Considering your insurance cover
When it comes to buying insurance most of us look at the price before we consider anything else and then seem to work on the basis of better the devil we know rather than the devil we don't. But is that the wisest way to be?
In life there are a number of truths and certainties that we all know. Very often the same can be said for cheap insurance.
As we only buy insurance to make sure we sleep well at night. If I had a pound for every time someone says to me "I'm only buying it because I have to, I'll never have a claim" and then makes a claim within 12 months, I'd be a very rich man! We need to make sure we are achieving the optimum balance in securing the very best value for money. The premium plays a large part here, but the covers and service should also be borne in mind.
There are a range of options that we would recommend you to consider when deciding which insurance is the right one for you and your business and your decision should be based on:
Covers - do you have greater cover with one insurer when compared with another? Assuming the core covers for your assets and liabilities are correct, do you have cover for electronic risks, such as computer virus? For the personal liability of the directors and management team? Are the limits of indemnity adequate for your and the local authorities needs and are they likely to be for the year ahead? How extensive is the legal advice and legal expenses cover? Does it include risks relating to TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings (Protected Employment))?
Services - do you have specified service standards? Will all enquiries be addressed, and preferably answered, on the same day? How are claims managed? What risk management support and advice will I get? Will confirmation of cover and amendments be issued same day, if not how long will you have to wait? Will the process be relatively straight forward? What are the hidden and unexplained issues?
Premiums - does the premium reflect the risk exposure I have? What proportion of the premium is passed onto the actual underwriters? In some cases only 55% of the premium paid actually makes its way to the underwriters, the rest is used as broker commission, broker work transfer and broker enhanced commission share, basically brokers doing their work but charging insures. For all CHIS & PrimeCare Insurance policies no less than 75% and usually closer to 80% is paid to the actual underwriters, resulting in more of your premium going to cover the risks you face, so less likely to need increase premiums as the claims take their toll.
When you take all these together, you start to see a few issues which will trigger your own thought process as to what is and isn't important to you when it comes to your insurance programme. If you feel you have a specific risk which you'd like to discuss with us, please feel free to pick up the phone or send us an e-mail or you can look at our web sites - for care homes go to www.chis.net and for domiciliary care providers go to www.primecareinsurance.net.
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