A forklift driver can’t work from home, but there are other ways the industry can offer more flexibility.
Source: BBC

The charity says people should get a guarantee of access to cash, as they do with water and electricity.
Source: BBC

Investors accuse South African firm of absconding with Bitcoin valued at billions of dollars.
Source: BBC

A relative of the Whitehall director alleged to have had an extramarital affair with Matt Hancock, the health secretary, is an executive at a private healthcare company which has won a string of NHS contracts.
Source: Sky Business News

Originally written by Small Business Team on Small Business

On 8 July SmallBusiness.co.uk will be hosting a special one-off Twitter Q&A with Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) policy boss Craig Beaumont.

Craig is chief of external affairs at the FSB, which means he has the ear of politicians when it comes to them making policy decisions affecting our businesses.

To join in, just follow @smallbusinessuk and tweet your questions to Craig now using the hashtag #AskFSB.

Remember, you can only tweet your questions to Craig through the @smallbusinessuk Twitter feed.

Craig will answer any questions about running your small business, particularly where government support measures for those that should be allowed to fully reopen on 19 July in England are concerned.

• Bounce Back Loans
• The looming review of business rates
• The lack of income support for directors
• Brexit
• What HMRC is doing and what Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak can and should be doing to get Covid-ravaged small businesses back on their feet

Craig Beaumont knows better than anyone what our politicians might be persuaded to do to help small business, so send him your questions now using #AskFSB.

#AskFSB: tweet your questions to FSB policy boss Craig Beaumont

Source: SmallBusinessUK

Originally written by Small Business Team on Small Business

On 8 July SmallBusiness.co.uk will be hosting a special one-off Twitter Q&A with Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) policy boss Craig Beaumont.

Craig is chief of external affairs at the FSB, which means he has the ear of politicians when it comes to them making policy decisions affecting our businesses.

To join in, just follow @smallbusinessuk and tweet your questions to Craig now using the hashtag #AskFSB.

Remember, you can only tweet your questions to Craig through the @smallbusinessuk Twitter feed.

Craig will answer any questions about running your small business, particularly where government support measures for those that should be allowed to fully reopen on 19 July in England are concerned.

• Bounce Back Loans
• The looming review of business rates
• The lack of income support for directors
• Brexit
• What HMRC is doing and what Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak can and should be doing to get Covid-ravaged small businesses back on their feet

Craig Beaumont knows better than anyone what our politicians might be persuaded to do to help small business, so send him your questions now using #AskFSB.

#AskFSB: tweet your questions to FSB policy boss Craig Beaumont

Source: SmallBusinessUK

Originally written by Edward Murray on Small Business

What is professional indemnity insurance?

Every business wants happy clients. Do a good job for them and you will get repeat business, generate referrals and build a great reputation. But sometimes things do not go to plan.

If you give professional advice, you may face claims from clients if they think it was not up to scratch and has had a negative impact on their finances and their brand. Professional indemnity insurance can help meet the costs of defending and settling these claims.

Who needs professional indemnity insurance?

Professional indemnity insurance is not a legal requirement, but many professional bodies and/or sector regulators stipulate that practitioners must have cover in place.

For example, the Solicitors Regulation Authority sets out minimum insurance requirements, while accountancy bodies such as the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales also requires members to have cover.

But the need for professional indemnity is wider than the traditional professions. It could extend to virtually every person or business giving advice to clients.

This includes life coaches, tutors and health practitioners, as well as web developers, graphic designers and management consultants. It also includes people who work as freelancers or sole traders.

The Chartered Insurance Institute sums up the need for professional indemnity insurance. It says: “When professional people offer professional advice, they must exercise an adequate degree of skill and have enough information to make that advice reasonably safe to give. If they fail to do so they can be held liable for any loss or damage that results.”

In these circumstances, a professional indemnity insurance policy can help.

To discover what professional indemnity insurance can do for your business click here

What does professional indemnity insurance cover?

