Big business in the pub and at home

To download a PDF of this article as it appears in the magazine click here .Insurers are returning to the pub market after some bad experiences. Many are tackling the burgeoning homeworker market which accounts for about 1.5 million businesses. Analyst Defaqto rates a selection of specialist schemes in both sectors

Specialist pub schemesAccording to the Office of National Statistics there are some 44,000 pubs in the UK, over half of which have turnovers of less than £250,000. This is clearly a large market, but many insurers turned away from pubs because of poor experiences.In recent years, insurers have begun to return to the pub insurance market, although some are being quite particular about the risks they will take on. There are few insurers in this market, and only about half of them have a specialised pub policy.There are a number of specialist schemes on the market, and Defaqto's analysis shows that the FM Green Pubs Insurance policy offers a very good overall level of features and benefits, closely followed by R&SA Enterprise.

Key features of the FM Green policy include:

  • All risks cover for both buildings and contents as standard
  • Unlimited cover for breakage of fixed glass
  • Business interruption cover of £500,000 as standard, with customer selecting an indemnity period of up to 24 months
  • £25,000 of business interruption cover for events at brewers' premises
  • £5,000 of cover for loss of metered water
  • Buildings cover includes walls and fences at the premises
    • Areas where the product is not market leading include:
  • Monthly premiums attract a 6% handling charge
  • No cover for car parks at the premises
    • Recent government figures show that of the 3.1 million self-employed people in the UK over 50% either work from home, or use it as the base for their business

    Homeworker schemesIn recent years many home insurers have introduced cover for people using their house for business purposes. Typically this is restricted to cover just for office equipment, and excludes stock or any sort of business related liability cover. Latest government figures show that of the 3.1 million self-employed people in the UK over 50% either work from home, or use it as the base for their business. The market for a specialist homeworkers policy is therefore very significant.Most commercial insurers have recognised this market and introduced policies aimed at these customers. Some are designed as a commercial policy just to cover the needs of the business, while others will cover the whole insurance needs of the customer, including buildings, contents, business stock and tools and liability.Allianz Cornhill Complete HomeBusiness policy appears to be a leader in this market, offering, among other things, the following benefits:

  • Business and home contents cover as standard (buildings cover optional), with business contents up to £30,000
  • Index-linking of business contents
  • £50 standard excess
  • Optional business interruption cover, up to £100,000 with a 12-month indemnity period
  • £2m of cover for both public and products liability
  • Goods in transit cover up to £2,500.

    • Areas where the product is not market leading include:

  • Cover for money on the premises is limited to just £500
  • Legal expenses cover is £25,000.

    • HOW DNA SCORING WORKS

  • These charts use Defaqto's unique Numerical Analysis (DNA) scoring system
  • DNA illustrates the relative positioning of a product based on selected criteria
  • The criteria used in these charts are a representative sample only and may not be relevant in all cases
  • Other criteria are not available and may give different results
  • When used to match products to a client's circumstances, DNA can show how closely a product matches those requirements

    • Topics