Cutting your costs
After seven years, brokers are using Hiscox's innovative continuous policy method for more and more of their commercial insurance customers. The method was developed to relieve clients of the hassle and concern of their annual insurance renewal process. It also helps brokers to increase retention rates and improve profits. Administering professional indemnity, and office and management liability insurance policies, has never been easier.
Continuous policies mean clients with stable, claim-free businesses don't have to fill out a time-consuming proposal form each year. Better still, their premium doesn't change. This continues even if fee incomes, turnover or wage rolls increase within the limits set under the policy. Moreover, your clients' cover continues as long as they keep up with their premium payments. They can also pay interest-free via direct debit and cancel their policy at any time without a penalty by giving 30 days' notice.
Brokers benefit too. Continuous policies give you more time to get new business opportunities. You will also benefit from reduced costs by handling the smaller and more stable renewal clients, releasing more profit into your bottom line. The higher retention rates mean that you can plan more accurately.
Gary Head, Hiscox's Underwriting Director, said: "Continuous policies make life easier for clients and are also better for brokers, as they reduce administration costs and increase profitability. We know that small businesses are extremely busy in the competitive world we work in and it is important that continuous policies can take some of the hassle out of running a business for them."
Safety first!
Help clients manage their risk the easy way with new tools from Hiscox's BusinessHR
Hiscox has added new health and safety tools to its BusinessHR services to widen its risk management offering. An online human resources and health and safety audit tool to provide users with a quick and easy first assessment will be available on the website, alongside health and safety links. Newsletters will also feature a new health and safety section.
BusinessHR’s website service normally costs £360 a year, but Hiscox’s business policyholders can access the service at a discounted rate of £60.
BusinessHR will legally protect your clients and their business. Having inadequate employment documents or a lack of policies can put a business at serious risk, and losses are not necessarily just financial. New legislation increases the impact of serious breaches of health and safety on directors and managers.
It can also help you to save your clients money. BusinessHR provides a quality HR service at a significant discount and additional services are still available at a competitive rate.
BusinessHR advice is available to users at a time that suits them, as the website is accessible 24 hours a day.
More than 75,000 clients use BusinessHR reference toolkits and trust its quality service to inform them of the latest in HR and health and safety management.
For further information, visit www.hiscox.businesshr.net
Insuring Spanish homes
There is a myth among home buyers in Spain that they have to take out their home insurance with their mortgage lender. To help dispel this myth, Hiscox is currently insuring thousands of properties in Spain from its offices based in both the UK and Spain.
There is, in fact, no such requirement and customers are free to place their insurance anywhere within the EU. This is in accordance with the Freedom of Establishment and Services Legislation (EC Treaty under Article 43 for Freedom of Establishment and Article 49 for Freedom of Cross-border Services).
Spain has also adopted the provisions of the Third Non-life Directive, a single authorisation system, which extends this right and opens up more opportunities for you.