| Over the years the
roofing industry has built up a very poor reputation within the insurance
industry due to the lack of self regulation of the roofing industry |
| Cover is split of
course into 2 parts Public Liability & Employers Liability both of which in
my 25 years of being a broker have risen considerably due to various factors |
| Starting first
with Public Liability |
| There are horror
stories which caused many insurers blood to run cold about damage caused by
roofers over the years, such as flat roofs leaking long before the guarantee
expires, debris being dropped on to parked cars or passers by etc in the
past these only resulted if at all in small claims but the onslaught of "no
win no fee" litigation has increased the costs 10 fold. And the roofing
industry has due to reputation become an easy target for these legal sharks.
I have heard personally as a less than perfect building firm who by cutting
the budget won a contract to re apply a flat roof to a block of flats. They
did not use any insulation and put the tar kettle and flame directly on the
surface. The shoddy staff set this up started the gas and went off on a
prolonged tea break. The resulting damage cost the insurer millions as the
kettle burned through the roof and dropped through the building which led to
the whole building being destroyed, Coupled with various incidents of gas
bottle explosions. Building insurers have always too been discouraged by any
building with a flat roof as a tiny pin prick leak can over time build to a
deluge that can wipe out a home or business. |
| Turning back to
Employers Liability again the cost of claims is escalated by those wonderful
"no win no fee" 5 years ago a claim for say a broken arm would have cost
insurers £5000 but now its £10000 BUT the injured party will still only get
£5000 the solicitor will take the rest. |
| So that’s the bad
news why are premiums on the increase. |
| To help keep costs
down, perhaps not so much shopping around as there is limited market for
Roofers liability, more so careful selection of the right broker. I strongly
advise against buying cover online because due to high premiums there are
always online rogues keen for a very fast buck! Also be sure you know about
the insurer you are placed with!!!! Be caution about Albion insurance as
this company is not fully authorised to trade in the UK so you will be
throwing away your premium. It seems an Irish firm called Quinn are making
in roads to high risk liability . A word of caution the bubble could burst
as they have grown way way too fast and the policy is the only one that has
a huge up front Employers Liability excess. |
| No doubt a good
broker will advise you to be very definitive about the work you do Remember
even if you only do 5% hot work your premium will at least double. DO NOT
assume that hot work is included automatically included as its not !!!! |
| If you are a cold
roofer and are called to do even a small amount of hot work Bite the bullet
and sub out the work AFTER checking of course that the subcontractor does in
fact have cover for hot work otherwise if a claim occurs you will be sued
for the damage as the insurers will not pay! Myself or any good broker will
help you check the cover. |
| Neil Cook is the
commercial specialist at Delite Insurance Agency, the award winning broker.
For more information go to
www.deliteinsurance.co.uk |
