Thinking Risk

UK SMEs typically lose £13.6bn each year from legal issues, and this cost is on the rise. Costs of a legal dispute can be seriously damaging for a business and can even prevent companies from trading.

Commercial Legal Expenses insurance can help take the strain, reducing the costs and time spent on legal disputes. This article highlights some of the post lock-down issues which are driving litigation and outlines how legal expenses insurance can help.

"Is the current Professional Indemnity market harder than Only Connect? Yes, it really might be even harder than the fiendishly difficult BBC quiz show.  

It is certainly the most difficult and challenging insurance market I’ve experienced in over 30 years in the industry, and the underlying problems were all solidly in place and building long before we could all spell 'coronavirus'."

Sean Trent, Divisional Director of Lonmar Global Risks (part of the GRP Group) discusses the difficult Professional Indemnity market, and how PI insurance buyers can help their broker to achieve the best solution possible for their business.

Both the residential and commercial property markets have steadily hardened in recent years, resulting in premium rate hikes every quarter since Q3 2018, along with an increasingly restrictive risk appetite and more stringent terms from insurers.

Unfortunately, this trend is continuing into 2021. This article examines the reasons for this hard market, and provides advice to property owners about how to minimise its impact on their renewal premium and terms.

The Covid emergency has been the catalyst for rapid change and innovation in business practices. As we start to see a light at the end of the tunnel with a return to less restricted working, now is the time to think about what has been leaned over the last year, and how this can make a positive difference to your business effectiveness in the future.

• Remote working means cybercriminals can potentially attack business systems by hacking staff’s personal devices
• A recent Symantec analysis suggested that about one in every 3700 emails is now a phishing email.
• The Office for National Statistics recorded a 53% increase in hacking in the year to September 2020, - about 4500 small businesses are hacked every day
• 40% increase in “malware” attacks which lock businesses out of their own systems – average cost per attack £600,000
• The escalating impact of cyber crime means cyber insurance is now more important than ever for small businesses

IMPORTANT COVID 19 CLAIM NEWS: Friday 15th January The Supreme Court upheld the judgement on the Financial Conduct Authority’s business interruption test case.