Latest News
Fraud and Social Media
23-01-2012
Social media websites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter have become the go-to places for firms to check out the backgrounds of prospective employees. But social media is increasingly used in insurance fraud investigations too. Social media is a way of linking people, so insurance companies, police and investigators such as The Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) are turning to social media ... Read More
Winter Weather Precautions
15-12-2011
With warnings being issued of the possibility of severe winter weather, including heavy snow and gale winds, hitting parts of the UK over the coming days, it will be incredibly important to take all necessary measures to stay safe when the weather takes a turn for the worse and our friends at Allianz have issued some usefull advice to protect you and your business. Be prepared and stay safe t ... Read More
AskMID Website
19-10-2011
The AskMID website, set up by the Motor Insurers' Bureau, is an easy way for clients to check whether their car is registered as insured on the Motor Insurance Database. With the introduction of CIE and increased Police roadside checks it is more important than ever that clients check carefully that their details are on AskMID.Some may find that their vehicle is not listed on t ... Read More
Preventative Measures
10-08-2011
Given the nature of the recent incidents, it is difficult to provide prescriptive guidance on actions businesses can take to minimise risks, but here are some general considerations published by Allianz Commercial that may be helpful. If you would like individual recommendations, you should contact your broker directly.The safety of your employees and customers must be your priority. Make sure tha ... Read More
Cracking Down on Cheats
08-07-2011
Whatever the reason, fraud costs the insurance industry £2.1 billion a year, according to a report by the National Fraud Authority (NFA), pushing up the annual cost of insurance by an extra £44 per household. Home insurance is the number one target for insurance fraudsters with 170 cheating householders caught out each day, says the Association of British Insurers (ABI). The Nati ... Read More
Government Launches 'Red Tape Challenge' Website
17-06-2011
The Government has launched its 'Red Tape Challenge' website, which allows businesses and the public to vote for regulations which they think should be scrapped. This aims to examine over 21,000 statutory rules and regulations currently active in the UK, focusing on regulations that the Government considers place the biggest burdens on businesses and society. The website will operate until April 2 ... Read More
Website Social Media
13-05-2011
Many organisations are using, or planning to use, social media tools such as, LinkedIn, Facebook®, YouTube and Twitter, but what about the risks? Businesses need to be aware of ‘hackers’ or threats that may leave those businesses vulnerable to data theft, downtime, financial losses and reputation damage. One of the biggest risks comes from inadvertently downloading viruses, spyware and ma ... Read More
Corporate Manslaughter
15-04-2011
A UK company has denied unlawfully killing a worker in the first prosecution of a business for corporate manslaughter under new laws. The Company denies unlawfully killing an employee when the trench he was working in collapsed as he took soil samples. Rescue workers took two days to recover his body from under several tonnes of mud and a post-mortem examination showed the employ ... Read More
Repeal of Retirement Age Provisions
22-03-2011
As you may have seen from recent publicity the Government has now taken the decision to abolish the default retirement age (DRA) of 65. Subject to transitional provisions, the DRA and the provisions which currently make it non-discriminatory to force an employee to retire at 65 (or at the employer's normal retirement age, if higher) will be abolished from 6 April 2011. Full detai ... Read More
Employers' Liability Tracing Office (ELTO)
04-03-2011
The Employers' Liability Tracing Office (ELTO) is an independent industry body comprising members who are Employers' Liability (EL) insurers. This is designed to help employees who have suffered injury or disease in the workplace to identify the relevant insurer quickly and efficiently via an Employers' Liability Database (ELD). With effect from 1st April 2011 all Employers will be ... Read More
The Bribery Act 2010
18-02-2011
There has been an understandable perception of this only affecting large international companies - not so, it affects all of us. What is a bribe? It may be corporate hospitality or paying a 'facilitation fee' to get some papers processed for example. Offences include giving or receiving bribes, bribing a foreign official and a new corporate offence of failing to prevent the payment of brib ... Read More
Earning your trust, not expecting it
07-02-2011
We are delighted (and flattered!) that a number of our clients have expressed their confidence in our services by recommending us to businesses they know. We have been able to respond with help and assistance, and won new clients as a result. It is reassuring to reflect that what we offer is valued enough by clients to recommend us. Our thanks to all those who have done so. ... Read More
New Pension Scheme Proposals
21-01-2011
The Government has announced plans to introduce an auto enrol pension scheme for all employees earning above £7,500 a year. Starting in October 2012 for the larger employers the scheme will be phased in over the next four years so that all employers should have implemented it by 2016. It will mean all employers will have to offer staff a Company Scheme or use the Government's n ... Read More
Motor Insurance
07-01-2011
The Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE) will be launched this year to cross check DVLA and Motor Insurance Database (MID) data, to check vehicles are insured. Current estimates are that insurance fraud costs £1.9 billion a year of which 50% is motor related (eg staged accidents/whiplash etc as well as policy fraud). Each 'honest' motor policy contributes c£40 to the fraud 'pot'. ... Read More
Insurance Premium Tax set to rise
16-11-2010
Insurance Premium Tax (ipt), which applies to most UK insurance policies, is set to rise effective 04 January 2011, as announced in the Government's Finance Bill 2010. The standard rate will increase to 6% (from 5%) and the higher rate, applicable to Travel Insurance policies, will increase to 20% (from 17.5%). Whilst the increase has to be applied, we will make it as painless as ... Read More
Stuart Pigram runs the London Marathon
26-05-2010
Trust Insurance Group, Group Sales Director, Stuart Pigram recently ran the 2010 London Marathon in a great time of 4 hours 18 minutes and in doing so raised lots of money for his chosen charity. ... Read More
