Specialist Insurance

Insurance can be a complicated matter - especially when you have something that is just that little bit outside the traditional or normal policies offered by the main insurance carriers. Specialist insurance brokers come into their own when there is something different about what you want to insure. There are three broad areas that are covered and these are:

Specialist home insurance policies are available to cover buildings due to their location, construction materials or use. For example, thatched or wooden buildings are typical examples of houses built with higher risk materials. Buildings on flood planes or liable to subsidence should consider obtaining appropriate cover as should bed and breakfast or other homes where a business use is carried out. Cover is also available for multiple occupancy type properties, such as residential or holiday parks and student lets.

Once away from the standard, mid range family car, obtaining cover for something that is powerful, expensive or different can be a challenge. Equally, if you have built or modified your own car or kit car, then a specialist broker can help. It may not just be the vehicle though, the driver may be harder to insure, especially if they are young or have previous motoring convictions.

Sorting out what is needed can be a daunting prospect for the average business owner with any element of higher than normal risk. Apart from Public Liability and Employer Liability Insurance Policies, cover is available for a wide range of businesses from aerial and satellite erectors, scaffolders' to tree surgeons and ground workers.

	Flood Risk Home Insurance Holiday Home Insurance High Value Home Insurance Listed Buildings Insurance Subsidence / Underpinned Properties Flat / Maisonette Insurance Flat Roof Home Insurance Thatched Roof Home Insurance Wood Built Home Insurance Park Home Insurance Unoccupied Home Insurance Bed and Breakfast Insurance Home Business Insurance Landlords Insurance Tenants Contents Insurance Student Possessions / Contents Blocks of Flats Insurance Criminal Convictions Insurance Criminal Convictions Home Insurance Criminal Convictions Business Insurance		Abseiling Contractors Insurance Aerial & Satellite Dish Installers Insurance Advertising Contractors / Billboarders Insurance Builders Insurance Groundworks Insurance Painter & Decorator Insurance Roofing & Cladding Insurance Scaffolding Insurance Steel Erectors Insurance Tree Felling Insurance Welding Insurance Window Cleaning Insurance		High Performance Car Insurance Luxury & Executive Car Insurance Hot Hatch and Sports Coupe Car Insurance 4x4 Car Insurance Modified Car Insurance Q Plated Car Insurance Hybrid Car Insurance & Electric Car Insurance Japanese Import Car Insurance Classic Car Insurance US / American Car Insurance Kit Car Insurance (including off-road Kit Cars) Replica Car Insurance Camper Van Insurance Young Drivers Car Insurance Convicted Drivers Car Insurance Driving Instructor Insurance Motortrade Insurance Jersey & Guernsey Car Insurance Isle of Man Car Insurance Northern Ireland Car Insurance

Specialist Car Insurance

If you own and run a middle of the road factory produced or standard dealer sold vehicle, then getting road insurance should be a relatively straightforward, time consuming, but not too demanding task. However, if you have that 'special' vehicle or there is something different about either you, what you do or your past, then you will need to look for cover from a specialist broker.

There are a number of policies that can be arranged. These are diverse and quite wide ranging in their nature. The types of cover that apply to the actual vehicle falls into eight broad categories:
•high performance, expensive and hot hatches/sports coupe's

•off roaders (e.g. 4X4 vehicles)

•modified or built cars (e.g. kit cars, Q plated vehicles, replicas)

•hybrids (including electric powered)

•imports (e.g. American or Japanese standard production vehicles)

•classic cars

•camper vans

•region specific cover (i.e. Northern Ireland, Jersey & Guernsey and the Isle of Man).

Then there are specialist policies that are available to the prospective drivers. These include:
•insurance for young and inexperienced drivers

•driving instructor cover

•cover for drivers with previous speeding or driving convictions.

The final area of specialist insurance available is to the motor trade. Here options exist for Road Risks Policies and Combined Policies for additional cover for such items as engineering inspection liability, business disruption and transported goods and vehicles. The options are quite numerous and should be investigated thoroughly with your specialist insurance broker.

Specialist Home Insurance

Most people will be required to have some form of buildings and/or contents insurance. If you have a mortgage, then it will be a requirement that you hold at least buildings insurance cover that is sufficient to allow for rebuilding the house in the event of damage or loss. However, finding appropriate cover may not be all that easy if you have a non standard dwelling or it is located on a flood plane.

There are many forms of buildings that require specialist home insurance. These include

•higher risk properties, such as thatched houses, wooden buildings or holiday homes

•homes where some element of business takes place, such as bed and breakfast establishments or home offices

•multiple occupancy buildings, such as landlords insurance for a block of flats or a residential or holiday park

•specialist structures, such as listed buildings and flat roofed houses or flats

•unoccupied premises, be they residential homes left unattended for long periods or holiday homes with seasonal inoccupation.

In addition to structural insurance, contents may also need to be covered. A typical example of where this may be the case is with houses or flats let to students. With changing climate patterns, recent catastrophic events have shown the value of flood insurance. This provides the financial wherewithal to recover after the event. Whilst expensive, and with high excesses, it can still be worthwhile considering.

If your property has been underpinned or is in an area with known subsidence, then considering subsidence or underpinning cover could be essential. A specialist insurance broker should be able to source competitive quotes.

  Specialist Business Insurance

If you have a high risk business due to the nature of the work you are engaged in, then getting insurance cover can be tricky. Specialist business insurance is a niche product area but it is available for such diverse businesses as scaffolding erectors, welders, window cleaners, aerial and satellite erectors to ground workers and builders.

All businesses need, by law, to have suitable Public Liability and Employer Lability Insurance cover. Additionally, if you are engaged in a trade or profession, then you may need to also consider Tradesman's Insurance cover or Professionals'
Indemnity Insurance.

Public Liability Insurance provides cover in the event of claims arising due to damage to property, injury or death to people that arise from actions or negligence by you or your employees. There are minimum levels of cover required and a specialist insurance broker can advise you accordingly.

Employer Liability Insurance provides financial cover for your employees and protects against employee claims arising from accidents or injury both in the workplace and whilst travelling on business. It also provides cover in the event of employee contractual or employment disputes or claims. Tradesman's Insurance covers any tools or equipment that are damaged, stolen or lost either on, or off of, work sites.

Professional Indemnity Insurance provides financial cover for claims arising from customers or suppliers due to negligence or alledged poor quality of work. In all cases, you will need to disclose upfront whether you have had prior claims or criminal convictions. Failure to do so could invalidate any insurance cover you purchase.