MANAGE YOUR LIFE

M ANAGE YOUR LIF E

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What has a missing finger, a bakery shop front, an aeronautical machine and a murder got in common? The correct insurance cover, and Kate Maxim went to find out more

WE ALL PAY money each month

for our cars, house, business and travel insurance in the hope we’ll never have to use it. So what is the point of insurance? I put that question to Simon Drysdale, director of Hallsdale Insurance Brokers Ltd.

n a nutshell, it’s for peace of mind. or a small amount of money, paid monthly or yearly, you transfer a ris from one party to another so that you’re not in the situation where you’re going to lose everything. Your house insurance may cost anything from per year, depending on how big your house, is but compare that with the cost of rebuilding your house of , to £2 million. A house is probably the biggest purchase any of us are going to ma e so why wouldn’t you want to protect it?

‘Insurance is always about putting you bac to where you were before the incident. No less than what you had and not ‘betterment.’ Although if legislation changes and we aim to build more e cient houses, then you do get better.

I know situations where someone has paid their premium each month and then found out that their insurance wasn’t valid when it came to the claim. Why would that be?

‘The devil is in the detail with regards to the wording. It’s very important the wording fits your circumstances to ma e sure a claim is paid. e’re an independent bro er so we wor for the client to find the most appropriate policy for their circumstance. e ascertain where the house is, what type and the goods within it. e find out the full circumstances of the individual in person or over the phone. The postcode is important as it may show if they live in a ood or subsidence area. e ta e all that information and present it to a number of insurers and get the best protection for our customers. rice is important, but it’s not the be all or end all. f, for e ample, someone has a collection of records or teddy bears, normal household insurance wouldn’t necessarily cover that properly. When we’ve had the discussion about the collection then we build that into the policy and ma e sure the insurance company nows about it. hat’s often the issue with claims: the insurance company don’t now so when a loss ad uster finds something he’s not e pecting, the insurer may use that to say they’re not covering all or part of the claim.

The Insurance Act 2015 changed everything so now the onus is bac on the individual to ma e a fair and reasonable presentation of facts to the insurer. If you use an online site you often don’t spea to someone. Unfortunately there’s a huge problem with under-insurance where people loo round their house and say

they’ve only got £10,000 worth of goods. They may estimate their old sofa at £100 but to replace it would cost £2,500.

‘A whopping 50-60% of houses in the UK are underinsured. It’s very important to get the valuation right, because if you say your house is worth, for argument’s sake, £100,00 to rebuild and you have a fire, and the loss adjuster says it will take £200,000 to rebuild, they won’t even give you the £100,00 you’re insured for. They will give you 50% because you’ve only insured 50% so that’s £50,000 and you’re £150,000 short. Our recommendation is to get your property valued every five years. t may cost you to do that, but it’s worth doing.’

Apart from household insurance, what else is important?

‘We do a lot of business insurance, anything from a one-man band like painters and decorators to large factories and logistics companies. It’s vital you get the business description correct. I was asked to quote on a stress company; they sent me their current policy which was an o ce and surgeries policy and I thought it would be people having massages and taking mindfulness classes. When I arrived I saw huge bits of machinery with an aero engine in the middle of the oor and they were stressing metals to breaking point. They’d previously done their insurance online and it had been assumed it was an o ce policy which was totally incorrect, and wouldn’t cover them in the event of a claim.

‘When you do get it right, it’s very satisfying. ne horrific e ample was a bakery where people were queueing to be served when two men came in and shot one of the customers. The fall out was immense for the baker, who had nothing to do with it. They were closed down for a long time and it damaged the reputation of the shop as people didn’t want to go in because of what had happened. The insurance company paid for damage to the shop and as there was business interruption cover they also paid for the loss of profit too.

‘And public liability is also important. As soon as someone walks onto your property it’s your responsibility that they’re safe. So if the postman trips on your doorstep he can sue you. Everyone has public liability under their house insurance which covers a whole raft of things. Recently I had a case where a consultant was at a small business for a meeting and was given a cup of coffee which he promptly spilled all over a computer. It happened to be the server that operated the whole business and it was out for over a week. The consultant was held responsible but as he had public liability insurance, he was covered. nother e ample is a ba ery where a regular customer left on a very cold day. As the door catch was broken it slammed behind him in the wind. he ne t customer came in and pointed out what he thought was a sausage on the doorstep. It was actually the old man’s finger but he was so cold he hadn’t felt it being ta en off by the door. They chased the man down the street, an ambulance was called and it was sewn back on at hospital. There was a claim made against the shop as the door was unsafe but they were covered under public liability.

‘And in a shop that didn’t allow dogs, the owners, who were leaseholders, put lots of hooks outside for them. One day a motorbike went by and scared all the dogs that were tied up. hey ran off pulling the whole shop window out, smashing the glass. The owner of the building had made them responsible for the glass but luckily they had that covered.

‘A good broker will ask the right questions and recommend the correct type of policy and suggest appropriate add-ons. The downside is you may pay more money but you’ll be protecting your biggest assets. I see the devastation claims can cause; it can destroy livelihoods and relationships if you don’t get it right.

‘Having a broker is an ongoing relationship which adapts to change. You get continuity as you deal with the same people. You just pick up the phone and there are no silly questions! If you are thinking about a change of lifestyle or a purchase then call us. f someone is planning an e tension, for e ample, they should tell us because you could be ta ing the bac wall off your house. Phone your broker and they will inform the insurance company. You don’t want to give them the opportunity to turn a claim down. Ninety-nine per cent of the time they’ll not add onerous criteria regarding security, or put your premiums up. And it means they can’t then say they weren’t aware of it if there’s a problem like someone with a hot torch burning the house down.

‘You can insure for anything and everything - there’s always stories of dancers and footballers insuring their legs - but you have to look at the cost and decide if it’s worth it. A chat with a broker who can help you navigate your way through reams of policy documents will help you make an informed decision and hopefully give you peace of mind.’

'You can insure for anything and everything - there’s always stories of dancers and footballers insuring their legs - but you have to look at the cost and decide if it’s worth it.'