Professional indemnity insurance can help pay for the legal costs of defending and settling a claim as well as for the costs of putting things right.

Policies vary, but typically, professional indemnity insurance provides cover for:

• Professional negligence – e.g. you give inadequately prepared advice that leads to loss for the client or negatively affects their reputation
• Errors and omissions – e.g. you include factually incorrect information in your advice
• Defamation – e.g. you make an untrue statement regarding a client
• Breach of confidence – e.g. you share private client information without consent
• Breach of copyright – e.g. your work infringes existing copyrights, trademarks or intellectual property
• Lost or damaged documents – e.g. you misplace or damage physical or electronic paperwork in your care

Even if you have done nothing wrong, the cost of defending claims against you can be expensive. It is also the case that it is almost impossible to eradicate mistakes and unintentional slips while discharging your professional responsibilities.

Professional indemnity insurance is there to ensure these situations are resolved quickly and effectively and that the financial repercussions do not cripple your business.

>See also: What is public liability insurance, and does it cover Covid-19 claims?

How much cover do you need?

If you are a member of a professional association or fall under a regulator with specific professional indemnity requirements, then you should make sure your cover is compliant.

In many cases, clients will also demand you have cover in place and so your policy should meet the terms set out in any contractual agreement and/or commercial arrangements.

Where you do not have to meet set requirements, think about the value of the contracts you work on and the potential there is for a mistake to cause financial loss or reputational damage to a client.

How big might that loss be? How much would it cost to put right? What sort of compensation would they expect? Asking these sorts of questions will let you get an idea of how much cover you will need if things go wrong.

So too, will speaking to your professional advisers including insurance brokers who will be able to guide you in setting your cover at an appropriate level.

Past, present and future claims

Professional indemnity insurance claims might not arise until a few years after the contested work was completed. Cover is usually offered on a “claims-made” basis, which means your insurance covers claims brought against you whilst the policy is in force.

For example, a client may make a claim against you in 2021 for work done in 2018. It is the 2021 policy that will cover you.

If you are retiring or changing professions, you should consider how you will protect yourself against claims that might be made against you in the future. Many of the professional organisations will require their members to maintain run-off cover for up to 6 years after ceasing to trade. A run-off policy will provide cover for claims that arise after you have stopped working or changed jobs.

If you are changing your insurer, you also need to make sure claims from past work remain covered.

The Association of British Insurers says: “If you are changing insurer, a run-off policy will protect you against new claims for incidents that occurred when you were with your previous insurer. Alternatively, your new insurer may agree to cover you for claims relating to prior incidents.

“Check if your new insurer covers you for claims relating to previous incidents or ask about buying a run-off policy.”

 You can buy professional indemnity direct from an insurer or through an insurance broker. Both will be able to give you information about your specific requirements to ensure you get the cover that meets your needs effectively.

SmallBusiness.co.uk has teamed up with Hiscox Business Insurance to help you find the right insurance for your business. For more information on professional indemnity insurance click here

Edward Murray is a financial journalist who has written for The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Daily Mail, The Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday

Further reading

Business insurance everything you need to know

What is professional indemnity insurance?

Source: SmallBusinessUK

Originally written by Edward Murray on Small Business

What is professional indemnity insurance?

Every business wants happy clients. Do a good job for them and you will get repeat business, generate referrals and build a great reputation. But sometimes things do not go to plan.

If you give professional advice, you may face claims from clients if they think it was not up to scratch and has had a negative impact on their finances and their brand. Professional indemnity insurance can help meet the costs of defending and settling these claims.

Who needs professional indemnity insurance?

Professional indemnity insurance is not a legal requirement, but many professional bodies and/or sector regulators stipulate that practitioners must have cover in place.

For example, the Solicitors Regulation Authority sets out minimum insurance requirements, while accountancy bodies such as the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales also requires members to have cover.

But the need for professional indemnity is wider than the traditional professions. It could extend to virtually every person or business giving advice to clients.

