However before we come to that another important section is Business Interruption cover. There are two types of cover, these being Gross Profit including wages and Increased Cost of Working. If the business is reasonably sized and has premises, manufactures, designs and retails from the premises, then the Gross Profit basis of cover is usually the safest route to take.

If you work from Home and just install signs, we can also go down the route of ‘Increased cost of working’. Basically though, you need to look at protecting yourself against a major disaster such as a substantial fire which could either burn down the premises altogether or render the premises unusable. Faced with the costs of trying to find another premises, still being liable for the utility bills and paying the wages and without any income coming in as you cannot trade is a frightening prospect. That is why this cover is so important. Policies can cover you up to 12 months or some are available up to 24 months cover which is an even safer prospect for you. Ask for further advice.

 Goods In Transit can also be added to your Commercial Combined Insurance policy which would cover the finished signs and materials in your vehicle whilst out installing them. Beware as overnight cover will more than likely be excluded for theft and there must also be signs of forcible or violent entry to the vehicle for a claim to be valid so remember to lock the doors! Advise your Broker the total cost of the equipment, signs and materials in the vehicle as any one time and if you have more than one vehicle explain this too as cover needs to be extended for each vehicle.

Now to Employers Liability cover. This is a legal requirement if you have employees.Your Broker will need to establish how many employees you have working for you and the type of work they do. Whether they are clerical and sales only, employed to manufacture only, involved with the installation of signs away from the business premises or a bit of everything, the Broker needs to be aware as the wages are split between Clerical, Manual and Work Away to correctly rate the risk and to correctly establish the limit of liability to the Public. It is important to get this right as if you neglect to tell your Broker that an employee installs signs away from the business premises, you may not be covered in the event of a claim. Director’s wages also need to be declared for Limited companies as they are employees of the Business too. Remember to give the correct split of Clerical, Manual and work away here too.

Public Liability cover, basically this is also worked out on the wages split and how much time spent installing signs away form the business premises. There are different levels of Public Liability cover available however £5,000,000 is generally the most opted for with the Signs Industry as potential contractors are now tending to request this as minimum.

Here we also include cover for Bona Fide Sub contractors and Labour Only Subcontractors who may be brought in by you to install signs on your behalf or simply to help you with the installation. Advise your Broker of the amount you pay them in any one year so he can include them under the policy. Although, Bona Fide sub contractors have their own Insurance already, in the event their Insurance fails for whatever reason, the liability will fall back on you in the event of a claim as you have requested them to do the job on your behalf.

Lastly, and equally as important is work at hazardous premises or work generally above 10 metre height or below 1 metre depth. If you do either or both, say so!!  Look at your policy to check the limits applied by your Insurer, as they do vary. In respect of hazardous premises most policies have an automatic exclusion in place. Work at airports, docks, railways, power stations, on towers or steeples or offshore is excluded. If you do work at any of these then you must obtain prior agreement from Insurers before starting work. They will also need to know about the type of work undertaken, the frequency of this work, the health and safety assessments and precautions you have taken and if training has been given or if there is certification in your possession for the use of the machinery you are using.

The same applies to Height work, explain the ‘ins and out’ to your Broker/Insurer before you start work otherwise you may not be covered.

There are still a number of points to cover under ‘Back to Basics’  and questions still to raise however we have run out of time once again for today. Keep your eyes peeled as we will be continuing this discussion over the next few weeks when we will be covering Contract Works, Legal expenses, Hired In Plant, Own Plant left on site, and if you require additional Public Liability cover (Excess Layer),

 So, until the next time…………..

The above is for information and guidance only and should not be relied on for individual circumstances and professional advice must always be sought specific to your individual circumstances and requirements. Finally any and all comments referred to anywhere on this site is for the United Kingdom (UK) market only.

Machinery and Plant such as routers, plotters, laminators, printers and workshop items need to be covered. The figure you need to insure them for is the cost to replace them as “new, – on a like for like basis” but without betterment and NOT the cost to replace it as is. Your policy may state sums insured for Machinery, Plant, Fixtures & Fittings, this will generally include all items on your premises other than Computers, Electronic Business Machines, and Portable Hand Tools etc as these generally come under a separate section.

