Is your practice insured correctly?

Lloyd & Whyte’s Head of Commercial Business Development, James Pearce, points out that many practices assume that because one of the partners in the business owns the property, they can then insure it under their practice insurance policy. This isn’t the case, as all members of the trading entity would need to have financial interest in the property to correctly insure it under the business policy.

Partnerships often change with new members joining or leaving. This could essentially mean that what was once insured correctly, is now out of date and uninsured due to the differing entities owning the property and business.

James goes on to state that “Lloyd & Whyte have the knowledge and expertise to advise on this matter. We have access to multiple insurers specialising in Property Owners insurance”.

These would include but is not limited to:

Property Owners Liability
Legal expenses
Loss of rent
Landlords ’fixtures and fittings’

There is an option for a practice to insure property under their business insurance. This would be down to the lease agreement in place. If the lease agreement clearly states the responsibility falls on the tenant to insure the property, ’insurable interest’ is then transferred to the occupant as opposed to the owner.

This is commonly known as a ‘full repairing and insuring lease’ (also called an FRI lease or FRI tenancy) which gives the tenant the responsibility for paying to repair and insure some, or all, of the structural parts of the building as well as the interior of the premises actually being rented.

In either case, it is always important that you take advantage of the advice given by experts in insurance, to give you the peace of mind that should a claim occur, you will be covered correctly.

Insurable interest isn’t the only thing hindering successful claims, underinsurance is still the hottest topic when it comes to insuring properties.

Underinsurance could leave you exposed

90% of UK properties are underinsured¹UK-wide, meaning that they have insufficient insurance coverage and may have a shortfall should they need to make an insurance claim. Of these, their policy only typically covers around 68%²of the amount they should be insured for. If you are underinsured, your claim could be reduced; even if it is only a smaller claim, such as for a broken window. The same goes for equipment and stock.

Whilst underinsurance can have a devastating impact, there is a simple and inexpensive solution. Lloyd & Whyte can conduct a full review of your needs to ensure you have the best coverage possible. Speak to one of their experts and ensure your practice is protected properly. The advice doesn’t end with your practice, as they have the knowledge and expertise to provide professional advice around Locum insurance, Cyber insurance, Management Liability and Professional Indemnity, as well as your personal insurances.