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

In in brief the policy cover provides:

• Quick response at a time of crisis
• A dedicated Loss Adjuster to prepare and negotiate your claim
• Peace of mind from best advice
• Saves time and minimises disruption to your business
• Negotiation of the best available settlement under the terms of your policy
• Management of meetings and correspondence with your insurer
• Working with your accountants to prepare any business interruption claims
• Arrangement of remedial work and surveyors if required

Of course we would still be there to support you during the loss. However, larger insurance claims can be extremely time consuming and disruptive to a business, and  using a unique loss recovery insurance policy would greatly reduce the impact of a claim.

Premiums start from as low as £32.00 including IPT for a small business.  We  believe that including this policy within all our clients insurance programme would ensure their insurance requirements are more fully met.

For further details, or to ensure this service is included in your insurance programme, please contact your usual Account Manager on 0116 272 0770

What does this actually mean?

 The new CIE law makes it an offence to keep an uninsured vehicle, unless it is SORN (Statuatory Off Road Notification) or otherwise exempt.

What will happen if your vehicle doesn’t have insurance?

From the end of June 2011 Insurance Advisory Letters (IAL) will be issued by the Motor Insurers’ Bureau to the registered keepers of uninsured vehicles. This will be following a check of the Motor Insurance Database (MID) – the UK’s central record of vehicle insurance. The IAL will advise the registered keeper that their vehicle appears to have no insurance and what actions to take to avoid receiving a fixed penalty from DVLA.

If a vehicle does not have insurance, the registered keeper could:

• receive a fixed penalty of £100
• have their vehicle wheel-clamped, impounded, or destroyed 
• face a court prosecution, with a possible maximum fine of £1000

Payment of a penalty does not replace the need for motor insurance.

Please refer to the Motoring Section of the Direct Gov website for further details: www.direct.gov.uk

For more information, contact David J Crowther, 0116 272 0770.

The Metalworking Insurance Scheme is for Businesses under £10 Million turnover who are involved in a diverse range of activities that include:

• Sheet Metal Workers
• Iron/Steel Stockholders
• Bolt, Nut & Rivet Manufacturers
• Door and Window Frame Manufacturers
• General Engineers
• Can Manufacturers
• Coppersmiths and many more!

Premiums start from as low as £500 plus IPT and the policy provides wide policy coverage including full Theft Cover, Key Person, Commercial Legal Expenses and Machinery Breakdown cover.

Justin Pavey a director of Andrew Bourne &  Co. stated “Whether new or existing customers are involved within the Cast Metals Industry, Forging, Steel Stockholding, Powdercoating or General Metalworking & Engineering,  we now have a range of commercial insurance facilities  to suit all  These are  supported by experienced staff who have the knowledge and understanding of these industries.”

For further information on this scheme or you would like an insurance quotation or a visit,  please contact our metalworking specialist Richard Gibson on 0116 272 8821 or email: richard.gibson@abourne.com

End.

It is now a criminal offence to keep a vehicle without appropriate motor insurance unless it has a valid Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN).  The new law is in addition to the existing offence of using a vehicle without Insurance and also in addition to the current MID obligations.

Failing to comply can result in the registered keeper of the vehicle receiving a fixed penalty notice of £100 (multiple fines may be imposed), the vehicle clamped, seized or disposed of and possible court prosecution with a maximum fine of £1000 plus a criminal record.

For further information regarding CIE, please contact your Andrew Bourne & Co support team. Alternatively, please visit www.direct.gov.uk/stayinsured

By Richard Gibson

Many clients have neither the time, resources or trained ‘competent’ person in place, as statutorily required under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. Therefore, in order to assist clients to meet our professional obligations as your brokers, we have sourced the UK’s premier pro-active provider MHLsupport Ltd to assist our clients in meeting their statutory and policy obligations.  Having asked several firms to present their services to us, our research revealed that MHL provides the most hands-on and professional support in assisting companies attain and maintain compliance.  We have found their fees, to be highly cost effective, and, strongly recommend companies take advantage of their offer of a FREE consultation with one of their expert team, at no cost or obligation to you.

Please bear in mind that insurance cover is not legally available to protect against the fines imposed at criminal court on the directors and officers of a business and the business itself (body corporate) if there is an accident or injury to a third party. In the event of non-compliance, criminal proceedings would be actioned by the HSE or Local Authority.  The only protection that can be afforded to you as employer is to attain – and of course maintain compliance.

