Landlords Insurance

Let’s be honest, when it comes to it, most tenants are decent people who like you, want an easy and simple life. They pay the money, look after the property and are nice to deal with. And when the lease ends, they clean, vacate and everyone is happy.

But, there are some who will make your life an absolute pain. And this is why you must, absolutely must, have the best form of landlords insurance behind you. There are plenty of bad tenants out there and any landlord will meet one in their career and have to deal with tenants who are determined to make their point. And that point might well be valid of course, arising from genuine misunderstandings.

The UK’s rental property market is a vast and vibrant marketplace. But it also needs the support of detailed landlords property insurance schemes. Because when it comes to legal issues, the law often seems weighted towards the tenants. And if those tenants want to cause some trouble, they can. Take the simple matter of withholding the rent. For many businesses and individuals, cashflow is the constant bugbear. If the tenant decide to stop paying their rent – thinking that maybe the landlord has failed to provide something in the agreement, or just that they can’t afford it – then income will dry up overnight.

And savvy property owners know that they need good landlords house insurance policies to help them sleep at night.

So, don’t forget, count your blessings with your good clients, and get a good landlords insurance behind you for the bad ones.

Takeaway Insurance - Italian Style

Those pouring over their takeaway insurance policies might be interested to know that when it comes to celebrating fish and chips, you can’t beat a hilltop Tuscan town.

In Barga, they may not be entirely focussed on their take away insurance, because every July, they have a knees-up to celebrate all that is best about Scottish fish and chips. Why Scottish you might well ask, when the glorious battered cod (or Hake) and deep fried potatoes is popular throughout the land? Because, apparently, they consider themselves to be the most Scottish town in Italy.

Baraga only has 10,000 residents and is twinned with East Lothian, and is justifiably proud of its connections with the northern peoples. The connection between Scotland and Barga goes back to the 1890s when a travelling Duke of Argyll recruited labourers for his estate back home.

And the fish and chip celebration involves many meals throughout the month of July as some 500 people get together to consume vast amounts of fried chips and fish, not forgetting vast amounts of tomato sauce and the local plonk.

So for anyone sweating over their takeaway insurance, spare a thought for all those Italians enjoying their fish and chips in the glorious sunshine of Tuscany.

Landlord Insurance – essential and affordable cover

If you are a buy-to-let property owner, then the insurance risks are considered higher than owner occupied properties. This is because you are not living in the property yourself, or it is more likely to be left unoccupied. There are also increased risks of theft, and property damage, which is why insurance providers charge a higher premium to cover them.

You firstly need to consider a Landlord Insurance policy which has been specifically designed to cover these additional risks. As mentioned, some insurers may charge more, but do not be deterred by the price because as with most things, if you shop you will find a great deal without compromising your level of cover.

There are other measures too which can help you find an affordable Landlord Insurance policy. Here are a few:

• Contact your existing home insurance provider and try and negotiate a discount because you are already a customer and chances are they will give you some financial incentive to take out multiple policies with them.
• Think about increasing the amount of excess on your policy because insurance providers will deem you as a lower risk when it comes to making a claim.
• Invest in security measures for your home, like installing burglar and smoke alarms. Insurance suppliers look at security conscious home owners more favorably and this will be reflected in your premium.
• Shop around for the best deals, because these days there are hundreds of insurance providers with different discounts and other incentives for landlords.
• Finally, remember to consider the type of cover on offer too. A great price may not necessarily mean sufficient cover for your requirements. For instance, a good Landlord Insurance policy will extend cover to include sheds, garages, loss of rent, legal expenses and personal property from risks like fire, floods, vandalism and theft.

Check the small print, especially when online

The advice usually given when discussing insurance is to ‘check the small print’. Everyone knows it, so why then when it comes to buying an insurance policy online do so many people forget?

Is it ignorance, or pure laziness? Who knows. But these days more of us than ever have become internet savvy and choose convenience and price over any traditional way of arranging our insurance cover, like picking up the phone. So how many of us are left realizing we have arranged the wrong type of cover when it’s too late? The answer is more than likely very high.

The reason for this is if you buy your insurance online, there is a chance the full policy details or small print may not be available until after you have parted with your cash. It is at this point you realize you do not have all the cover you require.

Yes it is true we all like a bargain, and even when considering home or business insurance, we all have the phrase ‘the cheaper the better’ somewhere in mind. This is not exactly the right approach to insurance though.

A cheap price usually means a basic amount of cover, and some insurance companies will not even take specific requirements into account when it comes to their cheapest policies. They will assume ‘one size fits all’ and only ask a few basic questions online before providing you with a quote.

