The dust may have settled on the recent UK riots, but for business owners, the consequences are ongoing.
In the areas of small business and commercial insurance, the impact of the riots may be felt for some time to come by the many offices and shops that were damaged in the unrest.
Read the rest of this article to find out more about some of the things surrounding business and commercial insurance that traders are living with.
* Lack of commercial insurance
For riot-hit businesses with no commercial insurance in place, the harsh reality of no longer being able to trade is all too real.
Having no shop, office or salon insurance has left many businesses and lives devastated.
* Increased premiums
For those business owners who did have commercial insurance to cover any damage or theft causes they’re now likely to be deemed to be in a ‘high risk’ postcode and their commercial insurance provider may charge extra as a result when they come to renew.
* Dealing with insurance claims
After the shock and devastation of the riots, for many people the task of documenting everything that was damaged or stolen has been a long and laborious process.
Not being able to trade again until their stocks have been replenished has been a common problem, although UK insurers have been working tirelessly to provide prompt assistant to any riot-affected business or individual.
* Buying additional insurance policies
For some businesses, the UK riots have been a wake- up call in terms of their commercial insurance needs. Nobody really saw the riots coming, and as such, some businesses found they weren’t covered for everything.
For example, you may have had public liability insurance in place and cover for your contents, but not any cover for business interruption.
It will take months for some of the businesses affected by the riots to be able to trade again. Not having adequate commercial insurance in place could mean they have no income to cover the loss of earnings in the meantime.