Retail Risks

Some of us might dream of opening a little teashop or boutique clothing store at some time in our lives. The prospect of selling items or providing a service in a twee  store is rather exciting,  having customers that come back time after time because they love your products and the service you provide. However, before you get carried away with the excitement of cupcakes, maxi dresses and shabby chic interiors, take into considerations the risks linked with retail.

I know it’s probably not what you want to hear or think about but being sensible and being aware of these problems is a logical way to go about setting up your business. In many business plans now you have to include the worst possible things that could happen and what your plan of recovery would be.

A sensible suggestion would be to cover your retail business with an insurance plan. This way you can feel safe that if any accidents happened on the premises to either staff or customers, or if any stock was damaged or stolen, your insurance plan would cover these elements, and plenty more factors.

If you want to know exactly what Retail Insurance would cover, speak to the team at ww.titan-insurance.com  they will inform you of what the insurance policy covers and how you can retain customer with great offers and loyalty schemes.  They can also tell you how you can reduce your policy with some handy hints and tips. Before you go into retail with your dream cake shop, speak to Titan Insurance about a retail policy.

A Manufacturing dream!

Andrew Harsley bravely stepped out in front of the VIP’s he planned to pitch his new invention to, and to this day, he has been the most successful candidate on the BBC’s Dragons Den.

Andrew Harsley has spent 20 years perfecting his idea for the” Rat Strap” a tie that would tie up bin bags,  cables, plants and saplings, it was constructed from strong polyurethane and best of all it was reusable. It was the newest version of the cable tie.

Andrew manages to secure £150,000 investment from the dragons for his plastic tie, then one of the biggest plastic distributors ordered 1 billion ties, creating a £36 million deal.  Obviously, Harsley had the backing of the Dragons and must have approached a very reasonable and trusted manufacturer.

The danger with these kinds of jobs is that it’s incredibly pleasing to have amount of orders, but what if something went wrong. What if you lost that order because you were not covered by insurance? As a manufacture, you should minimise your risk of losing big clients or orders with covering yourself with adequate insurance. This should naturally be one of the things to do at the top of your list but not everyone has the time or inclination to think about these things.

If however you do have insurance but it’s up for renewal try www.titan-insurance.co.uk and see if they can beat your current quote.

As for My Harsley, he has been the most successful candidate on Dragons Den so far, and his deal has been in process since 2008. Good luck to him, and let’s have some more great orders for manufacturers.

Why is groundworker insurance useful?

It is not just the usual things such as injury or damage that a groundworker insurance policy would be useful for. There are other, slightly more bizarre circumstances, that are still quite likely to happen to groundworkers and to their businesses.

For example, groundworker insurance policies are often bought with the understanding that being a ground worker involves the clearing away of earth or of structures to make way for a new development, be that a road refurbishment or for a new building, etc. You might not think, however, about things that can happen whilst you are doing this sort of work. Not the usual sorts of things, say damage to a nearby car or to a person, but other stranger things. Discoveries are one such strange thing.

Newspapers are full of stories of groundworkers discovering treasures or interest that have long been forgotten or sometimes even never known. At the very extreme end of the scale is skeletons, some of which have been found in recent groundwork projects across the UK. Treasure and amazing archaeological finds have also been reported. And recently a road works programme in Liverpool uncovered old tram lines from the city’s previous tram system. The groundworkers nor the contractors involved had any idea it existed until they appeared, and only a few local residents of the right age could remember their existence.

So how would a groundworker insurance policy be useful in this situation? The financial loss at having to stop work, which would be especially likely if human remains – however old – were found, or if worthy archaeological finds were discovered. Even ancient tram lines would need to be factored into the work, therefore changing the schedule and possibly delaying work. So this sort of insurance policy works for the bizarre as well as for the benign.

Finding welder insurance

Finding welder insurance can be made much more simple by setting out with a clear idea in your mind of what you want.

Welder insurance is very much like other kinds of labour insurance; it is an occupation that can come with great risks both to employees and employers, despite all necessary precautions being taken. Insurance for welders, like similar occupations, can be very specific or much more general. When looking for a policy you need to decide which you need, and which would suit your needs best.

Another factor to consider when searching for insurance for welders is who has the best reputation. For something very specific such as welding, asking around for the opinions of others in the industry is a great way to start to create a list of possible insurers. If someone has had a bad experience with an insurer though, remember that it may have been their error to choose that particular policy in the first place. Always take comments carefully as opinion is involved but they can be a great way to avoid repeating other people’s mistakes.

