Industry News

Christmas is coming: Make sure you business is protected

With Christmas approaching, Constructaquote.com is echoing a warning from Norwich Union, alerting businesses to the risks brought about by temperatures falling below zero.

The most significant concern is the most common, burst water pipes. Burst pipes are a risk for businesses that are closed over the holiday season. Small businesses should take precautions to avoid water damage.

Allister Smith, Norwich Union's property risk manager said "Failure to conduct basic preventative measures before shutting down for Christmas, particularly if there is a cold snap, can potentially lead to thousands of pounds worth of damage," he said.
"It is essential to maintain a certain amount of heat at business premises and heating systems should not be switched off, even when the premises are empty. This is really the key to avoiding problems such as burst pipes and the subsequent water damage.

"When setting heating controls for the shutdown period, you need to ensure that the heating will operate in good time to prevent frost damage if temperatures drop suddenly. Ideally the heating system and temperature should be controlled in conjunction with an automatic frost-stat.
"The loss of heat from people, machinery and equipment should also be taken into account when determining the level required."

Allister went on to say that special attention was also needed when it came to automatic sprinkler systems.
"For wet pipe systems it is essential that sufficient heating be maintained throughout the protected property at all times. If property owners are in any doubt as to what action they need to take, they should contact their insurer and the sprinkler company who service the system."

He added: "For small businesses particularly, it is also important to know where your mains water stop valve is, making sure you can turn it off and on, and to repair any dripping taps. Also, if possible, examine the condition of the insulation on any pipes and tanks, which may be liable to freezing, making sure it's intact and thick enough.
"Making sure that someone visits the premises over the Christmas period is also recommended, so if you do suffer from a burst pipe, it will be detected as early as possible and damage will be minimised."

12/12/2008 09:28:15
Kwik Fit Insurance to launch commercial assault with Moorhouse Brands

Kwik Fit Insurance is expanding into commercial lines with own-brand small to medium-sized enterprise products after joining forces with Moorhouse Brands, a trading subsidiary of Welsh broker Moorhouse.

Kwik Fit Insurance will offer a range of products tailored to meet the insurance needs of SMEs, tradesmen and the construction industry.

The SME products have been developed for Kwik Fit Insurance by Moorhouse Brands and will be provided as a comprehensive white-label package. Moorhouse Brands has also provided Kwik Fit Insurance with a fully branded website and marketing resource to support the SME products.

Moorhouse chairman Lyndon Wood said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Kwik Fit Insurance and look forward to helping grow their commercial lines book. We are also currently in discussion with other significant potential partners which we hope to announce shortly.”

Kwik Fit Insurance business development director Bert Main, said: “Many existing Kwik Fit Insurance customers are also SME businesses so there was obvious potential to supply them with commercial cover. “In choosing a partner, the comprehensive package offered by Moorhouse Brands convinced us that this would best suit our aims. By providing the support and infrastructure required, we believe they can help successfully maximise the Kwik Fit Insurance brand’s potential – providing further choice for our existing customers while also building an entirely new SME customer base.”

08/12/2008 16:55:23
Constructaquote – Technology Upgrade for Business Insurance

Constructaquote are pleased to announce that we have made further technological improvements to our service to keep us as the first choice for SME insurance.

The latest upgrades include:

Dual trades on liability insurance – Our liability quote engine will soon be able to quote tradesmen with multiple trades. For example, a builder who also does basic roofing.

More intelligent questions – We have pre-populated some questions and removed others to improve our quote processes.

Policy documents – All of our policy documents are now available at the point of purchase and throughout the quote process.

Smoother movement through the site – You can now navigate much more effectively through the site.

We will continue to make improvements to our website and look forward to launching new products shortly.

03/12/2008 14:36:15
Small Businesses Facing the Credit Crunch

A leading insurance magazine recently published a survey on how small businesses are being affected by the credit crunch. The survey identified the concerning statistic that 7% of businesses are cutting back on their insurances in an attempt to lower costs.

Businesses need insurance especially during a credit crunch to protect their business and this is where Constructaquote.com can help.