This includes life coaches, tutors and health practitioners, as well as web developers, graphic designers and management consultants. It also includes people who work as freelancers or sole traders.

The Chartered Insurance Institute sums up the need for professional indemnity insurance. It says: “When professional people offer professional advice, they must exercise an adequate degree of skill and have enough information to make that advice reasonably safe to give. If they fail to do so they can be held liable for any loss or damage that results.”

In these circumstances, a professional indemnity insurance policy can help.

To discover what professional indemnity insurance can do for your business click here

What does professional indemnity insurance cover?

Professional indemnity insurance can help pay for the legal costs of defending and settling a claim as well as for the costs of putting things right.

Policies vary, but typically, professional indemnity insurance provides cover for:

• Professional negligence – e.g. you give inadequately prepared advice that leads to loss for the client or negatively affects their reputation
• Errors and omissions – e.g. you include factually incorrect information in your advice
• Defamation – e.g. you make an untrue statement regarding a client
• Breach of confidence – e.g. you share private client information without consent
• Breach of copyright – e.g. your work infringes existing copyrights, trademarks or intellectual property
• Lost or damaged documents – e.g. you misplace or damage physical or electronic paperwork in your care

Even if you have done nothing wrong, the cost of defending claims against you can be expensive. It is also the case that it is almost impossible to eradicate mistakes and unintentional slips while discharging your professional responsibilities.

Professional indemnity insurance is there to ensure these situations are resolved quickly and effectively and that the financial repercussions do not cripple your business.

>See also: What is public liability insurance, and does it cover Covid-19 claims?

How much cover do you need?

If you are a member of a professional association or fall under a regulator with specific professional indemnity requirements, then you should make sure your cover is compliant.

In many cases, clients will also demand you have cover in place and so your policy should meet the terms set out in any contractual agreement and/or commercial arrangements.

Where you do not have to meet set requirements, think about the value of the contracts you work on and the potential there is for a mistake to cause financial loss or reputational damage to a client.

How big might that loss be? How much would it cost to put right? What sort of compensation would they expect? Asking these sorts of questions will let you get an idea of how much cover you will need if things go wrong.

So too, will speaking to your professional advisers including insurance brokers who will be able to guide you in setting your cover at an appropriate level.

Past, present and future claims

Professional indemnity insurance claims might not arise until a few years after the contested work was completed. Cover is usually offered on a “claims-made” basis, which means your insurance covers claims brought against you whilst the policy is in force.

For example, a client may make a claim against you in 2021 for work done in 2018. It is the 2021 policy that will cover you.

If you are retiring or changing professions, you should consider how you will protect yourself against claims that might be made against you in the future. Many of the professional organisations will require their members to maintain run-off cover for up to 6 years after ceasing to trade. A run-off policy will provide cover for claims that arise after you have stopped working or changed jobs.

If you are changing your insurer, you also need to make sure claims from past work remain covered.

The Association of British Insurers says: “If you are changing insurer, a run-off policy will protect you against new claims for incidents that occurred when you were with your previous insurer. Alternatively, your new insurer may agree to cover you for claims relating to prior incidents.

“Check if your new insurer covers you for claims relating to previous incidents or ask about buying a run-off policy.”

 You can buy professional indemnity direct from an insurer or through an insurance broker. Both will be able to give you information about your specific requirements to ensure you get the cover that meets your needs effectively.

SmallBusiness.co.uk has teamed up with Hiscox Business Insurance to help you find the right insurance for your business. For more information on professional indemnity insurance click here

Edward Murray is a financial journalist who has written for The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Daily Mail, The Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday

Further reading

Business insurance everything you need to know

What is professional indemnity insurance?

Source: SmallBusinessUK

Originally written by Edward Murray on Small Business

At some stage in their day-to-day activities, most businesses come into contact with members of the public in one way or another. Companies have a duty to ensure these interactions are safe and well-managed. Where they lead to accidental injury, death, disease, illness or property damage, public liability insurance can help pay for the resulting legal costs and compensation.