This approach may be fine for some; however those looking for a certain level of cover may be compromised. Consider this example: suppose you are searching for home insurance or landlord insurance and one of the online ‘statement of fact’ questions you are asked is whether your property is situated next to a cliff or river. Without realizing, you may have answered no because it is part of a list of questions which automatically default to no, or you only get the opportunity to answer it at the end via a single tick box.

The result is you have accepted a policy without reading the full ‘statement of facts’, and if indeed your answer was yes, then you have ended up with an invalid insurance policy.

To avoid this, you should get advice and help from an insurance expert or broker. This way you will always have the opportunity to read the small print before signing anything.

Small Business Insurance made easy

When it comes to planning the future of your business, it is quite normal if you don’t think about insurance straight away. For those who do though, there are hundreds of small business insurance policies to choose from, which often leaves many utterly overwhelmed, and not to mention confused by the barrage of insurance jargon they have to make head or tail of. Small Business insurance policies are notoriously complicated, but that should not put you off, because arranging one is vital to the protection of your business; both from a legal and financial perspective.

So why are they hard to understand? The main reason is because not one business is the same, so the risks they face are also different. For instance, a landlord will need buildings and contents insurance, but not cover for things like goods in transit which a retailer or wholesaler will require.

A nightclub owner is likely to need an insurance policy which covers loss of money given the high level of cash left on the premises, but will not require product liability cover like a manufacturer does.

The good news is small business insurance has become much easier to comprehend thanks to some specialist business insurance brokers. They have simplified things, by designing packages specific to different business types.

They have also sorted the common insurance requirements which apply to each type, like employer’s liability and public liability so small businesses can be confident they are getting the right level of legal cover, and added the extra cover type’s specific to their business type.

For example, you can now search online for Manufacturing Insurance, or pub and restaurant insurance and find what you are looking for without too much effort.

Some small business owners may still be thinking insurance is too much of a hassle to arrange, but they should be mindful of any uninsured occurrence like a burglary or a fire which could put them out of business.

The advantages of Manufacturer’s Insurance

When it comes to business insurance, Manufacturers insurance is ever increasing in popularity as those
involved in the manufacturing trade, wholesale and even retail are arranging cover so they and their
customers are protected should anything go wrong.

Manufacturer’s insurance has many advantages, like providing cover should the product a manufacturer
has produced have a defect or lead to an injury for the buyer. Here are more benefits of taking out a
Manufacturers insurance policy:

• 
  Defected goods, including faulty or misleading instructions can be replaced or repaired under the policy. If the product sold is not up to scratch, then the insurance will cover for it to be sent back to the manufacturer to be rectified. Under a typical policy, if the repair cost exceeds the value of a brand new product, then the insurance will cover for a brand new one to be issued back to the buyer.
  
• 
  If a customer incurs a loss to their business earnings because of a defective product they have
  purchased, then under a reliable policy they will be covered for it. For example, if you have
  bought a laptop for work purposes, and it fails to work correctly and you lose work because of
  it, you can claim back the money. Plus the manufacturer is covered for the cost of repairing or
  replacing it.
  

Finding a suitable Manufacturers insurance policy these days is relatively easy, especially if you search online. There are numerous specialist insurers who have knowledge of the unique requirements involved in the manufacturing, wholesale and retail sectors. It is wise therefore to contact them first to discuss your needs.

What should my Fish and Chip Shop insurance include?

You can breathe a sigh of relief because you have finally realized your dream, and opened your first Fish and Chip shop. Yes, it may well have cost you an arm and a leg to fund, you may have had to remortgage your house, or take out a bank loan but now it’s yours, you need to do everything you can to protect it.

Fish and Chip shop insurance is a sure way to safeguard your chippie. But when it comes down to it,there are some key things you need to make sure your policy delivers. These are specific to running a fish and chip shop; because there are unique risks involved which you need to be protected against. So before arranging your Fish and Chip shop insurance policy, you must consider cover for your premises, liability, staff, vehicles, food contamination, and very specific hazards like fire, floods and
damage.

Other things to think about are business interruption, because if you are unfortunate to have a fire, it could put you out of business for a while. You must remember running a Fish and Chip shop involves many specific risks, and this is why your insurance policy is imperative.

Specific risks like a customer calling up complaining of food poisoning, or perhaps a bunch of unruly customers causing a nuisance in your shop and end up breaking your window. These are just some scenarios which should not be taken lightly, because these days, people tend to be more inclined to make
a fuss, or put in a claim to see how mush compensation they can receive.

So ensure you have the right cover, and continue to realize your dream.