Computers will either be listed under their own heading or a completely different section altogether. Just make sure the amount you state includes PC’s, Mac’s, Servers, as well as all cabling. Software can be insured as well depending on your agreement with Vendors.

A specialist policy such as SignElite will list the computers under a separate heading and provide cover for increased cost of working as well.

Now Stock, the figure you need to provide is the cost to replace raw materials including vinyl stock. These days stock can be ordered in for next day delivery so you may no longer keep the amount of stock you used to, however, don’t forget to include everything, even down to the screws, and nails, it all counts!

 Portable hand tools and Small Plant – SignElite will give you this cover as standard and cover you anywhere in the UK however do not assume this is always the case with all insurers. Ask your Broker the type of cover available under the policy he is offering and advise him of the total value of the Tools and small plant you have.

Do you keep customer’s vehicles inside your premises over night or do you letter or wrap them inside your vehicle bay?  If the answer is yes, then you need some extra cover in place for these. These vehicles  are Goods In Trust whilst inside your business premises and even though your client may have comprehensive cover on the vehicle, they will certainly not want to claim on their own policy and lose their no claims bonus in the event your premises goes up in flames and takes their vehicle with it. So you need to extend your policy to cover these vehicles whilst inside the premises. Ask yourself what the maximum value of any one vehicle or vehicles would be at any time whilst inside the premises and that’s the figure you need to give to your Broker.

Again not all Insurers will offer this cover so you may need to approach a specialist Broker for the Signs & Graphics Industry who can accommodate this risk for you.

Money – This can be included or excluded depending on your needs. Normally money cover gives you a limited amount of cover for cash and cheques inside the premises, inside a locked safe, the transport of money to the bank and a small amount at the director’s home.It would also generally include some personal accident cover incase or hold up or violent attack.

Once again we have ran out of time however look out for Part 4 which covers Business Interruption, Liabilities and Goods In transit…..until next time

The above is for information and guidance only and should not be relied on for individual circumstances and professional advice must always be sought specific to your individual circumstances and requirements. Finally any and all comments referred to anywhere on this site is for the United Kingdom (UK) market only.

Firstly to Buildings, are you the owner? If you are it’s generally straight forward. You must insure the buildings at a figure to “rebuild” the premises and NOT the sales value. Whilst there are a number of ways to calculate your own building sum insured you need get it right and obtaining the services of a surveyor is the best way.

Are you a tenant who insures the building on behalf of the landlord? If so make sure your tenancy agreement makes you responsible for this. If it doesn’t then you might just find that in the event of a large loss there are complications. Insurance covers a policyholder’s financial interest in an item and if the responsibility hasn’t been moved to you through the tenancy/lease agreement, it needs to be. A verbal agreement might just not be enough!

An interesting point to note on buildings is the cover. Check to see if the policy covers “theft”. If you have lead on your roof or other similar metals, these are increasingly targeted by thieves. Without theft cover (usual exclusion on buildings policies) if someone takes your roof, cast iron external pipes etc you might find they are excluded.

If you are a tenant and you have improved the landlord’s premises these will be classed as “Tenants improvements”. These might be in the form of additional security, shutters, bars etc or perhaps you have built an internal office within the unit. If the premises are subject to a loss your landlord’s insurers will replace the structure belonging to the landlord and not your offices or other items which you have added to the building.

As a tenant you will probably be responsible for the glass in the building. Most tenancy agreements make the tenant responsible and most Landlords’ policies will have glass as an option. If the landlord is making you responsible through the agreement make sure you have this cover under your policy. A single piece of glass won’t cost you a fortune however a number of large windows put through on a Saturday night plus the boarding up costs will, so beware – check your policy!

The above is for information and guidance only and should not be relied on for individual circumstances and professional advice must always be sought specific to your individual circumstances and requirements. Finally any and all comments referred to anywhere on this site is for the United Kingdom (UK) market only.

The reason for this is due to the number of businesses we have seen recently that have policies which do not exactly meet their needs. This includes policies without the key covers and with exclusions for the type of work they actually undertake. Until these policies are looked at in greater depth, the Business will often be unaware of their potential exposure to claims being declined. As far as they are concerned they have a policy in place and it covers everything they need.

So for the next few Blog posts we thought we would examine the key points to refresh everyone what to look for when purchasing insurance.

