COVID-19 Hub
How can I help my business?
We are in unprecedented times – a phrase that has been applied to our circumstances since the start of the first Coronavirus lockdown over a year ago, evolving into another variation on ‘normal’. The business community is constantly being asked to adapt to reflect the changes that need to be made to help keep us all safe but to also help keep your business going. Measures we hadn’t even heard of over a year ago need to be in place to help protect your staff, customers, business and you. An important step is to continually discuss your insurance cover with your broker: you are likely to have reduced your business insurance coverage while staff are furloughed, your business is temporarily closed, your fleet is laid up, your business has no visitors, or you are adapting your business to the lockdown measures. Ensure the cover is right for your business as it functions and adapts as you do.
As insurance brokers, we help you manage your business risks and future. So, we’ve gathered some resources and links you and your business should find helpful as we open our businesses back up. These are all free to use; you don’t have to be a current client, you don’t have to sign up for anything, you don’t even have to speak to us. We just want to help.
Re-opening your business
The following guides and checklists will help you plan what you might need to do to effectively re-open when the time is again upon us. These are just templates and guides for you to use as you need them; they are not exhaustive, and you should remember to edit and tailor them to your particular requirements. As always, please remember to discuss any changes to your business with your insurance broker.
- Voluntary COVID-19 Vaccination Policy
- Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policy
- Return to Work Action Plan Discussion Guide
- Guide to Creating a Return to Work Action Plan
- Sample Return to Work Action Plan
- Post-coronavirus Workplace Preparedness Checklist
- Post-coronavirus Return to Work Cleaning Checklist
- Responding to a Positive COVID-19 Test Checklist
We have produced some quick reference checklists to help – this is not in place of government advice and guidance, but to help:
- Re-opening your restaurant or pub
- Re-opening your accommodation business
- Re-opening activity and leisure businesses
- Re-opening hairdressers
- Re-opening Retail Checklist.
- Re-opening your office checklist
If any of your staff will remain at home, this Employee Work From Home Guide and we have further information regarding workplace mental health. You can adapt to your company’s specific circumstances and circulate to all. We also recommend regularly updating your Business Continuity plan as situations change, or get a plan in place if you don’t already have one: Business Continuity Planning Toolkit.
For those businesses taking the opportunity to diversify, speak to your broker immediately! For example, if you are self-employed as a taxi driver, contractor, or tradesman, you and your vehicle will be covered for specific circumstances; if you are now, for example, delivering food, be aware that wouldn’t be covered. It is a simple change to include ‘hire and reward’ cover, but you need to discuss it with your broker or insurer ASAP.
What should my insurance cover?
Many policies can be extended to include a range of benefits such as:
Payment of fines & penalties
Payment of ransoms & extortion
Cover for lost or disrupted income
Cover for physical injury/damage
The cost of phone hacks
Cost of notifying your contacts
Incidents at your outsourced service providers
Social media risks
Unoccupied premises
There are a lot of unoccupied premises at the moment: retail, hospitality, offices. Check your property insurance small print as some insurers will cover 30, 60 or even 90 days unoccupied (see Cover Overview Unoccupied Property Insurance). This usually comes with the conditions that the empty property is regularly checked internally and externally; utilities are switched off, water is drained from radiators, etc. However, some insurers advise a more relaxed approach to this, considering current government guidelines that do not unnecessarily allow people to leave their homes. You must speak with your broker or insurer for clarity – especially if you have stock to consider – to avoid being caught out.
Cyber security
With staff home alone and your devices spread, your company may be more vulnerable to a cyber attack. This is the prime time to review your standard cyber incident response. If you don’t already have Cyber Essentials Certification, it is worth taking a look; even if you don’t certify, there are steps to help your IT systems be more resilient against a breach. The following will also be helpful for you and your employees:
Other considerations
- Directors & Officers: you may be personally liable for your company’s actions: redundancies, job role changes, allegations of supply chain mishandling.
- Trade Credit Insurance: this monitors the credit of your supply chain, will warn you if there are potential issues and can help if a debtor can’t pay. Essential if you rely on others.
- Fleet: If your fleet is off the road, you can amend the cover to be ‘laid up’, which means the vehicles are still insured against damage, but the road risk element is removed (to help save some money). Similarly, if you are starting to get more of your fleet back on the road with the lockdown easing, it is essential to update your insurance broker so the correct cover can be reinstated.
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