Once you have a list of quotes for welder insurance, the obvious next step is to work out the levels of cover. For welding these may be especially high as there is a greater risk of injury than other insurance policies may accommodate for. There are a high number of accidents for welders recorded annually, and although these are usually minor it is definitely a profession worth having very extensive levels of cover for when it comes to personal injury.

Media Insurance

For years I worked in Media, mainly at Radio Stations, and worked as a creative. My particular job was to come up with write and produce the commercials you hear on air, yes a pretty random job but there were a lot of guideline we had to adhere to; otherwise we could end up with a liable or slander case on our hands.

This made the job quite interesting as you could imagine, so in commercials we could not have the sound of crashing cars, we couldn’t use the Lords name in vain, we obviously couldn’t swear, and the list goes on.

If any of these things did slip the net or we used a “sound alike” song or voice, we could again be sued.

Therefore, not only did we avoid these elements but also the group was covered by Media Insurance.

There has been a lot of hype recently with gagging orders and the media can be blamed for a lot of things, so if you work as a freelance creative or work for a creative company it’s definitely worth thinking about Media Insurance to make sure you are covered in case of liable and slander, breaches of contract, infringements of rights and trademarks and much more.

Titan Insurance supply bespoke Media Insurance, which is quick and simple to set up, and you can be covered in minutes. Don’t be whipped into a media frenzy, make sure your creative business is covered and visit Titan Insurance for a free quote. Your package can start from as little as £475 a year!

Construction Insurance

I would love to own my own home, but at the moment the economy isn’t as good as it could be and I don’t have enough money to purchase a house. The government put in place affordable housing schemes that got me thinking about how many buildings are built each year and about the people who work in construction

Nearly 100,000 new homes are built each year in the UK, and currently there is a shortage of 39,000 new homes for new families.

The construction industry is and incredibly busy and complex place, where rules have to be adhered to, new standards and efficiency are the order of the day and the houses go up and up.

If you own or work in construction, you know that it can be an incredibly hazardous job.

In 2009/10, 152 construction workers we fatally injured, which has fallen from previous years.

Therefore, whether you’re self-employed or employ people to work in construction, having insurance is always a sensible choice.

Titan Insurance can provide you with a complete package from as little as £495, the can cover any size company including builder’s risks and liabilities and all types of building projects.

A lot of hard work goes into building properties and commercial buildings, but there is always a risk when doing these heavy labour jobs, so protect your staff and protect yourself with Construction Insurance from Titan Insurance. It’s quick, its simple and you can be covered in minutes.  Don’t become a statistic on next year’s building review.

Fish and Chip Shop Insurance

They are usually the first things that come to mind when you think of fish and chip shops and insurance. Fair enough – deep fat fryers are a big risk with fish and chip shops.  But there are some other serious considerations too which may not come immediately to mind.

Now dealing with piping hot fat all day does come with many risks and so hot oil related injuries feature heavily when considering risk in a fish and chip shop.   For instance, you and your employees are at risk of burning themselves in the normal course of business.  So make sure you have adequate employers’ liability cover to protect you from on the job injury claims.

However, your customers can also be at risk or create risky situations.  Most of your customers are likely to be good natured people popping in for a quick and easy fish supper but unfortunately you may get the odd rabble rouser on a Friday night – people who might be out to cause trouble.  There is therefore the risk of damage to your premises or injury to you and your staff.  These things are unfortunate but do need to be considered. 

The insurance cover your insurance broker or provider will suggest is likely to include the obvious three, buildings and content, employer’s liability and public liability insurance, but do talk to them and discuss the best possible option for your particular establishment.

Demolition contractor insurance – what does it offer?

Demolition contractor insurance is a very specific insurance policy that offers things on the one hand that almost all businesses need, and on the other a very specific tailoring to what a demolition contractor would need. 

If you are looking at demolition contractor insurance from an insurer that is specialised in the area that you need a policy in, you will find a number of extra add-ons that you can use to structure and tailor your own policy. These might offer things such as vehicle insurance, and higher levels of cover on public and employers liability insurance. The last two are particularly important.

In the demolition business there is always the slight risk that a member of the public or an employee could be injured by the demolition work being done, no matter how safe you try to make the workplace. Insurance policies offer you coverage in case any claim arising from such an incidence occurs.

This kind of insurance policy can also offer you things such as professional indemnity insurance, insurance for tools or work equipment, business interruption insurance, and a whole host of things that you might need. 

Demolition contractor insurance is like any kind of insurance policy; there are so many things on offer that it can be confusing at first to understand what you should be covered for. Remember that not all businesses are the same, so insurance policies even from industry-knowledgeable insurers may not always be providing the best cover for you. Do your own research, and try to understand what it is you truly need, and it should help the process become a lot less stressful.

