Increase in Insurance Premium Tax

Earlier this year George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced in his summer budget the unexpected measure to increase Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) to 9.5% from 6%, a hefty 58%

increase. The government estimates the increase will generate an extra £1.5 billion on top of the £2.5 billion the insurance industry already contributes each year.

This increase is considered a necessity by the government, but a surprise ‘stealth’ tax by industry insiders. Osborne is confident that this rise in IPT will benefit the UK economy, arguing that it brings the UK’s IPT in line with other countries. In fact, at 9.5%, the UK still has one of the lowest IPT rates in Europe – France’s IPT rate is 11.6% and in Germany it is 19%.

The new standard IPT rate of 9.5% will apply to all qualifying premiums from 1st March 2016 and to some insurance premiums starting on 1st November 2015, so the impact of this rise is already starting to hit.

This rise in IPT puts further pressure on insurers who are already operating on slim margins with record low investment returns, and will inevitably result in insurance premium increases.
The risk for businesses, facing similar trading conditions, is they cannot justify or afford a significant increase in their insurance spend and as a result may look to reduce their cover, with possibly disastrous consequences.

There is some good news as there are ways to mitigate the impact of this rise and we can help.
 A review of the risks to your business to ensure you are getting best value out of your insurance spend is key. There’s no need to wait until your forthcoming renewal for the inevitable bad news of increased premiums, contact us now for a review of your business to find out how we can help.

Castlemead is an independent insurance broker with over 25 years history of professional service and advice to our clients. We pride ourselves on our innovative approach to solving our client's insurance issues whilst maintaining a traditional approach to client service.

Vistage Business Insurance Guide for CEO’s – Small Print Matters

Business insurance is normally purchased on a relationship basis by one of your team with price being the main driver for the purchasing decision.

The Insurance industry has reacted to this price sensitivity by gradually tightening their policy terms and conditions resulting in “small print” that allows the insurer to escape serious claims. Several national Brokers are now themselves acting as insurers operating their own capacity or ‘MGA’, meaning they are reliant on underwriting profit for their earnings.

The 2011 Mactavish report confirms most firms don’t know what insurance they have purchased or how it will perform when needed. This is Castlemead’s summary of the most common property & business interruption pitfalls.

Issues that mean you can get no payment at all

• Failure to disclose

1. You or one of your Director’s was a Director of a company that was made bankrupt or went into administration
2. You or one of your Director’s have a Criminal conviction that is unspent
3. A previous loss either claimed for or paid for by the business

• Breaching a Policy Warranty

1. Policies are now full of terms and conditions the most significant are “Warranties” or “Conditions Precedent to Liability”
2. Failure to comply renders the contract void at the insurers discretion
   This is the case even if the breach is non material to the loss
3. Common warranties are many and varied  - the policy assumes:-
   Electrical – Inspection of fixed wiring and a certificate can be produced that is in date
   Waste – Bins lids and locations are satisfactory
   Construction –Brick / Block built concrete floor pitched roof
   Security Alarm on response maintained BS7621 locks and window locks
   Stock Storage – inside on pallets – not outside not on the floor
   Heating – fixed – no fan heaters – definitely no gas powered space heaters
4. Terrorism  - previously expensive now worth considering and usually a requirement in any mortgage. Terrorism exclusions are wide ranging and include organisations such as the Animal Liberation Front – in the event a fire or explosion on an adjacent site you don’t want to be debating the cause with your insurer for 3 months.

• Issues that result in payments of less than you may need :-
  
  Always ensure you use the correct sum insured. Property insurance is comparatively cheap.

Insurers hold you responsible for any short fall. This is called Underinsurance or the  Average Condition

• Example:-

Stock Sum Insured £500,000 Value at risk £1,000,000

Claim for £100,000 £500,000 = 50% x £100,000 = £50,000 payment
£1,000,000

• Buildings – Insure for reinstatement cost including fees and debris removal
  Usual mistakes Insuring for market value, or cost price from the asset register
• Machinery Plant and Contents – Insure for replacement cost as new
  Usual mistakes Second hand value, written down value failing to make an allowance for items which are not capitalised and simply expensed – in the event of a fire it all needs replacing
• Business Interruption – Typically Insure for Gross Profit basis (normal for manufacturing risks) should represent gross margin – Turnover less purchases with a stock adjustment. Loss of Revenue or rent need similar attention
  Usual mistake – gross profit in accountancy terms includes labour that is production related – you need to insure for wages as in the event of a loss you need to keep paying your staff or pay redundancy. If buying 2 years gross profit the sum insured must show as double on the documents. Send an Accountants declaration in at year end and you should get a ‘free’ 30% allowance for growth –rarely done.
• Additional Increased cost of Working & Indemnity periods (How long business Interruption cover lasts)
  Usual mistake – Additional increased costs not purchased or only to a low limit (suggest 10%). 12 month gross profit purchased. Consider how long it would take to rebuild or relocate what you have and get back into your market

