Business Insurance

Author
Discussion

StevieBee

Original Poster:

13,570 posts

262 months

Friday 22nd December 2023
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Where to you buy yours?

Mine's due for renewal in January with a premium of £1,800. Four years ago it was just over £900. No claims, no change to risk! Does that seem about right?

Rufus Stone

8,237 posts

63 months

Friday 22nd December 2023
quotequote all
StevieBee said:
Where to you buy yours?

Mine's due for renewal in January with a premium of £1,800. Four years ago it was just over £900. No claims, no change to risk! Does that seem about right?
Sounds expensive but depends what you are seeking to insure. I have basic employers liability and contents and would say that's also doubled over the last four years too.

trickywoo

12,307 posts

237 months

Friday 22nd December 2023
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Have a good look at what’s included and decide if you want it or not. Cutting stuff out can reduce the cost a lot.

I had a policy that included cover for travel disruption which was ok until I wasn’t travelling much. When I looked at the detail it only paid out for trains delayed more than 4 hours and even then hardly anything in money.

dalenorth

872 posts

174 months

Friday 22nd December 2023
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Try Insurance Jon on here. He’s mustard

Insurancejon

4,068 posts

253 months

Friday 22nd December 2023
quotequote all
StevieBee said:
Where to you buy yours?

Mine's due for renewal in January with a premium of £1,800. Four years ago it was just over £900. No claims, no change to risk! Does that seem about right?
He stevie,

It’s a hard question to answer with little context.

However, usually when we review people’s insurance, we plug gaps in cover, slash premiums, or both.

I did retire in 2018, but have recently reopened as it turns out I’m better with insurance than retiring.

I’ll drop you a pm with my number on in case you want to chat in more detail, but without obligation.

MOMACC

359 posts

44 months

Friday 22nd December 2023
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It's not an easy question to answer as there are too many variables;
Sums insured
Revenue
Wages
Trade
Processes
Risk management
Location

My advice is to work with a broker who you trust and they should advise on market conditions and give you options.

As noted previously Jon is well known in the profession, built a very good business too - give him a shout, give me a shout when you get to paying £250k a year 😀

StevieBee

Original Poster:

13,570 posts

262 months

Friday 5th January
quotequote all
dalenorth said:
Try Insurance Jon on here. He’s mustard
Thanks for this and I can confirm that indeed he is Mustard - full on English Mustard!

Big chunk saved and a better policy to boot

Simply Business's loss is now Jon's gain!

PH comes up trumps again.



Insurancejon

4,068 posts

253 months

Friday 5th January
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StevieBee said:
Thanks for this and I can confirm that indeed he is Mustard - full on English Mustard!

Big chunk saved and a better policy to boot

Simply Business's loss is now Jon's gain!

PH comes up trumps again.
Glad I could help, and thanks for the business Steve.

RicksAlfas

13,654 posts

251 months

Tuesday 9th January
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Interesting thread. We've always used a local broker and something that annoys me is it all seems a bit "closed shop" when I try and get an alternative quote.

What I mean is if we are with Broker A insuring through Aviva and we approach Broker B for a check price, Aviva will say to them "we have already quoted for this business" and won't provide a quote. So it feels like we are at the mercy of Broker A all the time.

Like everyone I have seen a big rise in insurance costs over the last couple of years and I don't know how much is justified and how much is the Broker taking the piss...

I wondered about trying the NFU as they have been promoting business insurance and have an office local to us.

MOMACC

359 posts

44 months

Tuesday 9th January
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A number of insurers are one quote to market, likely to back the holding broker.

An option for you is to ask broker A to approach 5 insurers and Broker B to approach 5 - some will work on this basis, some won't.

If the broker service is good and trusted and your only gripe is price increases that's just the market, I wouldn't move broker purely on price.

NFU
Good insurer, you'll only get their rate though and not the wider market options.

Insurancejon

4,068 posts

253 months

Wednesday 10th January
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RicksAlfas said:
Interesting thread. We've always used a local broker and something that annoys me is it all seems a bit "closed shop" when I try and get an alternative quote.

What I mean is if we are with Broker A insuring through Aviva and we approach Broker B for a check price, Aviva will say to them "we have already quoted for this business" and won't provide a quote. So it feels like we are at the mercy of Broker A all the time.

Like everyone I have seen a big rise in insurance costs over the last couple of years and I don't know how much is justified and how much is the Broker taking the piss...

I wondered about trying the NFU as they have been promoting business insurance and have an office local to us.
Insurers wont quote against themselves, and if the alternative broker broker is approaching your holding insurer, that is a red flag.

They should be going to alternative insurers. You are always free to renew your current policy through another broker (unless its on a scheme), if you prefer that broker, you just need to give them a letter of authority.

If you are with Aviva, I would suggest there are numerous insurers that would want to quote for your business given their fairly vanilla underwriting footprint.

As menitoned above, brokers can deal with direct insurers like NFU, Direct Line, etc so you have to cover those bases yourself. Just bear in mind, in this scenario you are totally "un-advised", so there is an element of Caveat Emptor.

RicksAlfas

13,654 posts

251 months

Friday 12th January
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Thanks chaps. That's food for thought.
We've seen a 45% increase since 2020 and it always feels presented as a done deal. "We've checked the market and this is it". Usually on the Friday afternoon before August bank holiday. Just makes me grumpy. irked

MOMACC

359 posts

44 months

Friday 12th January
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RicksAlfas said:
Thanks chaps. That's food for thought.
We've seen a 45% increase since 2020 and it always feels presented as a done deal. "We've checked the market and this is it". Usually on the Friday afternoon before August bank holiday. Just makes me grumpy. irked
You should dictate the process then, agree a date for the broker to present back to you (2 weeks before renewal) and ensure you meet 12-8 weeks out to provide the broker with renewal information and to set the broking strategy.

Your broker should be doing this, at least a good one will.

Insurancejon

4,068 posts

253 months

Tuesday 16th January
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MOMACC said:
RicksAlfas said:
Thanks chaps. That's food for thought.
We've seen a 45% increase since 2020 and it always feels presented as a done deal. "We've checked the market and this is it". Usually on the Friday afternoon before August bank holiday. Just makes me grumpy. irked
You should dictate the process then, agree a date for the broker to present back to you (2 weeks before renewal) and ensure you meet 12-8 weeks out to provide the broker with renewal information and to set the broking strategy.

Your broker should be doing this, at least a good one will.
This ^^^^ we win so much business before the incumbent has even decided to do the pre-renewal review

Insurancejon

4,068 posts

253 months

Tuesday 16th January
quotequote all
RicksAlfas said:
Thanks chaps. That's food for thought.
We've seen a 45% increase since 2020 and it always feels presented as a done deal. "We've checked the market and this is it". Usually on the Friday afternoon before August bank holiday. Just makes me grumpy. irked
Is your renewal date around August bank holiday? If it’s not a convenient date, call the broker and extend it for 1-2 months now.

Most insurers will accomodate