April 16, 2012

Taylor Patterson Insurance Services (TPIS) have recently received a confirmation of the renewal of their Corporate Chartered Insurance Broker status from the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII).

Robert Cholmondeley, Director of TPIS said that “this is the third year that the company has achieved the status which requires that all directors and staff acquire and retain the necessary knowledge and skills to deliver the highest quality of advice. The core of this status is a Code of Ethics that places clients’ interests at the heart of the advice that we give”.

According to the CII there are currently fewer than 100 firms of Chartered Insurance Brokers. Furthermore, the CII state that the title is a public declaration that the advice given by such a firm:-

• Is of the highest quality
• Is based solely on the researched needs of the consumer, and
• Is provided by someone not exceeding their level of competency

Joanne Bramley, Taylor Patterson’s Corporate Insurance Manager, stated that “we are extremely proud of our status which underlines our commitment to the highest levels of client service”.

February 7, 2012

From 1^st February 2012, under the Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2011, the maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal will increase by 5.7% to £72,300 from £68,000.  The new limit will apply where the event giving rise to compensation or payment occurs on or after 1^st February 2012.

The minimum basic award for unfair dismissal (which applies to dismissals by reason of trade union membership activities, health and safety duties, occupational pension scheme trustee duties or acting as an employee representative) increases from £5,000 to £5,300.

The government has also stated that from 6^th April 2012, the qualifying period of service for an employee to claim unfair dismissal will increase from one to two years.

Robert Cholmondeley, Director of Taylor Patterson Corporate Insurance, stated that “for many companies the employment law arena is a minefield and compensation (and legal) costs do increase in periods of recession.  Whilst many employers may welcome the extension of the qualifying period to two years, others have suggested that claimants may bring more discrimination claims in the Employment Tribunal if they cannot bring unfair dismissal claims”.

He went on to say “there is additionally no qualifying period of service for unfair dismissal claims alleging whistleblowing or for clams of unlawful discrimination.  Employers should consider the purchase of Employment Law insurance protection which is widely available through Management Risks policies”. 

February 6, 2012

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) have announced new reporting procedures which mean that the majority of incidents which fall under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR) must now be reported to them via their website using one of seven on-line forms available.

Only fatal and major injuries/incidents should now be reported to the HSE by phone.

The seven online RIDDOR reporting forms will be:

F2508 Report of an injury
F2508 Report of a Dangerous Occurrence
F2508a Report of a Case of Disease
OIR9B Report of an Injury Offshore
OIR9B Report of a Dangerous Occurrence Offshore
F2508G1 Report of a Flammable Gas Incident
F2508G2 Report of a Dangerous Gas Fitting

HSE’s Infoline telephone service, which provided a basic information service, closed in September 2011 and now all information and official guidance is available on HSE’s website www.hse.gov.uk

July 6, 2011

Earlier this year, Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings Ltd was convicted of the first corporate manslaughter charge under new legislation following the death of a young geologist and fined £385,000.

With Health and Safety Executive (HSE) statistics revealing more than 200 people are killed at work each year in the UK (not including work-related road deaths), business owners and directors are urged to put health and safety at the top of their agenda and to understand their liabilities.

Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 – who is liable?

The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 came into force on April 6, 2008 and for the first time, companies and organisations can be found guilty of corporate mansluaghter as a result of serious management failures resulting in a gross breach of duty of care. The maximum penalty is an unlimited fine and the court can also make a publicity order requiring the organisation to publish details of its conviction and fine.

Peter Millington, business development manager at Taylor Patterson’s corporate insurance division, said: “Many company chiefs are unaware of the personal liability they face as a director and there is a common misconception that being a director of a limited company in some way restricts the director’s personal liabilities.”

Under the Act prosecutions are of the corporate body and not individuals; however the liability of directors, board members or other individuals under health and safety law or general criminal law is unchanged. As such, prosecutions often under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 can result in individuals being liable for unlimited fines and imprisonment.

In addition, the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 section 2(1) empowers the court to disqualify an individual convicted of an offence in connection with the management of a company. Furthermore individual directors are also potentially liable for other related offences such as the common law offence of gross negligence manslaughter, which is punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment.

What support is available to directors and companies?

