Monday, December 14, 2009

Business Liability Insurance.

We all read the stories in the news about huge, multi-national companies being taken to court over seemingly ludicrous matters - "Coffee too hot", "Peanuts in the peanut butter", "Your fast-food made me obese" - and we all have a chuckle. Yet worryingly, especially if you own a business, many of these cases are actually won by the claimants, leading to huge payouts from the companies involved. What's more, if the correct business liability insurance is not in place, the businesses involved are in serious trouble financially.

Yet it's hard to know exactly what type of business liability insurance you need - cover and needs differ if you are a small to medium sized outfit, a large multi-national company or self-employed working out of your home. What remains true of all, however, is the need to have the right business liability insurance in place, especially as the liability environment in the UK becomes more complex.

Business Liability Insurance - Arm Yourself With Information
Business Liability Insurance is a legal requirement in the UK, but there are varying degrees of cover you can purchase. Smaller businesses often struggle to find insurance for their needs as they may not be able to afford all of the cover on offer under standard business liability policies, and they actually may not need all of the elements on offer under the policy - if you work from home, it can be even trickier to find a policy to suit your needs. It's certainly worth doing some research to establish exactly what kind of business liability insurance you need and which company can best provide it - a search on the internet and insurance comparison sites can often be the best place to start.

Business liability insurance covers the cost of people connected with your business who may become ill or injured in some way - for example, as soon as you hire somebody, the law states you must have employer's liability insurance, in place. Without this, you expose yourself to both breaking the law and potentially being sued by an employee if they are injured at work. Public liability insurance protects your business if a member of the public is injured in some way by your business or one of your employees, and professional indemnity insurance is worth considering if you have a business which offers members of the public advice in any way - if you make a mistake and are sued, your costs are covered.

Monday, December 7, 2009

How To Protect Yourself From Fraud?

If you become a victim of car insurance fraud, you pay. Not only will you pay higher premiums because you may acquire a costly claim, but, as with any car accident, you and your family could pay with your lives. It is important to learn more about fraud protection so you can protect yourself from others who may choose you to be a part of their next car insurance accident fraud scam.

Insurance fraud began when insurance first began. Incidents have been recorded as far back as ancient Greece. Ship scuttling was an insurance scam in ancient Greece where ships were purposely sunk. Later insurance fraud traveled to England then to America. When automobiles were introduced it opened a whole new arena for fraudulent insurance claims. Today, with modern technology, many fraudulent car accident claims do arise from sophisticated organized crime rings that can be hard to detect. Don't let this make you a victim of an insurance scam. Whether the insurance scam is from an organized crime ring or an individual, there are fraud protection steps you can take to help you be more aware and avoid being a scammer’s next victim.

First, it is important to know what types of insurance scams are used. There are many types of car insurance scams. Set-up car accidents can range from vehicles deliberately stopping in front of a driver to cause a rear-end car accident to drivers who pretend they are being helpful but intend to cause a car accident that will look like the innocent drivers fault. Scams can also involve people one would generally trust such as doctors and lawyers.

Educating yourself more about fraud protection against car insurance accident scams is the best way to avoid being someone's next victim. Here is a list of common scams to be aware of:

# Staged Rear-End Car Accidents: A scam driver will quickly get in front of an innocent car and then slam on their brakes. This causes the innocent driver to rear-end the scam driver. Along with collecting money for vehicle damages, the scam driver will often fake medical injuries to collect even more.
# Adding Damage: After an accident, either staged or not, the scam driver will go to another location and cause extensive damage to their vehicle and claim that the damage happened during the original accident.
# Fake Helpers: Scam Helpers will wave an innocent driver into traffic, but then crash into the innocent driver. When it comes time to file the claim, the scam driver will deny waving anyone in. Other ways fake helpers try to scam people is by offering to help an innocent driver find a auto repair shop, doctor, or lawyer. In this case, everyone is in on the scam. The body shop charges you enormous rates, the doctor and lawyer also lie to collect more from your insurance.

Since these scams can happen at any time and place, it is important to be prepared. Awareness is the most important. Watch for drivers who may be following you or examining your driving habits. Also, make sure you leave plenty of room in front of you in order to stop. If an accident does happen, take notes on everything about the other car, the accident, and everybody that was in the other car. Keep a disposable camera in your car to record damage to both vehicles. Furthermore, use your judgment in driving, not others. Make sure you have enough room to get out and just let other cars pass instead of letting others "waive you in." And, when you talk to your insurance company, let them know if you felt something was suspicious.