Thinking Risk

The challenging backdrop to the 2023 insurance market includes inflationary pressures, the looming threat of recession, continuing fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and lingering COVID-19 concerns. Rising reinsurance rates are also contributing to market hardening while adding to primary insurer operating costs.

This article runs through how we anticipate these factors will affect pricing across some key commercial insurance classes.

A perfect storm of inflationary pressures in the construction industry mean that the majority of businesses’ property risks are currently underinsured. This can have disastrous consequences for any business suffering a major property damage claim, as their insurance will not fully cover the loss, threatening their ongoing viability.

Unscrupulous hackers use the “Season of Goodwill” to defraud and extort money from unwary shoppers.

The Construction industry has been through a tumultuous few years - COVID-19, Brexit and most recently the Ukraine war have caused disruptions with project delays, supply chain issues, price inflation and the availability of labour. This article considers how these issues have impacted the construction insurance market, and what businesses can do to help their broker achieve the best possible terms on their behalf.

This summer has seen unprecedented temperatures. On the 19th July 2022, the UK experienced its hottest temperature on record where the thermometer touched 40.3C in Lincolnshire. This month the Met Office have issued a further Amber warning for Central and Southern England and Wales.

The current hot weather may be welcome for holidaymakers, but many workplaces in the UK are not equipped to deal with the current extreme temperatures. It makes sense to consider putting in place some simple common-sense measures to help mitigate the heat, reduce the risks and make your colleagues more comfortable.

Directors and officers of limited companies can have unlimited personal liability for the decisions and actions they take on behalf of their company. The trend is increasingly for senior leaders to be held personally accountable for organisational issues and problems (eg cyber-attacks, environmental incidents and financial failings), making D&O insurance more important than ever.

Government communication of the changes to the Highway Code implemented at the end of January 2022 has been widely criticised, so it is important for businesses running a fleet to ensure their drivers are fully briefed to avoid danger and confusion.

Winning this prestigious industry award is testament to the hard work of all our staff, who have remained focussed on delivering an outstanding service to clients through an incredibly difficult year.

UK SMEs typically lose £13.6bn each year from legal issues, and this cost is on the rise. Costs of a legal dispute can be seriously damaging for a business and can even prevent companies from trading.

Commercial Legal Expenses insurance can help take the strain, reducing the costs and time spent on legal disputes. This article highlights some of the post lock-down issues which are driving litigation and outlines how legal expenses insurance can help.

"Is the current Professional Indemnity market harder than Only Connect? Yes, it really might be even harder than the fiendishly difficult BBC quiz show.  

It is certainly the most difficult and challenging insurance market I’ve experienced in over 30 years in the industry, and the underlying problems were all solidly in place and building long before we could all spell 'coronavirus'."

Sean Trent, Divisional Director of Lonmar Global Risks (part of the GRP Group) discusses the difficult Professional Indemnity market, and how PI insurance buyers can help their broker to achieve the best solution possible for their business.