“Businesses need to put Health and Safety at the top of their agenda and it should be part of the organisation’s culture, values and performance standards. The Institute of Directors and HSE have published guidance for directors on their responsibilities for health and safety and this is a good starting point for any business.” said Peter.

“Whilst it is against the public interest to insure against any criminal conviction, a Directors and Officers Liability Policy can provide protection against the significant legal costs that would otherwise be picked up by the individual or company.

With policies starting from £350 per year and stand-alone policies not incurring any ‘benefit in kind’ tax liability on individuals, this protection should be an essential part of businesses corporate insurance programme.”

For further information on Directors and Officers Liability Policies, contact Taylor Patterson Corporate Insurance on 01772 555073.

June 1, 2011

Rising prices increase metal theft frequency

The global demand for metal remains at an all time high despite recessionary pressure. Copper prices reached £6,200 per tonne in January 2011.  Compared to £1,900 per tonne in 2005, this shows just how much the price has increased.

It is not just copper that has seen meteoric price rises, rarer metals such as platinum, palladium and rhodium which are all found in the catalytic converters of vehicles, have seen price increases of around 600 per cent in the last few years. 

This has resulted in the soaring frequency of metal thefts. Since 2006 there has been a 150–200 per cent increase in UK metal thefts which cost £360 million in 2009-10.

Ongoing and day-to-day action

Organised gangs are responsible for many of the thefts and they will target raw materials, work-in-progress and finished goods.  A leading UK insurer revealed the following catalogue of metal theft claims: 

• Metalworkers / engineering companies are being targeted for copper, brass, bronze, aluminium, titanium and steel
• Electrical engineers are being targeted for copper wiring
• Builders merchants are seeing lead and copper wiring being stolen
• Churches have had numerous incidents of lead being stolen from roofing
• Unoccupied buildings are being stripped of copper wiring
• Man hole covers, drain grates and road signs have also been stolen
• Aluminium demountable flood barriers that were erected to protect a village against an anticipated flood were stolen

The Police are taking the matter seriously and raised the profile of the problem in July 2010 by having a day of action against metal theft. The campaign saw 21 Police Forces from across the UK led by British Transport Police, raid unlicensed scrap yards and target suspected metal thieves. Today, metal theft remains an ongoing and day-to-day focus for the Police.

What businesses can do to protect themselves

Most insurers are able provide information and advice on the protection of property and metal against theft.  Insurance Brokers can also help in this regard. A layered system of protection is often suggested incorporating some or all of the following: 

• A review of site and building perimeter security
• Installation of external security lighting
• Use of secure cages to store metals
• Installation of intruder alarms with dual path signalling
• Use of remotely monitored CCTV
• Use of smoke generating devices
• Forensic marking e.g. Smart Water
• Improved security to fork lift trucks, cranes and vehicles

For further information and advice, contact Taylor Patterson’s the Corporate Insurance team on 01772 555073 or email mail@taypat.co.uk

May 24, 2011

TAYLOR PATTERSON’s Corporate Insurance team has helped to ship thousands of tonnes of prawns hundreds of miles from Russia to India.

The insurance department at Taylor Patterson brokered the deal to ensure the $500,000 of seafood was delivered from the frozen Baltic port of St Petersburg in Russia to Chennai in India.

The policy covered the first shipment at the end of February 2011 and will now cover repeat sailings between the destinations.

Peter Millington, corporate insurance business development manager, said that the policy, brokered by its in-house maritime insurance expert, provides cover for events such as seafood containers being washed overboard to the prawns going off due to increased temperature.”

He said: “You could take the risk of being able to make such a journey, but the chances are that no supplier or buyer would be willing to go ahead with such a deal without insurance.”

Peter added that the policy also covered the supplier against the buyer being unable to pay for the prawns through a trade credit agreement.

For further information on trade credit, or import and export insurance, pleae contact Taylor Patterson’s Corporate Insurance department on 01772 555073 or email mail@taypat.co.uk.

May 6, 2011

The problem

The latest government statistics reveal that uninsured drivers inflict a major financial burden on other motorists, estimated at around £500 million each year or around £30 in the cost of each insurance premium paid by drivers who do insure their vehicles.

The Government also suggest that uninsured drivers impose other costs on society. Research and surveys show that uninsured drivers are more likely to be involved in road traffic accidents, fail to follow road traffic signs and signals and potentially be involved in other criminal activity.

