CPA Bulletin

Insurance: 2 www.cpa.uk.net CPA Bulletin > February 2018 19 General Insurance This is something that we all need and, for Motor Insurance and Employers Liability Insurance, something we must have by Law. Motor Insurance The Law requires that we have effectively Third Party Insurance covering claims for injury to Third Parties, injury to passengers and loss or damage to Third Party property. There is no obligation to insure your own vehicles. However, the variation in premium between Third Party Only and Comprehensive Cover is minimal as the majority of claims relate to Third Party property or more particularly to Third Party bodily injury. Everyone will be well aware of the whiplash claims and the current costs to the industry as a whole. Employers Liability This Insurance came into effect in 1969 and apart from one or two minor variations, has been fairly static since then. The minimum indemnity limit is £5,000,000 but insurance policies tend to be issued with a standard limit of £10,000,000 with only off-shore work limited to the smaller sum. Other Insurances Are basically there to protect your assets, your other liabilities such as Public Liability for any legal liability you may have for injury to Third Parties say on a construction site or damage to Third Party property outside of that covered by the compulsory motor insurance. All general insurance is subject to Insurance Premium Tax with a current level of 12%. So, if your general premium spend is in the region of £50,000, you will be paying £6,000 to the Inland Revenue. You cannot reclaim any of this as you do with VAT, it is just a fact of life that this is an easy tax for the Chancellor to impose and collect and 12% is likely to increase over the coming years. The rate on the Continent, whilst we still remain members of the EU, is generally around 20% on a par with VAT. Even so, it is still not recoverable. General insurance, insofar as the construction industry is concerned and in particular with regard to plant hirers, mobile crane operators and tower crane operators, have seen some high profile claims in recent years, particularly those following fatalities and of course those that make the headlines such as motorway fires and the like. The changes to the Ogden scales has also resulted in the insurance market carrying out a review of their potential liability for personal injuries. Previously, the Courts have made allowance for growth of any capital sum paid due to relatively reasonable interest rates but as these are now more or less negative, the capital award has to be increased to accommodate the life expectancy and the needs of the person carrying the injury. For serious injuries, we have seen reserves go from £1,000,000 to £3,000,000 where the injured party is relatively young and unable to work for the rest of their lives. As per the advertisement that you will see from Towergate in the Bulletin, we offer specialist wide cover for members of the CPA, providing, in essence, wide comprehensive cover on all aspects for mobile crane operators and extending to tower crane operators with plant hirers included also. With the wide exposure that your industry has, it is essential that the cover you have is also wide enough to cater for each and every contingency that may arise. New Risks New risks arise, as most of you will be aware, with Cyber Insurance being one of the most popular add-ons to insurance portfolios in recent months. There are, again, high profile cases where computer systems have been tapped and large organisations such as Tesco, have had to pay compensation which has not been disclosed to the public but must run into substantial sums. Your risk may be small, but it is still a risk and if you do not have the cover, we would strongly recommend that you discuss this with your Insurance Broker. Some of you will be well aware of our continuing involvement with the CPA, assisting wherever we can, on any matter and highlighting whenever we can, any areas that we feel should be brought to your attention as members. We will continue to do that as it would be of considerable benefit for all CPA members to be singing from the same hymn sheet! towergate INSURANCE PECIALIST INSURANCE COVER ery pr ject is unique, every ol bespoke. Every job has its rticular problems, and every e carrie its wn risks. We have e solution for mobile and tower crane ners and plant hirers. why choose a standard policy, when you need pecialist? • General policies could contain inadequaci s that leave your business uninsured in the event of a major loss. Protect your company with a policy specific to cranes and plant • We’ve worked with many crane and plant organisations, and formed strong, long-lasting relationships. Our knowledge and expertise gained through working in this sector can help us provide you with the most appropriate and cost-effective cover To find out more, please call: Kerry Price 0113 236 8560 or 07834 755323 Amanda Stephenson 0113 236 8532 or 07484 080184 Ian Edmondson 0113 236 8587 or 07974 769092