That for some reason all of these items on your ‘asset list’ were taken away and had to be replaced by purchasing them all again. Imagine what the impact would be of, for example, having a fire or a break-in. Overnight the business has possibly lost its assets and can no longer trade effectively.
Even if the largest asset is a healthy bank balance, this is just a target for claims for negligence.   

“Stop spreading doom and gloom”, I hear you say. Well the good news is that most of these eventualities can be protected against by using insurance products. Having adequate protection of assets and insuring against claims for negligence is just plain
good sense, but what is available and how does one go about it? The information below is not designed to be a comprehensive list of all the insurance products available, but does show the more common ones.   

Property (including buildings, contents, stock, equipment) The most obvious insurance is for “property”, which actually is not just the building (and might not even be yours), but also includes your contents, stock, equipment, improvements, etc – pretty much
everything that is tangible. What would happen to your business if you were unlucky enough to have a fire, for example? Could you just open the chequebook and replace everything on day two, without a worry? Don’t panic, not many businesses are able to do this.   

Most standard commercial insurance policies will include cover for property for ‘standard perils’, for example fire, explosion, storm, flood, escape of water, theft, etc. This is pretty easy to arrange and relatively cheap to buy, but make sure that your “sums insured” are
correct.   

Business Interruption (consequential loss) If your business was to suffer a standard peril’ as above, for example a fire, how long would it take you to be up and running again and
how much trading profit would be lost? Cover for the lost profit as a consequence of an insured peril is often available as an optional add-on to a commercial packaged insurance.   

Crime Cover
Designed to cater for many criminal exposures faced by every business. As criminals and their methods of defrauding and embezzling from businesses become ever more sophisticated, this comprehensive package provides vital protection.   

Liabilities
As society becomes more litigious and the public increasingly give serious consideration to the active and frequent pursuit of claims against companies and other individuals, the failure to protect against the consequence of claims for negligence may prove to
be disastrous, even for the largest of corporations. The ‘blame and claim’ culture has certainly reached Gibraltar. Just the costs involved in defending such actions or allegations can have a serious impact on the profitability of a company, ifthese exposures are uninsured.   

Some examples of these exposures
are:   

a) Public Liability — for example, a customer walks onto your premises
and trips over a cable that you have put there temporarily. Once upon a
time, this would just be put down to an accident and taken no further.
These days this could actually be quite a substantial claim for negligence
if you can be blamed. Well, do not panic, public liability cover
is available either on its own or as part of a package. This is also pretty
easy to arrange and relatively cheap to buy, but do get some help from a
good broker.   

b) Employers’ Liability — a similar situation as above, but this time it
is a member of staff rather than the public. Employers’ liability cover
is also available either on its own or as part of a package and is easy
to arrange and relatively cheap to buy.   

c) Professional Indemnity (aka Professional Liability or Errors &
Omissions Insurance) — to cover your negligence, for example mistakes
made by staff, whilst providing a professional service to clients.
Luckily, not all businesses have this exposure, only those providing
professional services. Policies are tailored to meet the specific requirements
of the various professions in respect of their liability to other
parties for claims that arise out of wrongful acts committed by employees
whilst providing a professional service to clients. This cover
is somewhat more complex, so a good broker should be involved.
It is also relatively more costly, so your good broker had better do a
good job for you.   

d) Director’s & Officer’s Liability — this provides Directors and Officers
with a personal indemnity against a wide range of potential
legal actions which they can face in the course of carrying out their duties
as Directors. Cover would also be provided to the company against
related costs and expenses incurred where it is permitted, under its articles
of association, to reimburse its Directors and Officers. This cover is
also somewhat complex but is not necessarily costly.   

Life and Health
If any of your key personnel were to suffer a major health problem or even death, what impact would this have on your profitability? Key Person cover is designed to be able to minimise this impact, allowing you to find a replacement and train them, by paying out a lump sum on death (or critical illness) for the benefit of the company.   

Conclusion
The cover is available out there to allow you to protect your business. However, there are some complications in arranging these covers, so a good broker should be involved. Once you have the correct cover available at a fair premium, just pay it and then you can lessen the worry!!   

Capurro Insurance & Investments Limited is an insurance intermediary in Gibraltar, authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Commission. Capurros have been active in the insurance market for over 100 years, offering clients a high level of service,
which they are proud of and eager to maintain. They offer personal lines and commercial insurances, as well as financial planning advice to private clients and employee benefits for corporate clients.   

Capurro Insurance
& Investments Ltd
20 Line Wall Road, Gibraltar
Tel: 40850 Fax: 40851
E-mail: info@capurroinsurance.com
Web: www.capurroinsurance.com