The solution

The Department for Transport has therefore announced a package of measures to crack down on the estimated 1.5 million motorists on our roads driving without insurance. This includes the Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE) Scheme which will be launched this year. It is estimated that in conjunction with police enforcement the CIE scheme will reduce the number of uninsured drivers on our roads by 40%.

How it will work

The police already seize about 500 uninsured vehicles each day and the scheme will compliment this enforcement by comparing motor insurance and motor ownership records to identify vehicles without insurance. So, when the scheme goes live anyone owning a vehicle that doesn’t appear on the motor insurance database (MID) will receive a letter asking them to do one of the following :

• Contact their insurance provider and ask them to update the MID records
• Let the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) know they no longer own the vehicle and give the new owner’s details
• Declare a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN)
• Buy insurance

The penalties

If none of the above actions are carried out the DVLA will then send a letter to the registered keeper of the vehicle which can :

• Enclose a £100 fixed penalty notice
• Inform the registered keeper that their details have been passed to the DVLA’s wheel clamping partners for the vehicle to be clamped, seized and destroyed
• Take the registered keeper to court to face a maximum fine of £1,000 on top of which they will need to pay for an insurance policy

For further information, contact Peter Millington on 01772 555073 or peter.millington@taypat.co.uk

March 17, 2011

As the fragile economic recovery continues, Peter Millington, business development manager at Taylor Patterson Corporate Insurance suggests one way that businesses can help to mitigate the effect of bad debt is to purchase credit insurance.  This can safeguard the business in a number of ways:

• Improved cash flow
• Focused sales effort
• Securing trade finance
• Better supplier trading relationships

Click here to read more 

March 8, 2011

On March 1, 2011 The European Court of Justice outlawed the use of gender in underwriting, which is likely to lead to a fall in annuity rates for men and increased costs for all.

The court statement issued, “Taking the gender of the insured individual into account as a risk factor in insurance contracts constitutes discrimination”. This decision takes effect from December 21, 2012.

It is estimated that men stand to lose 4.73 per cent of their annuity income under the ruling whilst women whose annuity rates are generally lower than men’s due to greater mortality could see their income raised by 7.77 per cent.

For example, a 75 year old man with £25,000 pension fund could at present purchase an average yearly income of £2,182 p.a. Under unisex annuity rates, he would receive an average of £2,084 p.a. or £98 less.

If you would like further information please contact Taylor Patterson on 01772 555073.

February 23, 2011

Following the decision to delay implementation of the new Bribery Act, businesses unsure where they stand could refer to the draft procedure Guidance produced by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) to help ensure they have appropriate anti-bribery procedures in place.

Peter Millington, Corporate Insurance specialist at Preston-based Taylor Patterson Group said, “The Government is very keen that Bribery is seen as a serious crime and as such the new Act reforms previous legislation whilst also providing maximum jail sentences for up to 10 years for individuals, and unlimited fines for businesses as well as up to 5 years debarring from public contract tenders.”

The new Act was expected to come into force in April 2011 but is now going to be put on hold while the Government rewrites guidance on how to comply with the 2010 law.

“The MOJ hasn’t announced when the new guidance will be published but has said that 3 months must pass between publication of the guidance and the implementation of the Bribery Act,” explained Peter, “This should give businesses some time to assess the guidance which is being provided and make any necessary changes.”

Bribery Act 2010 guidance – Six principles for bribery prevention

1. Risk Assessment: Identify the risks your business and industry may face.
2. Top Level Commitment: Directors/owners should foster a culture of integrity in which bribery is not tolerated.
3. Due Diligence: Know who to do business with and why funds are being released.
4. Clear, Practical and Accessible Policies and Procedures: Communication of anti-bribery policies must be clear and applied to all employees and business partners.
5. Effective Implementation: It is not enough to have policies and procedures in place. They must be embedded in all areas of business from recruitment to training.
6. Monitoring and Review: Keep policies and procedures under review to ensure compliance, and update policies when there are changes in the law or lessons learned from the business’ own experiences.

Detailed guidance notes available on the Ministry of Justice’s website http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/bribery-bill.htm

For further information on the Bribery Act 2010 or how your business can assess the guidance for bribery prevention, contact Peter Millington on 01772 555073 or peter.millington@taypat.co.uk.