Who needs public liability insurance?

Any business that comes into contact with people who are not employees has a potential need for public liability insurance.

Perhaps you are a retailer and so people come in and out of your shop all day long. Do you have commercial premises that customers and/or suppliers visit? Maybe you work from home and have clients coming to the house for meetings? Are you an event organiser bringing lots of members of the public together?

You also have to think about where you and your employees go during the working day. Are you out and about on business, mixing with other people? Are you visiting other companies’ offices or delivering goods to people’s homes?

If your business, or any of its employees, come into contact with third parties whilst carrying out their business duties, either on-site or off-site, then you have a responsibility to make sure these activities do not lead to third parties being injured or their property damaged.

Where this happens, they may be able to make a claim against your company for compensation. This is where public liability insurance can help.

Most firms are not required by law to buy public liability insurance, although some such as horse-riding establishments are obliged to have cover. Some commercial contracts may also stipulate that you have public liability insurance in place.

To discover what public liability insurance can do for your business click here

What does it cover?

Public liability insurance provides cover to help pay for the cost of defending claims against your business from third parties and for any resulting compensation.

Where your business fails in its duty to safeguard third parties and their property, the insurance is there to help meet the costs of claims relating to accidental injury, death, disease or illness, and for any loss of or damage to property, for which your business is deemed responsible.

For example, a shopkeeper mops the floor, but does not alert customers that the tiles are wet. Someone slips and injures themselves and makes a claim against the company. Or perhaps your firm has put on an event and a small marquee collapses, hurting a number of people inside. Maybe you’re visiting a customer’s offices and you bump into and break an expensive ornamental display.

Public liability insurance can also help to cover the losses that come directly from the accident or injury in question. For example, your shop sign falls onto and damages a customer’s car. The insurance can help with the costs of the required repairs.

There is no set limit for the amount of cover your business will need. The limit of indemnity you chose and the premium you pay will rely on factors such as what your business does, who your customers are, the number of staff and locations you have,  and your previous claims history.

>See also: What is professional indemnity insurance?

Does public liability insurance cover claims against your business arising from Covid-19?

Covid-19 has had a profound and devastating impact on people and businesses throughout the UK and the wider world.

National governments within the UK have set out operating requirements for businesses to meet as they cope with the threat of the virus and these have changed throughout the pandemic. Businesses have a responsibility to meet these requirements as they stand now and as they evolve into the future.

In exactly the same way as a member of the public could catch a disease such as measles, mumps, a common cold or flu from anyone on your premises, they could also catch a respiratory disease like Covid-19. One of your employees may pass the virus onto a third party whilst visiting their home or office whilst employed by you to carry out your business.

The cover provided by a public liability policy can protect  you if a third party makes a claim alleging that  your business has failed in its duty to safeguard third parties against injury or illness arising from Covid-19.

In a more litigious world, it is not unusual for businesses to find themselves subject to claims from third parties. Whether or not you’re at fault, defending such actions takes time and money. It’s also true that even the best-run businesses suffer accidents, which lead to third parties getting injured or their property damaged.

Public liability insurance can help cover the costs of dealing with such claims and is an important consideration for those coming into contact with the public in their day-to-day operations.

SmallBusiness.co.uk has teamed up with Hiscox Business Insurance to help you find the right insurance for your business. To find out more about public liability insurance click here

Edward Murray is a financial journalist who has written for The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Daily Mail, The Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday

Further reading

Business insurance everything you need to know

What is public liability insurance, and does it cover Covid-19 claims?

Source: SmallBusinessUK

Originally written by Edward Murray on Small Business

Small businesses are the heartbeat of the UK economy. They are built on innovation, passion and commitment. They support millions of business owners and employees and for many they are more than a job, they are a way of life. Business insurance is an important safeguard for small businesses, their owners, their employees, and all those with whom they come into contact.