For Manufacturers and Installers, which most of the Sign Industry falls into, a “Commercial Combined” policy is the order of the day. Whilst Shop policies are available, these are not generally designed to meet the Sign Industry’s requirements as they mostly provide cover for businesses selling things over the counter. The Public Liability cover on a Retailers policy may not extend to cover you for work away from your premises so do check your policy. Imagine fitting a sign on the front of a customer’s shop in town and your Public Liability cover does not extend outside of your business premises, you drop the sign whilst fitting it causing injury to a passerby, or worse causing permanent injury to them?……..We don’t want to even contemplate the consequences without Insurance! So a Commercial Combined policy would be the more appropriate policy to look at for the Signs Industry. Let us move on…

It is important to mention to your Broker that you apply and remove graphics. To do this you will need to use hot air guns or hot air strippers away from your business premises. If this is not mentioned you may end up with a heat exclusion on the policy and no cover in the event of a claim.

Insurance policies differ with different insurers but in general the cover is very similar. Essentially there are two basic types of policy; Fire, Perils, Theft and Accidental Damage, which covers more or less what it says and is specific on the perils, perils being Fire, Storm, Flood, etc…………. and accidental damage. The alternative is an All Risks policy which basically gives you a small list of what isn’t covered rather than what is.

So, now we have what type of policy you need to be looking at taking, we need to know which individual covers you will need to include under that policy. In Part 2 we will be listing and explaining those covers and how they relate to your circumstances.

The above is for information and guidance only and should not be relied on for individual circumstances and professional advice must always be sought specific to your individual circumstances and requirements. Finally any and all comments referred to anywhere on this site is for the United Kingdom (UK) market only.

Not all Insurers will offer this cover so if you find this is not possible then you may need to approach a specialist Broker for the Signs & Graphics Industry when it comes to your renewal date, who can accommodate this risk for you.

The above is for information and guidance only and should not be relied on for individual circumstances and professional advice must always be sought specific to your individual circumstances and requirements. Finally any and all comments referred to anywhere on this site is for the United Kingdom (UK) market only.

The study commissioned by life assistance company CPP shows that identity theft has affected almost 100,000 small businesses (1), costing them an average of £13,500 each – £1.3bn across the country – enough to cripple some businesses.

One in five SMEs (22 per cent) admit they may be vulnerable to corporate identity theft due to lax procedures and protocol – but this figure could soar as criminals catch-on to a loophole with Companies House data processing.

Fraudsters’ ‘modus operandi’ typically involves changing company directors’ details or the company’s registered office address, by submitting false documents to Companies House through amendments to the company records via a simple submission of a paper form.

Under current systems, Companies House does not verify paper document validity. There are no checks if impostors try to register as new company directors or change a business address. And legitimate business directors are not notified if new company documents are filed, so they may never be made aware of fraudulent claims.

The majority of SME company directors (87 per cent) are not aware of these loopholes, which could put them at risk of corporate identity fraud.

Only one in 10 (14 per cent) is taking advantage of the PROOF scheme offered by Companies House, which offers secure electronic filing of documents to protect them against potential fraud.

And SMEs are also exposed to risk through their own data handling. Nearly half (47 per cent) say that their current employees have access to sensitive company data, almost two-thirds (61 per cent) admit they don’t encrypt company data, and a further fifth (22 per cent) allow employees to take sensitive documents out of the office.

While over a third (34 per cent) of SMEs confess that they don’t understand what corporate ID theft is – they need to as the reality is real. Victims of corporate fraud have experienced fraudsters applying for corporate credit/debit cards, spending money on credit, ordering goods without authorisation and even being able to withdraw funds direct from corporate accounts.

And the impact is severe – with victims reporting their company credit rating being affected as a result, damage to their company reputation and losing customers.

Michael Lynch, fraud expert at CPP said: “Our report demonstrates that corporate identity fraud is a real concern for businesses. It’s key that organisations ensure that they have secure methods of storing sensitive information to avoid falling victim to this growing problem.

“The current loopholes in the Companies House system make it worryingly easy for impostors to steal company information, and forge its identity, which can have huge financial impacts. We urge SMEs to take advantage of the safe online systems in place, to protect their business and for many SMEs, their livelihood.”

