West Craven

British drivers and homeowners knowingly void their insurance

In this month's edition, we look at why small-to-medium businesses are behind a market surge in cyber insurance.

There's also news on British drivers and homeowners knowingly voiding potential claims with a few bad habits, a look at if the social media influencer market could be the next big thing in the insurance industry and a handy guide to landlord insurance, and if it could help you.

Small-to-medium businesses driving market surge in Cyber Insurance

Last month, we wrote that as a result of findings by NTT Security, 66% of UK businesses are not insured in the event of a breach of information or data loss. Senior executives agreed that cyber insurance was vital to protect against cyber-attacks, but were unaware if their company had sufficient protection or suitable coverage in place. This may have strengthened the notion that such protection was typically utilised by larger companies with more capital at their disposal, but according to a recent study by Cyber Policy, it appears as if that isn’t the case.

The firm has revealed that the small and medium-sized business market has seen tremendous growth within the last year, with quarterly growth averaging out at 69% and reaching a peak of 150%.

This is down to several factors, namely due to the increased accessibility and affordability of cyber insurance coverage and packages that make it far easier to seek out a product to suit a business of any size. The industry is responding to a global need for cyber insurance with an increasing number of brokers offering flexible and appropriate cover that isn’t solely affordable for large businesses, and it’s clear that SMBs are taking advantage of that whilst also typically requiring higher limits and extended coverage.

Beyond that, what’s provoked this need for protection from cyber attacks from SMBs? The study suggests that contractual obligations are playing a big part, with many alluding to contractual requirements with third-party vendors meaning that cyber insurance is an essential part of the way that they must conduct business in order to gain and secure clients.

SMBS are also more likely to be the target of cyber-attacks, with half of all attacks in 2017 targeting them due to the comparative ease of targeting their data in comparison with big companies with stronger security.

With this in mind, it’s no wonder that small-to-medium business owners are driving this surge in the cyber insurance market as the business world continues to adapt to the ever-evolving threat posed by cyber-attacks.

If your firm is unhappy about its coverage or strategy for coping with data loss and security breaches, please contact us to discuss your cyber insurance options.

British drivers and homeowners knowingly void their insurance

A new study has found that over half of the UK is engaging in activities or habits that could render their car or home insurance claims void.

The findings, provided by MoneySuperMarket who surveyed 2000 motorists suggest that drivers are offending by engaging in relatively minor acts, such as allowing someone else to drive their vehicle or leaving a window open. Both could potentially invalidate a claim should one need to be made in the event of a burglary, incident or accident.

You can see a breakdown of the most common offences from the survey below:

Violation	Insurance Type	Percentage Committed	Aware of offence
Leaving the door unlocked when leaving the house	House	21%	67%
Leaving windows open when leaving the house	House	34%	56%
Letting other people drive your car	Car	31%	50%
Failing to turn on the burglar alarm when leaving the house	House	17%	47%
Changing jobs and not informing your car insurer	Car	13%	46%
Driving with a pet on the seat unrestrained	Car	17%	36%

The statistics also suggest that millennials are the chief culprits in terms of age groups, with three-quarters of those quizzed aged between 25 and 34 admitting to committing offences that could invalidate their car insurance. 80% also admitted to doing the same when it came to their home insurance.

Conversely, those aged 45 to 54 years old were less likely to commit acts that would invalidate their home insurance, with drivers over 55 years of age the best behaved.

Tom Flack, editor-in-chief of MoneySuperMarket offered the following on the study’s findings: “There are lots of ways that drivers can accidentally find themselves in a position where they’re flouting the rules of their insurance policy. Yet surprisingly, our latest research reveals that many are actually aware of the risks but are still willing to gamble.”

“What may seem like a trivial action, such as not informing your insurer when you change jobs, may result in your insurance being voided, meaning that if something goes wrong, your claim won’t be paid.”

Could influencers be the next big thing in the insurance industry?

Given the threats posed by cyber attacks to businesses of all sizes, the increasing number of brokers offering a tailored cyber insurance package to suit a range of clients with vastly different resources is encouraging to see. The ever-evolving danger that comes with operating a company and protecting your data in the modern world certainly means that cyber insurance will continue to remain a pressing necessity for businesses worldwide, but what might the next big untapped market be for the insurance industry?

Online outlet Insurance Business are speculating that the influencer market, currently worth a whopping &7.7 billion offers huge potential for growth that could make it highly lucrative for insurers. After delving into the specifics, it’s not hard to see why; a gigantic number of people on the planet either have their own smartphone or access to one and use social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Each is filled with public figures or people who make their living as a result of their interesting or infectious personality, unique style or talent.

However, there are hidden dangers that many within that industry may be unaware of that could cost them very dearly, even for those influencers who may confine their activities to posting the odd photo on Instagram. You have only to look at the case of American actor Roseanne Barr recently being axed from her own television show earlier this year after an ill-advised tweet to understand the damage that can be done to a career with one simple post.

As an example, influencers or public figures who carry out promotional work for another firm are often required to be particularly careful with what they say and do in a public space. What should happen if you casually post something that contradicts that company's core values or brings their reputation into question?

“If you bring a brand into disrepute by something that you do or say, in the form of a tweet or an off-the-cuff remark at a public event, then you could fall foul of the terms of that contract in terms of the quality of endorsement or promotion that you’ve been hired to do,” offered James Brady, Hiscox’s head of media. “The brand could bring a claim against you for damage to its reputation, potentially, under breach of contract.

“A lot of these people don’t really appreciate the exposures that they have, or that are attached to the activities that they are carrying out. They may not even consider that they need to buy an insurance policy. I think it will be as much of an education of those individuals as to the product being available and the risks and exposure that face them.”

The risks to influencers operating on social media are plenty, which creates an interesting gap in the market for young, popular stars with thousands of followers who might be less business-minded and unaware of the risks attached to their role. Given that social media and its many influencers and public figures are clearly not going anywhere, perhaps it’s an industry that will see significant growth over the next few years.

What is landlord insurance, and why might I need it?

If you’re a landlord renting your property out, then home insurance might not be enough to cover you if you run into problems with your property or enter a payment dispute with those renting your home. Landlord insurance is designed to protect you in the event of the common issues that you can run into when it comes to rental properties, such as physical damage or loss of rent related to your tenant/s.

The insurance itself is made up of three policies; Building, which covers the physical space that you own itself, Contents, which covers everything inside the building and Tenant Protection, which is designed to cover you from the potential risks that tenants bring such as loss of rent, or damage caused to your rental property.

It’s important to make sure that you choose the correct cover for you and the home that you’re renting out when it comes to landlord insurance; a flat owner would not need the building insurance aspect as this would already be covered, but a house owner certainly would, for example. Contents insurance is especially key for those landlords who supply their properties furnished and would look after those objects in case of damage, whilst an absence of Tenant Protection could see your wallet hit hard should your tenant damage the property deliberately.

Landlord insurance also offers a lot of the standard damage cover that a home insurance policy would, with fire, storm, flood, water and impact damage typically included. Returning to Tenant Protection, it also offers cover for the legal cost of having to evict a tenant as well as having to replace the locks.

It can also help to compliment your existing home insurance policy, so if you take all three landlord policies out, then you won’t require further contents or building insurance. Conversely, if you already have contents and building covered in your pre-existing home insurance, then you would need only purchase rental protection to offer comprehensive protection.

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