What are the benefits of warehouse insurance

Warehouse insurance might be something vital to a business, so vital that they already have an insurance policy. But other businesses that may be starting out, or whose warehouse is not a central part of their daily business, might see it as an expense they could do without. 

The benefits of having warehouse insurance is huge. Within warehouse insurance you can get different elements of insurance cover that help to give an overall help to the coverage of your business against claims made against you. Employers’ liability insurance, for example, is one that is often offered in a warehouse policy. This is made compulsory by law to have, but it makes sense to find the right policy for you as cover is vital.

Business equipment cover is another thing that could be a benefit from warehouse insurance; keeping the contents and equipment of your warehouse safe would ensure that you can sleep well at night knowing that there is a safety net available if you need one. Warehouse insurers might also offer other extras and add-ons that can be of great benefit. For example, some will offer fleet or van insurance.

Warehouse insurance policies will often give you other elements that you might be interested in because they know what sorts of requirements particular businesses might have. Of course, if it will not be of benefit to you or your business then don’t feel pressured to take out the coverage, but if you believe that you might benefit then consider taking it out.

Who to listen to when it comes to building contractor insurance?

One good piece of advice for buying building contractor insurance, as it is for any kind of insurance policy, is to ask for the opinions of others. This is a great way to learn from other people’s mistakes and to work out what exactly it is your business needs, especially if you find the opinions of those in the same industry as you.

However, building contractor insurance – like any kind of insurance – is never going to be the same thing for different people. One person’s perfect insurance policy could turn out to be filled with holes for someone else. So another piece of advice when listening to other people’s insurance stories is to take them with a pinch of salt. Whilst someone might tell you their insurer was a great help during a moment of disaster, try to get the full story. And remember that that particular disaster may be unlikely to ever befall your business, but another type of disaster could, and it could be this particular kind of disaster that this ‘great’ insurer can’t cover.

When getting people’s stories, try to ask more questions than just ‘what did you think’. If they have a particularly damning story of an insurer, try to establish whether the insurer was actually tricky in getting help and cover from, or whether the person who took out the policy had mistakenly looked over some small print.

Building contractor insurance is like any kind of insurance policy, it is difficult to fit one policy to suit all. Therefore, you should try to listen to people’s advice understanding that, and knowing that negatives and positives might not fit to your particular situation.

Licensed premises insurance

Licensed premises insurance can come in a number of different forms and may be required for a variety of different kinds of business. Licensed premises can mean anything from night clubs, pubs, or any building with a bar. Insurers offering such a policy will typically have some coverage included as standard, with extra add-ons available if you feel your business would benefit from them. 

Licensed premises insurance policies can cover, as standard, a number of different elements of coverage. Some of the typical ones you will find include business contents insurance. Naturally the contents of a licensed premises are essential to running the premises, and to the livelihood of the business. Stock can be covered for a number of outcomes, usually varying from insurer to insurer. Different kinds of liability insurance are also available, for example public liability. This helps you in case a member of the public is injured or any of their property is damaged on your premises, and a claim is made against you. 

Other kinds of liability insurances include employer’s, and products. Products liability insurance keeps you covered against any claims made against you due to the quality or condition of what is sold by your business. Employer’s liability insurance helps you to cover the costs of a claim made against you by an employer due to injury in the workplace. 

Licensed premises insurance can include a number of elements, and it may take some time to find the right sort of insurance policy and insurer for you, particularly with all the extra things that can be added if needs be. But there is, thanks to the range, inevitably one insurance policy to suit your needs.

What not to do when you have unoccupied property insurance

Unoccupied property insurance is a really important thing to have if you are going to be leaving your property unoccupied for a long period of time. Once you have your policy, check to see what is required of you so that you are not putting the validity of your insurance at risk. There are some things that you should certain not do, even with the insurance policy. 

For example, unoccupied property insurance should not be used as an initial security blanket. Thinking that you will be fine leaving your unoccupied property only marginally safe is dangerous; as mentioned previously many insurance policies won’t be valid if you have not taken the necessary precautions to keep the property safe. Living in areas prone to flooding, storms or other kind of adverse weather conditions and not taking the necessary precautions to protect your home, or making sure that there is someone nearby who can make the necessary precautions, may endanger your insurance policy. 

Naturally, things such as windows left open are also a big no-no for insurance policies. Of course it is also a big no-no for keeping your property safe and the contents within. It is doubtful that anyone would purposefully leave their window open when they leave their property unoccupied, but to not check thoroughly enough to notice would warrant some questions from your insurers.

Unoccupied property insurance may be important, but you need to make sure that it is not the only piece of protection you have for your home. The physical safety checks and measures that you take will provide the best sort of comfort for you when you leave your property unoccupied.