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

A total of 180 applications have been approved by the Department for Transport (DfT) for next year’s trial of longer semi-trailers, CM can reveal.

The breakdown consists of hauliers, own-account operators and trailer manufacturers, which between them will pilot the use of 1,811 longer semi-trailers on UK roads.

While larger operators have been granted the most longer semi-trailers in pure number terms as expected, the DfT has been true to its word and spread the allocation widely between operators large and small, with no single entity having more than 8% of the total.
(source: Commercial Motor.Com)

Business owners from Leicestershire and Northamptonshire are invited to attend the meetings which will include a main speaker who will discuss topics such as management, marketing, cash flow – and other key business topics. The group will meet on the third Tuesday of the month from 5pm-7pm.

The first month’s meeting will take place on Tuesday March 20^th with guest speaker Alastair Campbell from The Ideal Marketing Company.  His talk will cover ‘The three essential marketing areas that will grow your business’.

“The Business Agenda will be a useful group for anyone who is looking for new business ideas,” comments Mick Judge from the Innovation Centre. “It is important for local companies to have the opportunity to meet up and debate ideas, to work together and generate business – not just for themselves, but for the local economy.”

The Business Agenda is a new initiative from the Harborough based networking group Working Breakfast, a not for profit business organisation who meet weekly in both Leicester and Market Harborough with the aim of offering support to members and generating business leads. More details are available at www.workingbreakfast.com.

Anyone who is interested in attending the event should register for a free place by e-mailing agenda@idealmarketingcompany.com

• Missing returns. This will contribute to wider HMRC activity tackling failure to complete tax returns. It will initially focus on those who fail to complete tax returns and who are liable to pay tax at the highest rates.
• Home improvement trades. This will build on campaigns aimed at plumbers and electricians, and will include several 100,000 tradespeople in construction and building work such as roofing, window fitting, bricklaying, carpentry and joinery.
• Direct selling. This will target customers who ought to be paying tax on income they earn from buying and selling goods direct to others, or from the commission on these sales.

The release went on to say: “Using new technology, we have been able to analyse returns to HMRC covering a range of taxes and to cross-reference these with other information to build a picture of where we believe we have taxpayers with missing returns.”

The HMRC also said that, like their previous campaigns, they will give those people who are in the groups they are targeting the opportunity to pay any tax they owe and to “put their affairs in order on the best possible terms”.

So, as is generally the case, those who are adhering to the law have nothing to be worried about.

You can read the press release in full by clicking here.

Don’t forget, Andrew Bourne & Co provide cover in respect of Tax Disputes, VAT Investigations and Employment Law Issues either as a package policy or as individual covers.

For further details please contact your usual account executive or Richard Gibson on  0116 272 0770

Insurers will be able to dip into the IFR to weed out insurance cheats who currently add an estimated £50 to every policy.

The IFR is the latest in a series of fraud busting initiatives. The Police Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department has led to a number of arrests since it kicked off in January.

Managing director at Detica Imam Hope said the register was a “serious blow to insurance cheats”.

“The IFR is laying the groundwork to deliver a serious blow to insurance cheats. It is vital to collect information about known fraudsters so that this can be combined with existing counter fraud data analysis to further protect honest customers from being penalised.

“The IFR is a beacon to the global insurance industry with other countries taking an active interest in this initiative. Detica NetReveal’s partnership with both the Insurance Fraud Bureau and the Association of British Insurers underlines the importance of the innovative approaches we are providing in the fight against fraud,” he said.

Head of fraud at AXA Richard Davies, who is leading the project, said “The signing of the contracts is an important step as we move towards delivery of the Insurance Fraud Register during the Summer.

“Over the coming months, we will step up our engagement with insurers to ensure they are ready to participate. We will also be talking with consumer organisations so that they fully understand what the Register will mean for consumers.

“While insurers remain committed to paying genuine claims as quickly as possible, committing insurance fraud will have long and serious consequences.”  

A number of insurers will now work with the Insurance Fraud Bureau on systems testing to ensure delivery of the Register during the third quarter, likely to be July.

For more information or you would like a free impartial review of your insurance arrangements, please contact Richard Gibson on 0116 272 0770 or richard.gibson@abourne.com

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

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.

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