The Hardening Market

Have you seen an increase in your insurance costs and the cover that is now available to you from your broker and insurers?  Insurance rates have been on the increase for the last nine consecutive quarters, before the impact of COVD-19, due to several factors including:

Significant global catastrophe losses ($100bn+ per annum) in 2017-2019 (hurricanes, windstorms, typhoons, wildfires etc) which has fed through to the UK market.

• UK claims for flooding/storms are increasing in both frequency and severity on an annual basis.
• Double-digit attrition claims inflation on Motor Fleet and Liability losses due to Brexit and exchange rates, growing claims litigation culture, regulatory reforms (e.g. Ogden Rate).
• Property losses from cladding since the Grenfell residential fires and various food/hotel fires have had subsequent impact.

This has meant that several insurers and Lloyds syndicates now no longer offer cover options to certain areas including the care and charity sectors and means:

• Fewer markets to compete, so insurers can drive pricing and impose cover changes.
• Insurers are now highly selective when looking at new clients and will target the best risks based on CQC and claims performance.

Impact across the Charity and Hospice sector

In these uncertain times, the impact of COVID-19 has led insurers to review potential financial quantum and exposures around potential liability and business interruption claims including those due to the closure of many hospices and charity shops. Several actions have been taken by insurers to the sector including:

• Total withdrawal from offering insurance solutions to the sector
• Most insurers looking to pause offering terms to potential new clients
• Most insurers looking more closely at new startup operations
• Most insurers are looking to break existing Long-Term Agreements (LTA), through increases to rates and premiums and updating policy wordings, in some cases using a combination of both.
• Cover changes are not blanket, some markets are excluding COVID-19 totally including to the public liability covers, others are looking to offer inner limit of cover around COVID-19 on public Liability with severe restrictions, and other continue to offer wider protection and limits
• One insurer in the sector is restricting cover to go beyond COVID-19 exclusion and now to exclude communicable disease which could include Norovirus or the flu as examples.

Although you may not have been affected by the market changes yet due to having a renewal date outside of March-July 2020, it is unlikely that you will not be affected moving forward. We would recommend that you contact your insurance broker at least 3 months ahead of a known renewal to discuss options and market movements, as these continue to change on a regular basis. 

How can we assist?

With over 100 years of experience in the not-for-profit sector, Towergate Insurance are specialists when it comes to finding the right solutions for charities and hospices and work with a range of A-Rated insurers to provide the right protection for each individual client. We don’t just see ourselves as an insurance broker, but more as a risk management partner. Our job is to help our clients reduce risk and the threat of disruption in the first place.

To find out more about how we can assist you or advise on market updates, please call  James Anscombe on 07973 784006 or email newcharity@towergate.co.uk.

Charity insurance from Towergate

Towergate's charity insurance policy includes access to a 24-hour stress helpline, available for you and your staff to use when you need it most. Call us for a quote when you’re ready on 0330 123 5274, or read more about our specialist charity insurance.

About the author

James Anscombe Cert CII is a respected industry leader with over 10 years' business development experience protecting clients in the charity insurance sector. His professional area of expertise is working with and developing new clients within the not-for-profit sector, offering the best solutions to each individual charity to protect organisations for the long term.

Disclaimer: This article is intended for your general knowledge and does not substitute for the advice of a medical professional. It should not be used to diagnose or treat a problem.