What's the B***** point

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What's the B***** point
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Midland Spinner

Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Posts: 2931
Location: Under a green roof

Posted: Thu Mar 14, 13 11:23 am Post subject: What's the B***** point

We are just in the process of renewing our household insurance.

Apparently, because we run a business from home they are unwilling to cover us as there's an increased risk of burglary due to the presence of the stock with a value of more than about ï¿½1,000 and as we don't have a shop people will think/know that we keep our stock at home. I explained that our stock is unique & handmade and instantly recognizable as ours in the only market place where it will sell (re-enactors will all spot our stuff and if they know we've been burgled & stock taken would probably corner the miscreant & call the cops for us if they saw it for sale).

They are loathe to cover us even if we keep the stock elsewhere as 'people might still think that it's in the premises'.

Luckily we told them last year that we run a business from home, but they didn't pick up on it (although they've listened back to the record of the phone call & admit that they did know) so they will probably cover us this year for the same premium, but won't offer a renewal this time next year.

I told them that frankly if that's the case we might as well give up now as I can't work as hard as this year knowing that we won't be covered this time next year.

There must be thousands of craft workers out there who make things & sell them, how do they get insurance?

There's no point in lying to them & saying that we don't run a business from home, because all that would happen would be that in the event of a claim they'd find out & refuse to pay out or even blacklist us for lying to them.

sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales

Posted: Thu Mar 14, 13 11:26 am Post subject:
Endsleigh does ours, they have been absolutely find about us running a business as long as we have no business visitors coming to the house in the normal run of things.

Midland Spinner

Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Posts: 2931
Location: Under a green roof

Posted: Thu Mar 14, 13 11:29 am Post subject:
Can we have a Linky / contact details please Sally? We've told them that we don't normally have customers visiting. And we've told them that we don't expect the stock to be covered. Aargh

Nick

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford

Posted: Thu Mar 14, 13 11:33 am Post subject:
endsleigh.co.uk

sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales

Posted: Thu Mar 14, 13 11:34 am Post subject:

here's the general website for them, the last couple of years I've renewed by email, but I have double checked with them each time that they knew we worked from home and it was never a big deal, they just ask if we have visitors as part of the business, I say no, and I'm pretty sure we don't ask for any additional cover for stock or materials beyond their standard home office cover https://www.endsleigh.co.uk.. I do recall a year or so back looking for an alternative deal but came back to them as being the most painless to get the cover through

Midland Spinner

Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Posts: 2931
Location: Under a green roof

Posted: Thu Mar 14, 13 11:37 am Post subject:

Quote:

but I have double checked with them each time that they knew we worked from home and it was never a big deal, they just ask if we have visitors as part of the business, I say no, and I'm pretty sure we don't ask for any additional cover for stock or materials beyond their standard home office cover

That's what we've always done, and it's never been a problem, this time the chap on the phone kept asking more & more questions. I explained that we don't want the stock covered, that we don't usually have visitors (but, like last year, admitted to one or two known ones, - last year it wasn't a problem). Now he's going to go back to the "level 1" underwriter AGAIN.
It's taken all morning, and we are no further forward.

earthyvirgo

Joined: 24 Aug 2007
Posts: 7972
Location: creating prints in the loft, Gerlan

Posted: Thu Mar 14, 13 11:42 am Post subject:
NFU do mine MidlandSpinner. House and my Business combined. My print editions and any framed work I have at home are covered, and my presses. EV

Nicky cigreen

Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 9881
Location: Devon, uk

Posted: Thu Mar 14, 13 12:00 pm Post subject:
NFU here too with added bonus they cover the animals - if say the sheep break out and cause havoc on the roads

mousjoos

Joined: 05 Jun 2006
Posts: 1986
Location: VERY Sunny SW France

Posted: Thu Mar 14, 13 12:38 pm Post subject:

colour it green wrote:

NFU here too

with added bonus they cover the animals - if say the sheep break out and cause havoc on the roads

joy-riding sheep...? we don't get that here

but then this region's still firmly in the 1950's

nats

Joined: 12 Jun 2007
Posts: 2374
Location: Swindon but not a Swindonian

Posted: Thu Mar 14, 13 1:29 pm Post subject:
Have you thought of trying Ecclesiastical? They were born out of the refusal of other companies to cover vicarages, and we use them for our house (not a vicarage!) and have found them to be excellent, well priced, and with really good customer service when you do need to claim. They are also cooperatively owned which is a bonus as far as I am concerned.

Lorrainelovesplants

Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 6521
Location: Dordogne

Posted: Thu Mar 14, 13 1:40 pm Post subject:
NFU does mine - never a problem with them, and we get public liability with visitors - they are soooo easy going.

Midland Spinner

Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Posts: 2931
Location: Under a green roof

Posted: Thu Mar 14, 13 1:49 pm Post subject:

Just spoken to the NFU rep. He says that a Homeworker policy is only for businesses with a turnover of less than ï¿½10k a year.
(That's TURNOVER, not profit or income extracted). So with both of us working full time even though we only took about 2k between us, we don't count.

In other news, our current insurer now tells us that the van & car were only covered for "standard business use" so we were only insured when the van was empty of stock!!!!! In spite of the fact that I specifically asked in detail when I last renewed the insurance.
He's sorted that out, at no extra cost now (but it will cost more to renew.....)
I could spit.

Midland Spinner

Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Posts: 2931
Location: Under a green roof

Posted: Thu Mar 14, 13 4:29 pm Post subject:

Extra update: just spoke to the insurance who does our ppi and she said that a Homeworker policy is DEFINITELY not what we want because we take our work out to events, the homeworker policy is only for people who work at home not at events.

I'd already worked that out, but for those of you who are using the NFU Homeworker policy I'd suggest checking that it does cover you for what you thought it did.

It's a minefield out there.

sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales

Posted: Thu Mar 14, 13 4:33 pm Post subject:
its complicated isnt it, because presumably as soon as you leave the front door with your stuff your normal trading insurance takes over, so the household cover only needs to cover you when you are at home

Midland Spinner

Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Posts: 2931
Location: Under a green roof

Posted: Thu Mar 14, 13 4:44 pm Post subject:

sally_in_wales wrote:

its complicated isnt it, because presumably as soon as you leave the front door with your stuff your normal trading insurance takes over, so the household cover only needs to cover you when you are at home

Yes, you & I are covered because we have trading insurance (assuming you are still with the same people), it's ones who are relying on just the Homeworker policy that might have probs.

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