These are certainly unprecedented times.
Following recent announcements, we appreciate that businesses have changed quite literally overnight. We have clients with empty buildings and no workers in attendance, while others have started to provide new products or services or deploy them in a different way.
To this end, we wanted to drop you a note to remind you of things that you have to let insurers know, so insurers can better understand your changing risk profile and to avoid any issues with claims.
Disclosure of Important and Material Information
Your policy conditions and the Insurance Act 2015 (“the Act”) give a duty to make “a fair presentation of the risk”. This is something we remind you of each year at renewal and as required. To meet this duty you need to disclose all material information to (Re)insurers which are known to you (or which ought to be known to you). Information is material if it would influence the judgement of a prudent (Re)insurer in establishing the premium or determining whether to underwrite the risk and, if so, on what terms. Failure to provide accurate Material Information could result in claims not being paid or challenged by insurers.
COVID-19 – Material Information
Listed below are examples (non-exhaustive) that the COVID-19 Virus might have affected and should be communicated to insurers. If there is anything that you are unsure of or something you would like to discuss, please contact a member of the Riskworks team who will be delighted to assist.
General
- Any outbreaks of COVID-19 at your premises.
- Any change in business activity or ways of working/processes
Property / Business Interruption
- Have Premises become unoccupied or where there is a material reduction in the number of employees at any insured location
- Changes in Occupancy
- Additional assets disposed of or purchased
- Changes in Security / Fire Detection Systems from those previously disclosed to insurers
- Major fluctuations in stock Sums Insured or type of stock stored
Employers’ Liability
- A significant number of redundancies or new starters
- Will any workers continue to work (other than at home) during the lockdown? If so, has a risk assessment been carried out, relevant PPE provided, assistance in transportation to and from work?
Public / Products Liability
- New products or services being undertaken
- Changes in contractual arrangements
Cyber
- Material changes in exposure – e.g. online trading and number of personally identified records
Professional Indemnity
- Any change in your activities
Motor Fleet
- Any significant fluctuations in fleet numbers
- Any change in the use of vehicles
Engineering Combined / Inspection
- Any decommissioned plant that no longer requires inspection
- We will verify with your Insurers if there are any inspections due over the next few months and get back to you
Business Travel
- Any material reduction in forecast travel pattern. Note – see the latest advice from the Government online at www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice
Contractors All Risks
- COVID-19 outbreaks at a contract site
- Contracts that will be delayed because of COVID-19
- Please note that if the contract sites are left unoccupied then the Plant Security condition applies
Environmental Liability (Pollution)
- Any incidents that may have the potential to give rise to a claim
Directors & Officers Liability
- What contingency plans are currently in place with regard to Coronavirus? Or are these being currently developed? If so, have external advisors also been employed?
- What impact do they foresee on their financial performance? Has any impact already been observed? Has the client relayed this impact to shareholders?
- Any incidents that may have the potential to give rise to a claim
- Any Changes in business Activities
Please don’t hesitate to contact the team on 01625 547754