group news

(An Extract from the Western Mail 24 October 2011)

CARDIFF-BASED specialist insurance broker Creative Risk Solutions has secured a new insurance deal for The Celtic Manor Resort.

The three-year deal, which includes cover for resort liability, business interruption, terrorism and vehicles has been clinched with German insurance giant Allianz Commercial following a competitive tender.

The new deal extends Creative Risk Solutions' four year relationship with The Celtic Manor Resort which has seen it source insurance for the 2010 Ryder Cup - one of the world's largest sporting events, the Wales Open and its first ever polo tournament , Polo at the Manor.

The latest policy includes cover for risks associated with the Resort's new Forest Jump treetop high ropes course and a magnificent festival of fireworks on November 5.

Mark Colcomb, Vice President of Finance at the Resort said: "We have been working with Creative Risk Solutions for a number of years so they have a thorough understanding of our business and the risks associated with it. Due to the number of high profile events that we put on, and our plans to expand our facilities to offer more adverture-based activities, our risk management needs are extremely high level and exacting".

Jan Wilkins, Managing Director of Creative Risk Solutions, said: "We are delighted to extend our relationship with The Celtic Manor Resort through this new insurance deal. It is a sign of the strength, depth and experience that we have within our team to be providing risk management solutions to a hotel of The Celtic Manor's calibre that has been put on the world map through hosting the Ryder Cup.

"The Resort is a tremendous client for us, requiring a sizeable locally-based client service team".

Following a recent independent review of current Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) arrangements, the SRA have issued consultative proposals for change, with a view to implementation on four proposals effective 1 October 2011.  The deadline for responses to this consultation is 28 February 2011 and CRS encourages its solicitor clients to make their views known to the SRA.

The October 2011 proposals are:

• the requirement for all Firms to renew their compulsory PII cover on 1 October to cease, with Firms free to renew on any date convenient to them;

• excluding from cover claims made by financial institutions arising out of work conducted on or after 1 October 2011;

• a reduction in the time a Firm can remain in the ARP - from 12 months down to 6 and  obligations to establish effective exit strategies;

• reporting requirements by Insurers direct to SRA on:

• those Firms that fail to pay their insurance premiums;

• those Firms that Insurers believe may have misrepresented renewal information.

Further changes are also being considered for implementation in October 2012 and CRS will outline these at a later date.  With the current consultation deadline for alterations to this year’s renewal fast approaching, however, we would urge all to log on and have your say!

For further information, please contact us or log onto the relevant SRA site:

(www.sra.org.uk/sra/consultations/client-financial-proetction-arrangements.page)

 

As all our clients would be aware, Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) is a tax paid on (almost all) insurance policies purchased within the U.K. With effect from 4 January 2011 however, the standard and higher rate of this tax is due to rise as follows:-

Standard		Higher
Current	New	Current	New
5%	6%	17.5%	20%

Please remember that all types of insurance risk located in the UK are taxable unless specifically exempted. Exemptions from this tax include:-

• Reinsurance
• Life and permanent health insurance (but not medical)
• Commercial aircraft insurance
• Commercial ships and lifeboat insurance
• Export finance
• Insurance on commercial goods in international transit
• Insurance on international railway rolling stock
• Insurance on risks outside the UK

For further information please do not hesitate to contact us.

Rising Claims in the Employment Arena

With the Confederation of British Industry predicting that nearly three million will be without jobs by the end of this year, the size of claims for ‘Breaches of Workers’ Rights’ is increasing, as many workers find it difficult to get alternative employment.

Employment Law experts advise firms to seek advice from professional consultants to ensure their procedures are robust, so if they do need to let workers go, they can do it in a way that is legally compliant.  This, in turn, should minimise the risk of having claims made against them.

If the unfortunate circumstance arises where redundancies are unavoidable, then employers have a first duty to ensure they meet their legal obligations to their employees.

If something does go wrong with the process, Management Liability Insurance does exist to cover against the cost of ‘Unfair Dismissal’ and ‘Discrimination Claims’, as well as other areas such as Theft by Employees.

For further information on the protection available, please contact us.

Environmental Liability

New Obligations and Emerging Liabilities for Company Management

Many businesses could soon find themselves liability for environmental damage under a radical shake up of the existing regulations. 1st March saw the implementation of the EU Environmental Liability Directive under the Environmental Damage (Prevention and Remediation) Regulations 2009 which will be incorporated into law later this Year and provides a useful opportunity for businesses to understand their environmental obligations better.

Increasing Liability for Organisations

The new Regulations require almost any organisation involved in economic activity – including charities and public sector entities – to prevent environmental damage to water, land or biodiversity (protected habitats or species or ‘Site of Special Scientific Interest’).

New Obligations to Prevent Damage

The Rules impose a new obligation on organisations to prevent environmental damage and to notify the authorities if damage is about to occur or has already happened. Where environmental damage cannot be prevented, the directive requires organisations to carry out much more comprehensive clean-up work than they may have done previously.

Responsibility for Rehabilitation

Organisations must not only put right the pollution they cause, but will also have to rehabilitate a site back to its original condition. If that is not possible, or takes a long time to complete, a company can be obliged to pay compensation for blighting the area.

How Can Business Quantify the Risks? Sites will no longer be defined by the boundary of the property and firms will have to monitor so they can detect any changes that may constitute damage and notify authorities.  Failure to do so will mean the risk of fines and legal action.

Quantifying these risks will be extremely difficult...

The recent Bartoline Court case has meant firms will not be able to claim on their Public Liability policies for the cost of cleaning up their own site OR for any damage caused to neighbouring rivers or nature reserves, even if the pollution were caused by a fire or flood. As such, every firm needs to consider carefully their liabilities under these new regulations and the terms of their existing insurance cover and many companies that had not previously thought of themselves as being at risk of causing environmental damage now need to consider whether to investigate specialist environmental impairment insurance as a result of the new regulations.

Please contact us for further information.