Nottingham Broker Highlights Important Changes to Terrorism Insurance

Added by Love Business East Midlands | 9 February 2018

2017 saw the terror threat in the UK and across Europe reach an all-time high, with the official rating reaching ‘critical’ status twice in the space of just a few months in Britain – something which is increasingly affecting the productivity and stability of certain sectors.

Managing Director at Nottingham’s largest independent insurance broker Russell Scanlan, Bryan Banbury, has highlighted the growing need for changes to terrorism insurance for businesses and the options now available, given the ever-present threat of a potential attack.

He said: “In the wake of the devastating attacks in Borough Market, Westminster, Manchester and other European cities, business owners have been calling for drastic changes to their insurance policies, which have been seen to have significant gaps, causing thousands of pounds of losses for hundreds of companies.

“In the past, terrorism insurance has covered business interruption caused by damage to premises – mostly geared towards the use of explosives in attacks. However, the nature of attacks has changed in recent years, as more and more events involve the use of handheld weapons and vehicles to cause human casualties.

“This type of incident results in businesses being forced to close for long periods of time despite no actual physical damage – with no insurance pay-outs to cover for the loss of income.”

The Financial Times reported that one business caught up in the Borough Market attack in June last year estimated its losses at £35,000 due to lost sales, staff expenses and wasted stock - a total which was not covered by its insurance policy.

Bryan added: “Retail, hospitality and entertainment businesses are particularly vulnerable to losing out in this way – with more and more terror events taking place in and around these types of venues and tourism taking a huge hit in certain cities.

“Given the changing face of terrorism in this country, insurance provider NMU has now added non-damage business interruption (BI) cover to its terrorism insurance policies. As well as damage to own and third-party property, the changes mean that the cover will also pay out in the event of the use of vehicles, hand-held weapons and explosive devices to cause death and injury.

“Whilst the devastating effects of terrorism will still cause huge upset and trauma to victims, these changes will bring some much-needed protection for vulnerable business owners in the aftermath of an attack. The NMU changes are a great leap forward, helping to manage the risk and ensure businesses can bounce back more easily.”

Russell Scanlan employs 35 insurance experts at its office in Wellington Circus in the city centre. It provides commercial and private client insurance to a wide variety of sectors and individuals.

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