Business Insurance - The Apprentice Week 8

Let’s hope that Lord Sugar has some good business insurance, given his sometimes unfathomable recruitment decisions, and an example of which was seen on this weeks The Apprentice.

Business insurance couldn’t help ex-Royal Marine Chris Farrell as he got the boot, getting the finger which wavered on James I’m Wonderful Lester and Chris Loser Bates for a few minutes in the Boardroom. The German crisp market proved his downfall, although that was incidental as Sugar continues to cull out the ones who to be fair, won’t make his Apprentice.

It was a travesty, but James (who effectively caused his team to lose by inexplicably switching a sales meeting from 9am to 1pm) hangs onto life for another week. Loser Chris must be Teflon coated and maybe his piercing blue eyes and investment banker pedigree is protecting his hide. How long Lord Sugar can protect him though remains to be seen.

James started the series well, but is now about the only person who thinks he’s doing even better. Some predict him as an outside chance who might rock the female trio of Joanna, Stella and Liz who for a long time have looked final week material. Joanna is improving fast, Stella has maybe peaked too soon and looking a little more jaded every week, and Liz has that look in her eyes that there must be more to life than keeping out of the firing line.

So Chris takes his bow, Lord Sugar’s aides check their business insurance policies and the show trundles on.

Bed & Breakfast Insurance – The Basics

Anyone thinking that they might need bed & breakfast insurance to cover their business, should know the basics.

Like any cover, you need to ensure that the bed & breakfast insurance you are considering will fully protect you, your business and your guests.

So here are a few basics when you’re considering what bed & breakfast insurance to take out.

Firstly, if your property can accommodate up to six guests on a bed and breakfast basis, then your house insurance must have a public liability clause. The problem is of course, that most house insurance polices exclude this sort of cover, so you need the help of a specialist intermediary. And they will be able to source policies that include the all-important public liability insurance, as well as cover for your property, its contents and your personal possessions. Accidental damage cover would also be a useful addition. 

Secondly, use an intermediary, because going to direct to some insurance companies can mean a lot of time and effort when they can’t offer you bed and breakfast cover for a certain reason. This might be because you have had a claim in the last five years, or your property has had to be repaired because of subsidence, or landslip problems. This latter problem can cause problems for many people and insurance companies are particularly keen on matters such as a property’s location as regards areas of potential subsidence and flooding.

All in all, when it comes to niche insurance policies such as bed & breakfast insurance, get professional help as soon as you can.

Solicitor’s Insurance – Phil Woolas Challenge

High profile cases have a way of reminding a certain branch of the legal profession that solicitor’s insurance is a must for those that operate at the sharp end.

Barristers might get all the glory in the big cases, but its solicitors who do much of the preparatory work. Which means nearly all of the profession take out good solicitors insurance.

And no doubt the legal team behind Phil Woolas will have the appropriate cover. The former labour immigration minister, who has been suspended by the Labour Party, was stripped of his Commons seat by a ruling from a special election court which decided that he made false statements whilst campaigning to stay the member of parliament for Oldham East and Saddleworth. He was banned for three years.

Mr Woolas appealed to the High Court for a judicial review, but this was rejected. He is appealing again to the Royal Courts of Justice for such a review and until the case is heard, then a by-election for the seat in question cannot be organised.

The case against Mr Woolas – who was famously ‘cornered’ by Joanna Lumley during her campaign for better rights for Ghurkha soldiers – centres on him alledgedly stirring up racial issues in order to put his major competitor for the seat, Liberal Democrat Elwyn Watkins, at a disadvantages. Mr Woolas won the seat after the bitter campaign by a mere 103 votes.

His legal team will undoubtedly have availed themselves of the best solicitor’s insurance that can be arranged.

Excavation Insurance – Don’t Dig Without It

Excavation insurance is there to protect those working in this particularly demanding branch of the construction industry.

And because this part of the industry is so demanding, it is vitally important that excavation insurance is taken out at the earliest opportunity.

The main risk for such projects is injury to a worker on a site, or damage to property. Furthermore, a customer might well question the standard, or quality of the work completed, which could also result in a squabble about costs. And these squabbles have a habit of  turning into major rows which only seem to please the lawyers.

And for most projects, you cannot even start bidding for the work unless you have such insurances in place, and can prove it. The paperwork, proving insurance and liability covers, make up an essential part of the bidding process. No reputable firm will allow a sub-contractor to begin work unless the paperwork is available and up-to-date.

Insurance is available per project, but this is not the most viable and economic way of providing cover. Excavation insurance, like most insurance policies, are best bought for a year at a time, and adjusted throughout the period of cover, when necessary. Taking out insurance for specific jobs can cause delays when bidding for the work and starting the project. It is preferable to have a policy in place and make amendments through a broker when a project is planned, and then started.

Working with a good broker, or intermediary, is therefore vital for companies contemplating good excavation insurance.

Business Insurance - The Brand Brags - The Apprentice Week 7

Business insurance would have to be a priority for Lord Sugar if he were to end up employing someone like Stuart “The Brand” Baggs, one of the more colourful candidates in the latest The Apprentice series.

This week The Brand displayed the sort of management skills that made Sugar’s sidekick Nick wince with pain and no doubt run of to check the company’s business insurance policies.

The 21-year-old Baggs has an ego which would make an A-List Hollywood celebrity appear small-town. And whilst everyone was praying that he would be one of the three sat in the Boardroom with the great man himself, it was actually Sandeesh, Chris and Liz who found themselves in the cross-hairs this week.

Sandeesh carried the Mark of Cain of course, but as the Sugar pointed out, it’s Chris who’s been on the losing side five times, whereas Sandeesh had only clocked up four failures. What’s perhaps more surprising is that uber-cool Liz was under the spotlight and seemed at a loss for words, perhaps wondering why someone so clever as her was part of the triumvirate on the naughty step.

