FSB urge insurers to view notice period as minimum

The FSB has welcomed the news that liability insurance policyholders are to receive at least 21 days notice of their renewal terms.

However, the FSB has called on the insurance industry to strive to exceed this minimum standard wherever possible, and give small businesses longer to arrange their insurance cover.

Reacting to the Statement of Good Practice published by the Association of British Insurers and the British Insurance Brokers Association, FSB NI Policy Chairman Wilfred Mitchell said: "At present insurers can in theory just let cover expire so any minimum notice period is a step in the right direction. But 21 days may not be long enough.

“FSB research suggests that over half of the businesses that are forced to look for an alternative insurer take more than three weeks to find cover. I am asking insurers to see the Statement of Good Practice as a minimum standard and work towards providing at least a month's notice wherever possible."

He said: "Liability insurance premiums have been mushrooming for over a year and this is the first real change in the relationship between insurers and their clients. But the liability crisis will not be solved by longer notice periods and improved customer service alone. The Government must come up with a detailed plan of action when the Department of Work and Pensions publishes its next report in September.

“While this is a step forward, it still does alter the fact that thousands of jobs and businesses are at risk because of high insurance premiums in Northern Ireland. Government must wake up to this situation before it is too late for many of our nearly 90,000 small businesses in Northern Ireland.”

The FSB first highlighted the difficulties small firms were facing in securing employers' liability and public liability insurance in August last year.

Employers' liability cover is a legal requirement in the UK and without it employers are not allowed to trade.

An FSB survey of over 1,243 business owners carried out in June 2003 found that only four out of ten businesses forced to look for a new insurer found cover inside three weeks.

Business owners planning for insurance renewals also reported that almost a third of insurers are not prepared to communicate with them in advance of the renewal date.

(SP)