There seems to be an accepted view that insurers won’t pay claims. This is often perpetuated by anecdotal stories of people whose claim was not settled because “the insurers wouldn’t pay out”.

T.V. and films often use this perception as a great way of building a storyline to pile more misery on the poor unfortunate character that the viewer sympathises with.

In reality insurers really do want to pay genuine claims in fact one, Zurich Insurance, announced that they pay out 99% of UK claims. The Association of British Insurers also publish statistics that show a high percentage of claims are paid.

So, why is there this perception?

Often the reason a claim can’t be paid in full is because of underinsurance, the sums insured just aren’t enough.

A building insured for years without a valuation could easily be underinsured by 25% which means even a small claim would get reduced by 25% to reflect the underinsurance.

The amount of cover needed to replace all of your contents is often miscalculated simply because it wasn’t calculated at all. A rough finger in the air amount is not sufficient and we recommend you go around your property and make a note of what’s in each room and then consider how much everything would cost to replace as new, it quickly mounts up!

An area often critical to a care business surviving a catastrophic loss is the Business Interruption cover.

Now, in the care sector insurers use your annual fee income (they call it gross revenue) which means you’re unlikely to be underinsured. However it is essential that you check the amount stated on your Schedule because if this doesn’t match your actual income according to your accounts then you won’t have enough cover.

Insurance is esay to arrange but easy to get wrong and an insurance broker can guide and advise you on how you can get your insurance cover on the right basis.

A bit more thought when arranging your insurance goes a long way to ensuring that should you have to make a claim it will be paid in full.