Hiscox hits top spot

Hiscox has leapt to the number one spot in an Insurance Times survey to find the insurer that provides the best service to brokers.

The Broker Service Survey 2009 asked brokers to rate insurers on criteria including quality of cover and speed and fairness of claims handling. Hiscox claimed the top spot for commercial lines insurers, with an overall satisfaction score of 84% – an improvement of 4% on last year’s performance.

One respondent said: “Hiscox has a can-do attitude on underwriting and claims.”A further commented: “They do not quibble on claims and they act always in the client’s best interests.”

The brokers surveyed came from a cross-section of the market, in terms of location, size of firm and job title. They were only asked to rate those aspects of the service of which they had direct knowledge.

Brokers were asked to judge insurers on five categories: the speed of access to decision makers; underwriting expertise; quality of cover; speed, accuracy and clarity of documentation; and speed and fairness of claims handling. Hiscox came first for claims handling and joint first in underwriting expertise.

The height of fashion

Image-conscious fashionistas are defying the recession and continuing to splash out on the latest trends and designer labels – but some may be underinsured for their valuable wardrobes.

Hiscox research reveals that the average British adult spends almost £1,000 a year on new clothes and accessories. However, budding fashionistas striving to look like David Beckham or one of the ladies from Sex and the City admit to spending as much as £400 every month on new outfits. The recession hasn’t had an impact on more than half of those surveyed, with 56% saying they are spending the same as they normally would and 4% spending more.

When it comes to putting a price on the value of their wardrobe, however, some are not so sure. Women estimate that they own £3,000 worth of clothing and accessories, while men put the figure nearer £2,500. But Hiscox has discovered that many people grossly underestimate the true value of their wardrobe.

Hiscox household insurance expert Austyn Tusler says: “The British are dedicated followers of fashion, but many don’t have a grasp of the value of the clothing and accessories they have accumulated over the seasons.

“As a result, many people may be underinsured for their wardrobes. One female customer, for example, gave us an estimate of £3,000 to cover her wardrobe contents, but the total was actually more than £25,000 – more than eight times the value she had thought.”

Halting the hackers

About 80% of UK businesses are dependent upon their IT systems for day-to-day operations, according to the Government’s Information Security Breaches Survey 2008. The costs of even temporary damage to these systems can be severe. Hiscox Hacker Insurance gives companies peace of mind by covering a wide range of losses related to online risks.

Alan Thomas, Hiscox’s UK Head of Technology, Media and Telecoms, highlights three different types of online risk: malicious damage by hackers; the loss of sensitive data due to mistakes made by company employees; and viral attacks that result in systems malfunctioning.

Alan has detected a growing trend of malicious hacker activity in the UK, with 96% of businesses with more than 500 staff reporting an average of 400 security incidents each in 2008.

Any of these risks can have far-reaching consequences. “Firstly, the damage to the system will need repairing,” Alan points out. “Then the system will need investigating to find its weaknesses and prevent the problem from recurring. Finally, it may take time and money to re-establish the company’s reputation.”

Identifying the threats
Hiscox Hacker Insurance for Technology, Media and Telecoms clients can provide cover for all these situations. “The main part of the cover is for repairing damage to systems,” says Alan, “but Hiscox also pays for a security consultant to assess the company’s electronic security, for a forensic consultant to find out the hacker’s identity and for a public relations firm to repair any damage to the business’s reputation.”

As technology develops, so too do the risks associated with it – and Hiscox’s team of underwriters take a proactive approach to investigating and identifying the specific threats that companies face. As Alan points out: “The launch of Hiscox Hacker Insurance is proof of how Hiscox responds to technology risks as they evolve.”

Suite success

Hiscox’s new suite of A5 broker literature was launched recently, offering you an easy way to increase your profits without any additional cost. The flyers can be used by brokers with clients, either as part of a new business sale or renewal pack. By listing all the private clients and commercial products, they help to maximise any cross-sell opportunities across the whole of the business.

On the commercial side, the flyers include information on everything from professional indemnity (PI) to management liability. On the private clients side, they include home, motor and fine art insurance.

The commercial suite contains:

Business products brochure
PI for misc professions
PI for media consultants
PI for IT consultants
Office insurance
Management liability portfolio
Charities insurance portfolio/clubs and associations portfolio
Venue insurance
Medical malpractice/wellbeing
Event insurance

The private client suite contains:

Private client brochure
Home insurance
Motor insurance
Holiday home
Fine art insurance
Event insurance

You can view and download the full suite of A5 flyers on the broker centre website at http://www.hiscox.com/broker

The art of collecting

During times of financial turmoil, people tend to retreat to safer havens – and art collectors are no exception. Gone are the days when they would race to snap up new artists’ work for top prices. The mantra now seems to be ‘tried and tested’.

Elliot McDonald, Hiscox’s art curator, says that contemporary art is one of the main areas of the market in which there has been a drop-off in interest. “The race to buy the rising stars of the past five to ten years is over,” he says. “The key is to look for artists who will be around in another ten years’ time.”

