood to have carried out a general risk assessment relating to working at height but not one that related to this particular project. It’s understood that the sub-contracted firm was not aware of the contractor’s risk assessment. It was reported that neither company had a method statement detailing how the work was to be safely conducted.

Furthermore, the customer did not conduct safety inductions for contractors before the commencement of work on site or hold safety meetings once work was underway to check the ongoing safety of the work.

This comes as a salutary warning to construction firms of the extent of their health and safety responsibilities.

As ever, the HSE provides useful information:

• about working at height http://www.hse.gov.uk/falls/
• about risk assessments http://www.hse.gov.uk/risk/
• example risk assessments http://www.hse.gov.uk/risk/casestudies/ 

For further information on insurance and risk management solutions for the construction industry, please contact Richard Gibson on 0116 2720770 or richard.gibson@abourne.com

David Cameron on behalf of the Government has confirmed this morning in Parliament that the Riot (Damages) Act 1886, police compensation schemes will operate as normal and that the time frame for notifying claims under the Riot (Damages) Act 1886 has been relaxed from 14 days to 42 days from the date of damage or injury to property. This is a very welcome concession from the Government and will allow for a more comprehensive assessment of the quantum of the loss to be included on the form.

The Prime Minister commenting on the recent rioting and looting in London and other cities, announced:

• The 14-day time limit to make compensation claims to their local police force under the Riot (Damages) Act 1886 will be extended to 42 days
• The Bellwin Scheme will be in operation to support Local Authorities
• To meet any short term funding problems the Government will set up a £10m recovery fund for Local Authorities

Claims under the Riot (Damages) Act

The majority, if not all insurance claims, following the disturbances, will be dealt with under the peril of Riot. While customers who have this cover will have their claims dealt with in the normal manner, there is still a need for these claims to be notified to the insurer within 7 days.

In cases of Riot (as defined by Section 1 of the Public Order Act), certain compensation is available under the provisions of the Riot (Damages) Act, for loss of, or damage to, property. Any such claims are made against the local Police Authority and following todays announcement within 42 days of the damage.

Next steps for your customers who wish to pursue uninsured losses

For customers in areas affected by the riots we recommend the following actions be undertaken as a matter of urgency:

1. Where it’s safe to do, carry out an immediate investigation and establish any loss or damage – we understand that this may be difficult but it is better to present as much information as possible to the Police Authority.
2. Customers should inform their broker of the outcome of the loss and damage assessment and, if an uninsured loss claim is being made, decide who will make the submission, to ensure it is made in the prescribed format  (Riot Damages Act Claim form) and within the timescale.
3. If applicable, contact the Police Authority, advising them of the circumstances, nature and extent of the claim to be pursued under the Riot (Damages) Act 1886. The customer will need to provide the Police Authority with following information:

1. Once all details have been completed, all the details should be return to:

If you have any questions regarding this please do not hesitate to contact Richard Gibson or your usual account executive on 0116 2720770

Do you accurately check your Buildings sums each renewal, or do you renew your policy without much thought to it?

The only time you may discover that your buildings are under insured is when you need to make a claim?  How much would it really cost to reinstate your business investments?

Five pointers:

1. Make sure you know what is included in the insurance policy definitions as this may include a range of ancillary terms such as walls, gates, fences, garages and other outbuildings. These items are frequently forgotton about, but must be taken into consideration when calculating sums insured.
2. Include the cost of removing debris, as well as architects’ and surveyors’ fees when calculating the reinstatement figure.
3. You may also need to consider other reconstruction expenses such as site decontamination or demolition or a fire-damaged building.
4. Keep up-to-date with current building requirements and local planning criteria , as new demands can significantly increase rebuilding costs. For example, owners are increasingly properties with improved thermal efficiency or on-site power generation.
5. The best way to obtain an accurate sum insured is by commissioning a regulated surveyor  – to carry out a professional valuation every three to five years. That way, you will be less at risk of a claim shortfall.

For further details on this article please contact Richard Gibson on 0116 272 0770

“My Insurer has refused to pay out on my fire insurance claim!”

For the majority of businesses, the above quotation will never happen.   But for some it may be the case!

The reason some insurance claims are refused are due to a breach in policy Warranties.

A  “Warranty” is  a special form of policy condition used by insurers to police activities of policyholders.  Any infringement of a warranty  – even an innocent infringement – gives the insurer the right to refuse claims.

For example Woodworkers naturally manufacturer products from wood.  Therefore fire insurance cover under their commmercial combined policy would normally be subject to a “Waste Warranty”. The wordings of theses waste warranties vary bewteen insurers, but typically we have come across policies who are required to clear sawdust and shavings from machines  and the floors daily and remove collective waste from the premises daily.

Some Woodworking businesses may be unaware of this warranty.  Some will be unable to comply.  Neither would be insured in the event of a fire. Also some Woodworkers retain offcuts as winter fuel and these too could be regarded as failure to clear waste from their premises.

If this is a problem for you, or you would like to discuss this in greater detail,  please contact our Woodworking Insurance specialist Richard Gibson on 07510 695335 or email him at  richard.gibson@abourne.com

We are able to offer insurance policies that provide less onerous waste requirements.