For further information regarding this service please contact Richard Gibson on 0116 272 0770

The decision means that women can no longer be charged lower car insurance premiums than men, and the cost of buying a pensions annuity will change.

The court was ruling on a challenge by a Belgian consumer group Test-Achats.

It had argued that a current exemption for insurers contradicted the wider European principle of gender equality.

“Taking the gender of the insured individual into account as a risk factor in insurance contracts constitutes discrimination,” the ECJ said.

The requirement for unisex insurance premium and benefits will start on 21 December 2012, giving national governments and the European insurance industry time to adjust. For car insurance, women are generally a lower risk to insure than men but will, in due course, have to pay the same premiums.

The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) said currently the cost of the average car claim by an 18-year old man was £4,400, while that for an 18-year old woman was £2,700. “The ruling will have a significant effect on the insurance industry which has used the system of risk based pricing to award discounts to lower risk drivers like young females who are statistically safer drivers,” said Graeme Trudgill of BIBA. “The industry will have to change its model and effectively females will now pay a cross subsidy for males on their insurance premiums.”

Simon Douglas of AA Insurance told BBC News that the decision could add about £400 to the annual cost of car insurance for a young woman. “Particularly for women under 30 where the difference is most extreme, they currently pay about half what a man would pay,” he said.  “We could see their prices go up 25-30% and men’s premiums could fall by about 10%.”

Process
The DVLA and MIB are working in partnership to identify uninsured vehicles by comparing insurance and registered keeper records on their respective databases. Under CIE, the registered keeper of a vehicle will be responsible for ensuring that insurance is in place and will be contacted if the vehicle does not appear on the MID.  It is anticipated that the first letters will be issued around June 2011.

Upon receipt of an advisory letter, keepers will be asked  to:

• update their DVLA record (if vehicle has been sold or transferred)
• declare vehicle SORN (statutory off road notice)
• buy insurance

If the vehicle is insured and does not appear on Motor Insurance Database accessible then the insurance provider should be contacted. Enforcement, in the form of a fine, will only follow if the keeper fails to comply with one of the above.

Exemptions
CIE does not apply in Northern Ireland. NI has a separate registration and licensing authority and they will make a decision whether or not to adopt CIE.

Vehicles are exempt from CIE, if

• Vehicle has a valid SORN (Statutory off road notice)
• Vehicle is exempted from SORN (as untaxed before 31/01/98 and has had no tax or SORN activity since)
• Vehicle recorded as scrapped
• Vehicle recorded as stolen and not recovered
• Vehicle recorded as disposed to the trade
• Vehicle recorded as disposed
• Vehicle recorded as exported
• Vehicle is owned by the crown, tax class (60)

Further information
Further details will be available at www.directgov.co.uk   The DVLA and MIB have also prepared a question and answer document . if you would like a copy of this please contact your usual  account executive on 0116 272 0770 or enquiries@abourne.com

Commercial premises have been targeted, too. There has been instances where thieves have broken into buildings through the walls of adjoining units, work in progress being taken from production lines and vacant buildings nearly wrecked by water pipes and other metal fittings being stripped out – resulting in serious damage. 

Andrew Bourne & Co. offer the following advice to businesses involved within the metals industry:

• Review your physical security arrangements  The site perimeter, building exterior and high value stores are all areas to consider.
• Is your intruder alarm system adequate?  Many alarms are restricted to office areas. Can these be extended?
• Consider CCTV as part of your overall security, though it’s important to choose the right system
• Make sure you have the right insurance cover. Have you increased your sums insured to cover the raised values?
• Make sure your business continuity plan includes your plans to deal with raw material shortage.

For further information or assistance regarding this, or you would like us to review your present insurance and risk arrangements, please contact Richard Gibson on 0116 272 8821

Most standard business contents insurance policies will only cover theft if there is evidence of a break in.

But what if a burglary occurs on a hot day when a door has been left open? A standard insurance  policy would exclude theft of contents if there had not been forced entry.

Many businesses opt to purchase “Full Theft”  Insurance at an additional fee to extend their contents policy to cover this risk.

If you think this would be an issue for you and you would like us to review your current business insurance arrangemetns  please contact Richard Gibson on 0116 272 0770 or richard.gibson@abourne.com