Plots of land come in all shapes and sizes and with a variety of intended uses. Care needs to be taken that the legal liability of the landowner is protected correctly in case they are drawn into any claims involving a land user or visitors.

Some points to consider:

Size
The size of the piece of land you want to insure and if it has any significant features will also influence the premium

Access rights
The more people who can access your land, the higher your premium is likely to be. You’ll need to tell your insurer if there are any public rights of access on the land as that can increase the risk. And if you employ people to work on the land you’ll need to have employer’s liability insurance by law.

Buildings
The presence of structures, including derelict buildings, or waterways, which can increase the level of any potential claim. For example, a member of the public can cause themselves a greater injury if a roofing slate falls on their head compared to if your land is just open pasture.

Special materials or listed status of structures
If you are insuring listed buildings, such as a barn, as part of your land insurance this can increase your premium. That’s because the cost of repairing or rebuilding it is likely to be higher than a standard construction barn.

It is best to speak to an insurance professional who is employed to work on your behalf rather than leave it to chance whether or not you have the correct level of cover you need for your requirements.

Please contact Tracey or Lorna on 01934 522252 if you would like to discuss further.

We have access to an exclusive facility for the metalwork sector which offers market leading cover at competitive premiums. We have considerable experience in arranging insurance for clients working in this sector built up over a number of years.

Included amongst the activities that we can insure are steel fabricators, sheet metal work, CNC milling, CNC lathes and precision engineering. Site work including hot works can be accommodated. Work with structural steelwork or jobs at hazardous locations can also be included subject to full details.

Please contact Stuart or Lorna on 01934 522252 should you require further information.

We are delighted to announce that Hannah Lynch has joined Birnbeck. Hannah has been working in insurance for 5 years and joins us as an insurance consultant.

She brings expertise in personal insurance including motor, home and travel insurance.

Hannah can be contacted on 01934 522252 or hannah@birnbeck.com

We have access to a Home Automation and Smart Home Installers Insurance scheme, which is specifically tailored to the needs of Home Automation contractors. It is a bespoke policy suited to the risks of working in the sector and includes a number of benefits.
Our Public and Products Liability cover can include the following covers at competitive premiums:

• Contractual Liability
• Inefficacy
• Defective Workmanship
• Optional extension available for damage to the part being worked upon

In addition we can include cover for a number of other requirements such as employers’ liability, professional indemnity and property insurance.

If you need any help with this area of insurance then please contact Stuart to discuss on 01934 522252.

There is the possibility that Brexit could cause disruption to your travel plans from the end of October onwards. If you are booking holidays with trips via the European Union please check your travel policy to see if it includes Brexit related travel disruption. The approach of the market is non standardised at this time and different insurers will have different approaches to potential claims for cancellation or travel disruption. If cover for Brexit related travel disruption is included there will usually be a requirement that the customers should in the first instance contact their tour operator, travel association or transport company or financial protection scheme for assistance and also for reimbursement if they have agreed to or are obliged to pay.

If you need any help with this area of insurance then please contact us to discuss on 01934 522252.

When notifying your current household insurer of a significant home renovation, particularly where insurance cover is required by contract, homeowners can frequently find themselves faced with numerous difficulties.

Standard household insurers are often unable to continue covering the property effectively, or at all. They do not have the appetite to continue insuring what is effectively a building site, and all the inherent risk that brings.

A standard household insurer may provide cover for the existing house but this is usually on a highly restricted basis. This puts the homeowner at risk of not having adequate cover in place for their property and may even invalidate the policy if a JCT contract requires cover in joint names with the contractor.

Birnbeck can offer Home Works and Home Renovation policies, which provide a single, seamless solution that can cover the existing structure, contract works, contents and property owner’s liability all under one policy.

If you need any help with this area of insurance then please contact us to discuss on 01934 522252.

What do you need to do now?
If you are not planning on driving in the EU in the near future, there is nothing to do. However, if they are outside of the UK on (or around) the 29th March, you will need to contact us or your insurer giving sufficient notice before your departure to ensure a Green Card can be issued in time.
If Britain leaves the EU, without a deal in place, it will be a legal requirement to carry a Green Card if driving in any EU country or Liechtenstein, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, Serbia and Andorra.
What is a Green Card?
The Green Card has information about your vehicle such as its licence plate number and demonstrates that you have the necessary minimum motor insurance cover in place to be on the road. Drivers have to physically carry the Green Card (printed on green paper) with them.
A separate Green Card will be required for all trailers, but please be aware that all commercial trailers of 750kg or over and any trailer of 3500kg or over, must be individually registered if being used outside of the UK. Please let us know the details of all trailers being used outside the UK

Please contact us to discuss further on 01934 522252.

Many UK businesses are having to stockpile to prepare for potential post-Brexit shortages. Please check that your policy sums insured are adequate as insurers apply a condition called Average to business insurance policies. This means that in the event of a claim if there is under insurance (not insuring for the full value at risk) insurers will reduce the amount of any claim settlement in the same proportion as the sum insured bears to the total value at risk.

Please contact us to discuss further on 01934 522252.

We are delighted to announce that Simon Gundry-White has joined Birnbeck. Simon has been working in insurance for over 18 years  and joins us as an insurance consultant.

He brings a wealth of experience in motor, home and travel insurance and will also be assisting clients with landlords insurance.

Simon can be contacted on 01934 522252 or simon@birnbeck.com

Ask yourself what part of your business is not reliant on digital systems? If a cyber attack meant that all parts of your business that use digital systems could not function what could you do? Not much will be the answer for most businesses.

Cyber insurance is there to keep businesses trading in a world where digital systems dominate.

What does cyber insurance actually cover?

• Hackers stealing data or locking your systems and demanding a ransom to release it.
• It covers against fines and penalties that businesses will incur if they are assessed as non compliant on data protection or privacy.
• It covers against viruses that paralyse systems and covers loss of income while they are being restored.
• Cover against the accidental loss of data – followed by legal action by customers.
• Most importantly it provides an incident support service by cyber experts to identify the extent of the problem and the most effective solution.

Please contact Stuart or Lorna to obtain a quote or discuss further on 01934 522252.