Is your property insured against exposure to natural disasters?
With increasingly unpredictable weather and ever more natural disasters occurring, the risks for property, whether business or residential, have increased significantly. It’s become more challenging than ever to manage property exposure to risk, which is why it is so important to ensure your property is adequately insured to help mitigate potential risk.
The most common form of natural disaster in the UK is flooding, caused by such factors as increased rainfall, severe weather events and slowly rising sea levels. This is followed by storms and wind damage, including fallen trees, but can also include such natural events as earthquakes, all of which can cause significant damage. In 2008, an earthquake in Lincolnshire caused property damage across the south and east of England, at a cost of some £10 - £15 million. Wildfires, too, are on the increase, fuelled by dry conditions and prevailing winds, although not on the scale of those experienced in other countries, such as the USA and Australia.
Risk management
If required, we can in certain circumstances utilise the services of an experienced risk manager to ascertain the risk level to your commercial premises. They can collate information about the strengths and weaknesses of your building, advising on suitable measures to mitigate risk and helping to ensure loss prevention. Depending on the nature of the risk, we can liaise with underwriters, ensuring adequate cover is in place and potentially achieve faster recovery in the event of a claim, which an experienced claims co-ordinator will handle. This combination of risk management, specialist underwriting, and claims expertise ensures benefits for clients, both in terms of loss prevention and fast recovery.
Claims expertise
Prevention is naturally better than cure, but in the event of a claim after a catastrophe, speed is of the essence. Knowing who to call to report the loss is essential, helping companies to hit the ground running and ensure speedy assessment. In particular, transparent data analysis facilitates better business decisions, ensuring clients are better positioned to deal with the aftermath and get back in business as speedily as possible. With a detailed understanding of your premises prior to the event, we are better placed to act swiftly, whatever the nature of the natural disaster, and ensure systems are in place to facilitate recovery.
Flooding
Flooding represents the most common natural disaster risk. It tends to occur for two reasons: flash flooding, as a result of heavy rainfall or storms, causing rivers to rise above normal levels, with those properties on riverbanks or close to sea level most at risk; and surface water flooding, which occurs when a drainage system is overwhelmed, causing water to flow into streets and properties, and can occur anywhere.
Flood insurance, generally provides cover for removing debris, repairs to water damage, repairs to structural damage, drying out and fees for services such as property surveyors. Contents insurance typically provides over for replacing furniture, appliances and electricals, and stock and equipment replacement in the case of business clients. For specific details of what is and what is not covered by your policy, please refer to your policy wording or speak with us.
If you live in a high flood risk area, where possible we can arrange specialist flood insurance for you, and certain residential properties may be eligible for a policy under the Flood Re scheme, which was introduced to help ensure affordable insurance for those most affected by flooding.
Keeping you protected
Whatever the nature of your property, whether residential or commercial premises, we will ascertain your risk level and ensure appropriate insurance is in place through specialist underwriters if necessary, giving you full protection in the event of a natural disaster. Should the worst happen, you will have the peace of mind that we have the experience and contacts to handle the situation speedily and efficiently.
With natural disasters due to unpredictable weather on the increase, it pays many times over to be adequately insured.
To find out more and talk to us about your insurance requirements, please call us on 01992 703 000 or email: insurance@mcdonaghs.co.uk
Source:
Insurance Hound: Property losses from catastrophes are getting worse
AXA: Property losses from catastrophes are getting worse
Swinton Insurance: Natural Disaster Cover