11 Ways to help get your insurance claim paid.

 

#4 – Insure your contents for the correct amounts.

If you want your insurance claim to be paid in full, one important thing to get right is your sums insured.  Even though you are unlikely to suffer a total loss of all your buildings and contents, you are expected to pay a premium based on the full risk being taken on by the insurer.

Very simply, if you insure your contents for £50,000 and at the time of a claim, the insurer feels that the true replacement cost would have been £100,000, your claim for £10,000 could be reduced to £5,000!

So, for your guidance, your sums insured should be calculated as follows:

  • Buildings – the cost of completely rebuilding the property, including an allowance for demolition costs, architects’ and surveyors’ fees.
  • Machinery/Contents – the cost of replacing all items on an as new basis.
  • Stock – invoice costs plus an allowance for work in progress.
  • Gross revenue – this is your total turnover, adjusted to reflect the anticipated position at the end of the insurance year
  • Gross profit. Important – an insurer’s definition of gross profit is different to that of an accountant, as it must include salaries and wages and should be calculated as follows:
    • Turnover
    • Plus Closing Stock
    • Plus Work in progress
    • Less Opening Stock
    • Less Opening Work in progress
    • Less Cost of Purchases, Bad Debts, Packaging, Carriage and discounts
    • Equals Gross Profit

 

If you would like to know more about how we can help to protect you and your business, call 01527 306 041 or email aphillips@apinsurance.co.uk