It follows, then, that serious collectors with serious money are turning to the Old Masters and other well-regarded names. At a Sotheby’s sale in London in July, for example, a 1628 Van Dyck portrait sold for more than £2 million – about £500,000 more than the top estimate. This marks a change from recent years, when the trend was very much towards contemporary art and when the Old Masters, such as Van Dyck, were seen as unfashionable.

Elliot says that, these days, quality is king – which is typical of investors’ behaviour during recessions. “People are going for artists who have been well-regarded through thick and thin,” he says. “If you have a very good Andy Warhol, you will still get a very good price for it. But some modern pieces you would have got great money for three years ago, you won’t get much for now.”

This insider knowledge is part of what sets Hiscox’s specialist art insurance service apart. Robert Korzinek, Fine Art Underwriter, says that the product’s key selling point is Hiscox’s proximity to the art world. “We’re passionate about art,” he says. “We insure, collect, sponsor and promote it.”

The product’s breadth, flexibility and geographical reach are also attractive to collectors. “They can be covered from the moment the hammer comes down at auction or they walk out of the gallery with their purchase,” says Robert. “Plus, our contacts in the art world mean that we can deal with claims discreetly, sensitively and speedily.

For more information about Hiscox’s specialist art insurance service, contact your local underwriter.

White collar crime risk

Hiscox is warning businesses that rising unemployment could lead to an increase in white-collar extortion. Previous recessions and periods of economic instability have led to increases in extortion cases, particularly in sectors such as financial services.

While extortion can take a number of forms in the UK – occasionally involving physical threats to property or people – it is more likely to be targeted at a company’s product or service. A company reliant on its IT systems, such as a financial institution, might see a threat of a computer virus being introduced maliciously.

Well-educated, white collar workers with detailed knowledge of their ex-company’s IT and operating systems can occasionally turn to extortion as a way of taking revenge on a former employer and of making money.

Charlie Hanbury, Special Risks Underwriter at Hiscox, commented: “I would expect to see insurance claims from companies experiencing extortion go up by at least 25 per cent in the current downturn. Therefore, it is critical that organisations thoroughly examine and test their risk management procedures when it comes to dealing with incidents such as these.”

A matter of trust

The importance that members of the public place on trust has risen during the current economic crisis, according to a new poll commissioned by Hiscox.

Pollsters YouGov surveyed 2,000 people about their attitudes to trust, and 36 per cent of them revealed that the importance they place on people’s trustworthiness has increased in today’s financial climate.

Although 79 per cent of Britons say they value people who can keep their word, it seems they are not behaving that way themselves. The study showed that integrity and trustworthiness appear to be lacking in the workplace, with 44 per cent of those polled admitting to breaking their word in the office. Most common is the claim that work is being done when it hasn’t been started. Although we value trust, many people don’t actually trust each other, as 60 per cent expect those around them to break their word, with bosses expected to be the most likely (19 per cent) to do so.

Glenn Caton, Hiscox Sales and Marketing Director, said: “We are pleased the results show that honesty and integrity are highly prized commodities for businesses and individuals, yet understand that people are still wary, given the events of the past year.” Social psychologist Dr David Lewis, who worked on the study, added: “This study shows that trust is fundamental to economic life – the real challenge is bringing this back to strength in the UK.”

Where art meets life… and death

A unique work of art that documents the annual number of deaths worldwide has provoked significant public and media interest since going on show at Hiscox’s London headquarters.

Death Counter, by Spanish artist Santiago Sierra, is a giant LED display designed to serve as a fast-paced reminder of the transient nature of human life, recording deaths from all causes during its time on the facade of Hiscox’s HQ throughout 2009. The work has been loaned to Hiscox in exchange for an insurance policy of €150,000, payable in the event of Sierra’s death and valid for the duration of the exhibition. The policy means that Death Counter exists as more than an artwork – it is a binding contract between Hiscox and the artist.

The death count is based on a demographic projection taken from the US census, currently estimated at more than 55 million deaths a year, at a rate of nearly two per second. The life insurance value has been set in relation to the value of the artwork.

"It acts as a prompt to remind me that there are more important things going on in the world"

Like many pieces of modern art, Death Counter has provoked a variety of reactions, with visitors and Hiscox employees sharing their views with reception staff. One reported: “The majority of people who come in are intrigued, but when they find out what it’s all about, they leave without saying goodbye! But it’s certainly been a talking point.” While some have found the reference to death somewhat depressing, others have taken away a deeper message. “Like a lot of art, it makes you think, and that’s not a bad thing,” said one Hiscox employee. “It acts as a prompt to remind me that there are bigger things going on in the world,” said another viewer.

Robert Read, Group Fine Art Underwriter at Hiscox, said: “This is a challenging and thought-provoking piece that will make its mark on the city. Hiscox is in the business of valuing risk, so the relationships between the contract, value of life and unusual property are familiar topics. It portrays the complexity of commerce.”

Death Counter is the latest work to form part of Hiscox Art Projects, which aims to make exciting, contemporary collections and exhibitions more accessible to the community.