Summary:-

• Use a Broker who understands your process, is financially literate, and can explain the terms that you need to adhere to. Dealing with an insurer Direct makes you responsible for any omission – not a good idea.
• Read the policy or check the small print – if you need help get an audit from a qualified Broker (look for ACII or FCII)
• Talk though claims scenarios; a competent broker should be able to guide you on disaster recovery issues and the insurable costs.
• Usual mistake Not discussing until after the event. You can sue your broker but it costs circa £20,000 and takes 12 months to achieve. Your business will be at its weakest if a serious loss occurs and the banks are less than sympathetic to bridging this period.

Understand Your Warranties!

We all like to save money. Most of us like to think we are pretty savvy when it comes to shopping around for the best deal - be it that shiny new car, latest piece of technology, or the latest clothing fashion.

However, many of us do not make that purchase on the basis of price alone. We will test drive the car, check its specification, calculate the finance, and perhaps even purchase an extended warranty. This is good due diligence.

By comparison, however, the majority of us do not apply the same high standards when arranging our Insurance.  Many purchase their insurance on a ‘grudge’ basis. Perhaps that’s because it’s an intangible product, or we think “it will never happen to me.”  But what if it does happen to you?
Will you be properly insured or covered at all?

At Castlemead Insurance Brokers, when we visit a potential client to complete an audit of their insurances, we are continually amazed at how lax an attitude people have towards the warranties and conditions attaching to their policies.

Many do not realise the implications of non-compliance, and yet this is one of the first areas an insurer will investigate following a claim. Just because you paid your premium and have a policy in your hand, it does not guarantee that your insurer will settle. It will then be too late to start reading those warranties and conditions and even worse to discover that you are in breach!

Most of us joke about the ‘small print’, but when it comes to insurance the idiom is never more apt ‘the devil is in the detail.’ So, what does some of this detail mean?
According to Wikipedia “a warranty generally means a guarantee or promise which provides assurance by one party to the other party that specific facts or conditions are true or will happen.”

A few examples will best illustrate:

If your property has any proportion of a flat roof then it is probable that a Flat Roof Warranty will apply and the wording will be something along the following: “All flat roofs are inspected at least annually by a qualified person and all defects found remedied immediately.”
Most business policies will have a Waste Warranty attaching, which will state something like: “all combustible trade refuse shall be removed from the Buildings at the end of each working day. All waste or refuse outside the Buildings is stored in non-combustible lidded containers or metal skips kept at least 5 metres from any building or other property and removed from the premises when full.”

Another common warranty is the Unoccupancy Warranty which will restrict the cover on a property after it has been unoccupied for a certain period of time and will require some services to be turned off and regular inspection visits.

Non-compliance constitutes a breach, and the policy can be repudiated ab initio (from the beginning).
There are many other warranties for various types of risks. It is essential that you check your policy and make sure that you understand your warranties and conditions and the potential outcome for non-compliance.

In summary, we would do well to heed the Marine Insurance Act 1906, which bluntly states that a warranty “must be exactly complied with, whether it be material to the risk or not”.
And to quote the Law Commission in their 2012 review, “Once a warranty has been broken, the policyholder cannot use the defence that the breach has been remedied. Furthermore, the breach discharges the insurer from all liability under the contract, not just liability for the type of risk in question. Thus a failure to check a fire alarm would discharge the insurer from paying a claim for flood damage.”

However, they went on to note that such an approach is outdated and they have proposed “that a breach of warranty would suspend the insurer’s liability, rather than discharge it. Where the breach is remedied before the loss, the insurer must pay the claim. Furthermore, where a term was designed to reduce the risk of a particular type of loss, a breach would suspend liability in respect only of that type of loss. For example, a failure to install mortice locks would not affect a claim for storm damage.”

The end result of this review is that The Insurance Act 2015 received Royal Assent on the 12th February 2015, and will come into force in August 2016. It will incorporate the proposed amendment above.
In the meantime however...…….do not ignore your warranties!

If you would like a free audit of your insurance arrangements and, documented by way of a forensic report or if you have any questions arising from any of the issues raised in this article please do not hesitate to contact us.

Adrian Webb
Adrian has thirty years Insurance broking experience having managed his own business for twenty one years until it was purchased by a national brokerage. Adrian continued to run the business for its new owners prior to joining Castlemead where he has been tasked to develop a new office at Exeter as part of Castlemead’s continued growth strategy.