November/December Issue 64 - Flipbook - Page 35
ASTON LARK
YOUR BUSINESS INSURANCE COULD BE DUE A REBATE
It’s no secret that the COVID-19
pandemic has significantly
impacted businesses across
the UK; and no more so than
in the recovery sector. For
many operators, income and
payroll budgets were reforecast
several times during 2020, as
the full impact and duration of
the pandemic unfolded.
The Government’s Coronavirus
Job Retention Scheme has been
a lifeline for many employers, and
their staff, enabling businesses
to keep employees on by using
the furlough scheme rather than
lose skills and long-term team
members.
BUT WHAT DOES THAT HAVE
TO DO WITH THE COST OF
INSURANCE?
All recovery operators spend
money on Employers Liability
insurance. This is, of course, a
statutory requirement, so it’s one of
those covers that an organisation
can’t operate without. Along
with Public & Products Liability,
most insurers use wage roll and
turnover as the way to calculate
premium for this cover. These are
normally estimated at the start of
the insurance period, just before
renewal.
For many businesses renewing
before the pandemic hit, these
figures were probably massively
overstated in hindsight. After
all, who could have predicted
where we are today? For 2021,
your business could be due an
insurance premium rebate.
HOW DOES THAT WORK?
Some insurers have a clause in
the policy which automatically
makes the premium for Liability
insurance adjustable. At the start
of the year a business provides
wage roll and turnover estimates.
Once the insurance year is
concluded, actual wage roll and
turnover numbers are declared for
the year. If the actuals are higher,
then an additional premium is
charged. But if the actuals are
lower, you could be due an
insurance premium rebate.
Whilst, strictly speaking, return
premiums aren’t due on payments
that have been made to employees
under the Furlough scheme, in
some limited cases we have seen
insurers allowing these.
WILL IT APPLY TO MY
BUSINESS?
Not all policies are adjustable
in this way, but some insurers
have been flexible on giving
return premiums as though their
policies were adjustable during
the pandemic period.
At Aston Lark we have seen many
examples of premium rebates for
clients over the last few months
where businesses have not paid
the wages or earned turnover that
they expected during 2020, by
taking advantage of declaration
adjustments or by agreeing oneoff return premiums.
If you think you could be due a
return premium, or would like
to know more, contact Chris
Chapman or Russell Winch, your
dedicated AVRO insurance team.
Chris Chapman
chris.chapman@astonlark.com
T: 01732 386766
M: 07825 652829
Russell Winch
russell.winch@astonlark.com
T: 01732 386712
M: 07970 481416
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