Sandeesh carried the can though, mainly because she missed the huge hints from Sugar that perhaps the whiner James wasn’t long for The Apprentice world.

Nonetheless, wherever The Brand ends up, the business insurance policy had better be watertight. 

Next week, they’re off to embarrass some Germans! Expect hackneyed old jokes, poor German accents and towels by the poolside; can’t wait for that one.

Construction Insurance – It Always Ends up in Tears

If there is one industry where projects tend to up in tears, it’s construction. And this is why sound construction insurance is not just a good option, but a necessity.

Construction insurance helps guard against spats when it comes to project over-runs, damage during the works and arguments with the finished job.

Take a major road-building job which could see a project run for three, or four years, and involve so many facets and components, that it would be impossible to see the whole project and its implications right from the outset.

Think about the contractors working on widening the UK’s aging network of motorways. Some of the M1 widening work started way back in 2008 and much of its won’t be finished until 2013. And these projects tend to last for around three to four years.

When these projects are tendered, quoted and then won, both the customer (often the Government) and the contractor (often public quoted companies), just cannot envisage the true size of the work and the effort needed.

Let’s take a common example in which the contractor digs up the ground at the side of the motorway and discovers a network of drains and culverts, which might have been there for centuries, but which no survey had yet unearthed. Who is responsible? The surveyors, the contractor, or the customer? Arguments can quickly ensue and the blame game joined with gusto.

This is where construction insurance can help. As if the need arises for a third party to help settle the dispute (an arbitration service, or even a court), then good cover can help soften any reputational, or financial implications.

Watch Out for the Big Boys as Economy Stagnates

The theory is simple, the public sector will lose nearly half million jobs, but those jobs will be replaced by a growing private sector. Those with small business insurance policies and running the very companies that the coalition government believe will help kick-start the recovery, are not so sure.

The chief executive officers of the UK’s largest blue-chip companies may have combined to write a letter to the government applauding them that tough action was needed and that they could take up the slack, but the small company organisations weren’t so sure. Small business insurance helps mitigate against many of the problems faced by the companies operating at the lower end of the food chain, but it won’t create jobs.

According to many business observers, the coalition government has gambled hugely with the country’s economy. If it falters (and much depends on a the global economy which although still breathing and showing some signs of life), then the end-result will be dramatically increased unemployment, less disposable income in people’s pockets and the dreaded double dip recession which could keep the country in the doldrums for years to come. Just take a look at Japan to see what could happen.

But at the moment the jury is out. Big business believes it can step up to the plate. The smaller boys are nervous that they’ll not weather the storm so easily (and no doubt currently checking their business insurance policies) and that the pressure won’t be relieved for some time to come. The dice has been thrown. Now it’s a waiting game.

Providing a Safety Net to Accountants

The professional indemnity insurance is available to professionals across different industries. Depending on the choice of profession, the individual can opt for a suitable insurance. This also includes accountant insurance schemes that incorporates Errors and Omissions insurance, and Public & Employers Liability Insurance.

Accountant insurance is particularly important for professionals who offer accounting services to individuals or organizations. Therefore, it is useful for professionals like tax consultants, Certified Public Accountants, analysts, financial consultants, creditors, management accountants, risk analysts and financial accountants. Since such professions need a lot of precision, an individual from this field is likely to commit mistakes like errors and omissions. Moreover, the audit and tax landscape is witnessing continuous changes in the present scenario. In addition, the clients depend on such professionals for accurate reporting on financial aspects in a business. No matter how experienced and skilled an accountant or a tax consultant is, mistakes are bound to happen.

The Errors and Omissions insurance coverage would offer protection to the bookkeepers in situations where the figures have been miscalculated or any information is omitted. It may be noted that the insurance company is liable to pay for the losses no matter whose fault it is. Most of the accountant insurance policies cover settlements as well as defence costs and judgments, even in those matters where the allegations are found to be baseless. In the absence of such an insurance policy, the cost of paying court and settlement fees would leave several accountants, tax consultants and bookkeepers in debt or even bankrupt.

The insurance firms not only offer comprehensive policies to accounting professionals, but also attempt to make procedure user friendly and simple. The work of such insurers is based on the premise that in a stressful profession like accountancy, an insurer is expected to ensure that the stress of professionals is minimized.

Business Insurance Forever – Ask Melissa

Melissa, the latest casualty of the current series of The Apprentice, is a great
reason for companies to get business insurance, because you never know what
they’ll do next for your company.

Of course, business insurance is not all about protecting a company against the
misplaced enthusiasm of some employees, but knowing that you have some
protection against their actions, is a comfort.

Melissa had that un-erring confidence that was mostly articulated by ‘loud hailer’
communication techniques and appearing to know everything about everything.
She doesn’t of course and in the previous episode, she was lucky to escape with her
life after an embarrassing business pitch in which she failed to flog a hotel some
bread buns.

She did it again this week, trying to sell shower heads to the chief buyer at
Debenhams, even though he repeated the simple fact that they didn’t stock
shower heads. But despite Melissa’s efforts, team Synergy still looked in with a
good chance until it was revealed that dark horse Liz, of team Apollo, had flogged
£99,000 of baby-grow products to Debenhams, and so secured the team the
victory.

Now with employees like Liz, there might be less of a need for business insurance.

Melissa was unceremoniously evicted as Lord Sugar raised the finger and said the
immortal words: “You’re fired.”

Perhaps team Synergy could do with a little more business insurance themselves.

Many are lamenting the loss of Melissa: the big mouth has gone and maybe things
will be a little less exciting from now on!