CPA Bulletin

26 CPA Bulletin > May 2020 www.cpa.uk.net JCB INSURANCE Policy Cover At the start of the Coronavirus outbreak when many sites were starting to close down we received lots of enquiries from clients asking ‘is my Plant and Equipment covered if it’s on site but the site is closed because of COVID-19?’ The answer to this was universally ‘Yes’. Also, when equipment was off-hired and brought back to the yard, we worked with our Plant Hire clients to ensure that their insurance ‘limit any one claim’ was sufficient for everything in the yard. If you’ve not done that already, we strongly advise you to. There is also still the concern of the heightened risk of theft from sites that are unoccupied for unusually long periods of time. Our advice is to continue to ensure that security is as robust as possible by taking the usual recommended layered approach of: • Strong site perimeter security. • Protect buckets and attachments by crowding them in. • Immobilise machines and lock cab guards where fitted. • Ensure any tracking devices fitted are fully operational and if possible geofence the machine so you get an alert if it moves. • Ensure any CCTV is working properly and security guards are in place if they are supposed to be there. One word of caution however about parking all your machines together to box them all in. This may hinder a would-be thief but it does increase the possible fire risk in the event of a malicious arson attack. Reduce Costs JCB Insurance Services has been doing everything it can to advise and support its clients throughout the crisis and also pressuring Insurers to be as flexible and pragmatic as possible. We have advised clients to look to the basis of their Insurance and reduce them where relevant. For example, turnover and wage roll estimates determine Employers’ and Public liability premiums. We have been successful in reducing premiums mid-term by amending these figures downwards to reflect the business situation. Similarly hired-in plant fees. Plant Hirers are unlikely to be cross- hiring as much, so reduce these estimates too and have your Broker renegotiate with your Insurers to reduce your costs. If you are not using as many of your vehicles as usual, consider laying them up. If you SORN them you will save money on road tax but once you’ve done that, reduce the insurance to ‘laid up – fire and theft’. Most insurance companies should do this and it could save a significant amount of insurance premium per vehicle. Claims Considerations We are concerned that we may, in the coming weeks and months start to see claims brought against employers as a direct result of Coronavirus:- Employers’ Liability – If one of your employees contracts Covid-19 and is seriously ill or (God forbid) dies and they or their Estate feel the virus was contracted whilst at work, there may be Solicitors who are prepared to take these claims on. They might try to sue the Employer on the basis that they were negligent in, for example, making staff come to work by not shutting the sites or, not providing adequate hand washing facilities or hand sanitiser or not planning work to as to enable effective social distancing. Directors’ & Officers’ Liability - Similar to Employers’ Liability but claims could be made against Directors or Managers personally for allegedly knowing the risk to employee of Coronavirus and not taking necessary steps to mitigate or prevent the risk. Protect Yourself As with many liability claims that might get brought against you, it is vital that you can help your Insurers defend the position, particularly if a claim is speculative, which sadly many are. In most cases, the best defence is written records. In this situation, particularly if you have managed to remain operational in some capacity, make sure you document the additional measures you have taken to protect your workforce. For example, planning of work to reduce contact between staff, provision of additional hand washing facilities, strengthened access controls on site, provision of hand sanitizer at entrances and exits to sites, even guidance given to employees who travel to work together in the same vehicle eg keep the vehicle well ventilated and face away from each other. Whatever, it is, document it, because if it’s not written down, you can’t prove it happened. If the welfare facilities are being cleaned more regularly, make sure a record is kept of who has done it and when. If extra PPE is provided, make sure the employee signs for it. If you haven’t already, consider Tool Box Talks about the additional measure that the employees themselves have to take to keep them and their colleagues safe and make sure everyone in attendance signs a register to prove they had the training. Sad Reality Whilst the world comes to terms with the human and financial cost of Coronavirus, there will sadly be people out there looking to benefit from it. They might be thieves using the lockdown to steal your plant and equipment or people looking to sue you if they catch C-19 (or even for the stress of thinking that they might..) In most cases your Insurance will be there to protect you but you need to make sure you have got everything in order to help you Broker and Insurer to defend you if it happens. JCB Insurance Services Ltd is a Specialist Insurance Broker focussed on Plant Hire and Construction. They are also long-time members of the CPA and contributors to the Bulletin and are actively involved, along with their parent JCB, in the prevention of Plant Theft. Coronavirus Insurance Considerations The Coronavirus situation continues to dominate the headlines and as we continue to grapple with the social and economic impact of the pandemic, we look at some of the obvious and less obvious issues that might impact your insurance along with some practical steps you can take to help mitigate your risk.