Here we look at some of the key insurances to consider and the protection they provide.

Business insurance required by law

As an employer you are responsible for the health and safety of your employees when they are at work. If an employee suffers an accident, injury or illness as a result of working for your business, then you could be liable.

Employers’ liability insurance is there to help cover the cost of defending and settling claims from past and present employees who believe you failed in your duty of care to look after them.

If your business is located in the UK and has at least one employee, then it is likely employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement, although there a limited number of exceptions.

If you are not exempt, the law says you must have employers’ liability cover of at least £5m. Many policies offer a cover limit of £10m as standard.

Businesses that do not have the required employers’ liability cover could face fines of up to £2,500 for each day they do not have the insurance in place.

If your business owns or uses motor vehicles, the other mandatory cover you will need is motor insurance.

As a minimum, you must have third-party motor insurance. This covers claims made  against you by someone who is injured, or whose property is damaged, as a result of an accident caused by one of your vehicles.

The law says the motor insurance cover in place should be unlimited for personal injury and at least £1m for property damage.

To discover what business insurance can do for your business click here

Additional covers for compensation claims and legal action

In addition to potential claims against you from employees, your business may face claims from customers or members the public, if they are injured or their property is damaged as a result of your work.

In this event, public liability insurance helps towards the resulting compensation and legal costs.

>See also: What is public liability insurance, and does it cover Covid-19 claims?

You may also want to consider professional indemnity insurance if your business gives professional advice. If a customer claims your advice damaged their reputation or resulted in financial loss, you may be liable.

Professional indemnity insurance can help cover the cost of defending and settling claims against you for making a mistake, being negligent, or giving poor advice.

Depending on your sector, some professional bodies and regulators will require you to have a professional indemnity insurance policy in place.

Property insurance

If your business owns property, buildings insurance helps to pay for unexpected damage to the premises from something such as a fire or a flood. The cover can include accidental damage as well as costs for things like identifying the source of a gas or water leak.

You should put in place enough insurance to meet the cost of rebuilding the property, including associated professional fees and site clearance. This rebuild cost is different to the property’s market value and you should get it calculated professionally.

If your business does not own a property, you might still want to think about contents insurance to cover the cost of theft or damage to things such as computers, furnishings, fixtures, and stock.

Financial insurance

Your business might be doing well, but if a customer fails to square off their account, it can hurt your cash flow and could take you under. Trade credit insurance protects you if customer debts for goods and services are paid late or not settled.

The insurance can give you confidence when establishing new commercial relationships and can make it easier to get commercial funding for you own business at more competitive rates.

Cyber insurance

The move to digital has transformed the way businesses operate and the products and services they offer. It has also created a whole host of new risks for you to think about.

Your business has to cope with the threat of online fraud and data theft. Criminals may lock your IT systems or encrypt your data. You might get duped electronically into parting with money or sensitive information.

Cyber insurance can help cover the costs of getting your IT systems back to normal as well as repairing reputational damage. It can also compensate loss of income caused by a data breach and offer protection against claims for non-compliance with GDPR.

Safeguarding your business against risks

The right blend of insurance policies will create a safety net to protect your company, its employees, and the people with whom it comes into contact.

But a huge part of keeping you and your business in good shape, is assessing the risks up front, putting in place measures to minimise them and implementing well-considered and comprehensive training and operating procedures.

Working with insurers will give you access to a wide range of tools and advice to help you identify and manage your risks effectively. Insurers can also provide support in responding quickly and effectively when things go wrong.

The risks and policies mentioned here are not exhaustive, but they should form a large part of your considerations when arranging insurance.

SmallBusiness.co.uk has teamed up with Hiscox Business Insurance to help you find the right insurance for your business. To find out more about business insurance click here

Edward Murray is a financial journalist who has written for The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Daily Mail, The Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday

Further reading

What is professional indemnity insurance?

Business insurance everything you need to know

Source: SmallBusinessUK