Constructaquote.com is a comparison website for small to medium enterprises. Our website provides comparative quotes on a host of business insurances meaning we do the shopping around for clients. This leaves our clients the time to concentrate on making money. To give businesses extra security we also provide quotes on our Business Support Package. This package can save companies money and help protect their business. Constructaquote.com also offers all clients the opportunity of paying for their policy via direct debit to spread the cost of insurance throughout the year.

Constructaquote.com provides regular updates on vital health and safety tips for clients to ensure businesses are operating within the law.

13/11/2008 14:05:00
Moorhouse in Final Three for Insurance Times Commercial Lines Broker of the Year

Moorhouse Group Limited has the champagne on ice after beating off extensive competition and becoming a finalist in this years Insurance Times Commercial Lines Broker of the Year award. It is a fantastic achievement for the business after a year of extensive growth.

The Commercial Lines Broker of the Year category is open to insurance brokers and independent intermediaries where commercial lines contribute to at least 50% of the total income. Moorhouse had to demonstrate how we go the extra mile to address market needs through the full rage of services offered including those that meet the special needs of our large corporate clients and niche markets.

This year the judges were looking for a sound business strategy over the longer term, such as our ambitious hyper-growth plan, profitable growth and differentiation in the commercial lines broking marketplaces.

Lyndon Wood, Chairman and CEO said, ‘This is fantastic news for our business, it’s a real honour to be a finalist for an industry award that is so heavily sought after. It represents the pace at which our business is growing and the investment we place in our people, technology and key relationships. Without doubt putting the customer at the heart of every decision has enabled us to achieve this success’.

30/10/2008 16:26:00
Lack of safety inspectors angers UCATT

The Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians (UCATT) has hit out at the HSE after learning that it will not be increasing the number of construction inspectors as the current recruitment drive will merely replace the retiring members of staff.

The Health and Safety Executive is currently looking to recruit 50 trainee inspectors to replace members of staff who are looking toward retirement however the issue lies in the fact that not all would go into construction.

A UCATT Spokesperson stated “Even if all 50 new recruits were to become construction inspectors, it still wouldn’t be enough.”

“Inspections have fallen, prohibition notices have fallen and prosecutions have fallen, yet at the same time deaths have risen. We’re in desperate need for more front line inspectors.”

Out of the UK’s main industrial sectors, the construction industry records the highest amount of fatal injuries with approximately 33% occurring on building sites.

Constructaquote.com recognises the importance of good health and safety and even rewards construction companies with a good health and safety record by adding even further reductions to our competitive public and employers liability insurance products.

13/10/2008 10:25:00
Amendments to the Employers Liability Insurance Regulations come into Force

As of today, (1st October 2008) there has been a change to the legislation concerning the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations 1998. Under the old legislation companies had to display at least one copy of their employers liability insurance certificate at each place business (usually in communal areas such as the kitchen).

The new legislation means that employers can keep these certificates in electronic format as long as it is readily accessible to all employees. In addition to this change, employers will no longer have to keep copies of their insurance certificates for 40 years.

The removal of the 40 year certificate retention requirement could be a potential problem for some companies as employers liability insurance claims can take decades to come to fruition and if a company no longer has these records could be found liable for the claim damages.

The changes come as part of a drive by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to reduce companies’ administrative costs by 25%.

As an online insurance portal, Constructaquote.com offers all employers liability insurance documents in electronic format after purchase.

30/09/2008 17:19:00
Constructaquote launches new website!
Constructaquote.com has launched a brand new website in order to provide an even greater service to its growing customer base. Through the expansion of the website, Constructaquote.com is now able to service not only the construction industry but offer cost effective insurance solutions to the SME market.

This exciting expansion has not only seen an increase in the panel of household name insurance companies we use but an increase in our product offering. Our new products include:
In addition to this increased product offering the quote and buy process has also been redesigned to incorporate feedback from our customers.

Constructaquote spokesperson Jon Keneally said “We have taken into account all the feedback from our customers and redesigned our quote and buy process in order to save our customers time and effort”.
15/09/2008 17:15:00

Constructaquote.com is a trading title of Moorhouse Group Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The Financial Services Authority's Register can be accessed through http://www.fsa.gov.uk/register Reg No 308035.