Key statistics

• Almost 100,000 UK small businesses have fallen victim to corporate identity theft
• Corporate identity theft costs businesses an average of £13,500 each
• 22 per cent of SMEs admit they may be vulnerable to corporate identity theft
• 87 per cent of SME directors are not aware of loopholes in the Companies House system which could put them at risk of corporate identity fraud
• Only 14 per cent of SMEs are taking advantage of the PROOF scheme offered by Companies House
• 47 per cent of SME directors say that their current employees have access to sensitive company data
• 61 per cent of SMEs admit they don’t encrypt company data
• 22 per cent of SMEs allow employees to take sensitive documents out of the office
• 34 per cent of SMEs confess that they don’t understand what corporate ID theft is

Advice for companies

• Check with Companies House that the details stored for your company are accurate
• Enrol for the PROOF WebFiling scheme and sign up to the alert system which will warn you of any changes to company details
• If you receive a call claiming to be from Companies House try to obtain a phone number and contact Companies House immediately. NB. Companies House personnel never contact companies by telephone asking them for their security codes so should businesses
• Do not rely on Companies House records alone in determining whether to lend goods or services on credit – Companies House is merely a public register and not a credit reference agency
• Limit the access to company sensitive information to key employees
• Make sure all company sensitive information is securely destroyed before disposal
• Ensure that all company sensitive documents are password protected or encrypted
• Ensure that no company staff can take sensitive documents out of the office in printed format or on unencrypted USB sticks
• Ensure all hard copies of sensitive company information are stored in locked cabinets in locked premises

The above is for information and guidance only and should not be relied on for individual circumstances and professional advice must always be sought specific to your individual circumstances and requirements. Finally any and all comments referred to anywhere on this site is for the United Kingdom (UK) market only. Visit www.realidentity.co.uk for more information

Thank you to everyone who entered the competition and don’t forget to look out for the next one. We’ll keep you posted.

For more information about SignElite visit our website on www.signelite.co.uk or telephone 0845 034 1365.
The preferred Insurer to the Sign & Graphics Industry.

Once again the show was a huge success for us and those who came to visit.

Thank you to everyone who provided us with valued information concerning machinery breakdown and the companies you use to repair the machines, which we will be putting to good use for our soon to be launched breakdown cover.

Like many of the exhibitors, we have already booked our stand for next years’ exhibition and we look forward to seeing you all again for another great show.

If you particpated in our Makita 18v combi drill competition this year, this will be drawn on Tuesday 4th May 2010 and the winner will be contacted by email or post.
If you left your details with us at Sign & Digital you will be automatically entered into the compeition and if you didn’t get the chance to see us, but still wish to participate, please click on the link below and leave your full details to be in with a chance of winning.

Enter the Makita drill Competition at http://www.signelite.co.uk/Read_Online/makita-drill-competition.htm

Identity theft is a growing concern in the business sector, with 50 to 100 cases occurring every month the consequences of which can be very costly. Because company directors’ are public, you are potentially more vulnerable to identity theft. Are you aware that anyone could make themselves a director of your company in the time it takes to complete a form and post it, and the worrying thing about it is that you probably wouldn’t even know that it had happened until it’s too late!

There are many different methods identity thieves could use to steal companies’ identities, such as phishing, we will probably all have had an email from a bank asking you to enter your bank and personal details. Supplier fraud, account takeover amongst many others are risks businesses have to deal with on a daily basis

Consider what would happen to your business if your account was drained of funds? Suppliers suspend your account and would only accept cash, your bank wouldn’t help you out and of course you still need to purchase materials and perhaps stock, and don’t forget that you and your staff still need to be paid…

If the worst does happen to your business it could potentially cause a range of risks from cash flow problems through to negative impact on reputation and loss of customer confidence. No Money, No Customers, No Business.

Real Insurance Group Ltd, the name behind SignElite has teamed up with CPP who many of you will be aware of, and launched REALidentity.

Under the new REALidentity brand help is now available from CPP who are the identity experts. They can help people and businesses cope with the complexities of identity theft.

Everyone knows that Identity Theft is a growing problem, however very few people know what to do if it happens to them. Who they speak to, who will help – the fact is that very few businesses know where to start.

The above is for information and guidance only and should not be relied on for individual circumstances and professional advice must always be sought specific to your individual circumstances and requirements. Finally any and all comments referred to anywhere on this site is for the United Kingdom (UK) market only.