Insurance

by Niall McCann

Do you have the correct insurance? Still reading? Well I’m impressed. At the risk of offending insurance salesmen sorting out your insurance has to be one of the most tedious of life’s chores and many people fail to check their insurance cover in sufficient detail. I am one of those people. I have recently lost a watch and been told that it is not covered on my household insurance because I was outside at the time. This additional cover would have cost me an extra £6.80 a year. The good news is that unbeknown to me I have been paying an additional £27.00 a year to have my legal fees cover just in case I want to start suing people left right and centre and don’t trust myself not to cock it up. I have seen insurance cover for licensed premises which is much the same: offering lots of cover where it is not required and conveniently having long and impenetrable clauses excluding any liability where it is actually required. Recently one of my client’s tried to claim because a premises licence had lapsed due to no fault of his own. Despite having a section marked, ‘Compensation for Loss of Premises Licence’ the washing of hands was so extreme that I could not think of a single scenario where the insurance company would have to pay out. Other policies I have seen proudly boast that they cover premises with On-Licences, Public Entertainment Licences and Supper Hour Certificates. Very generous of them considering that those permissions ceased to exist in 2005! So, whilst it pains me to say it: read your insurance policy…. all I have to do now is decide how to incur £50,000 of legal fees…