These are unprecedented times and it is understandable that there is concern regarding our conduct as individuals and businesses. Events are changing rapidly, and we are being asked by many of our policy holders for advice regarding their specific situation. Due to the complexities and individual nature of every person’s situation we are not in a position to offer advice. We request that you consider and follow these recommendations:

• Ensure you read the policy wording
• Follow the UK Government's (Department of Health and Social Care and Public Health England) advice. (https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/coronavirus-covid-19-uk-government-response)
• Government updates can also be found here: https://www.gov.uk/search/news-and-communications?level_one_taxon=5b7b9532-a775-4bd2-a3aa-6ce380184b6c&order=updated-newest
• There may or may not be any current specific closure instructions regarding your business operations, but there is the general advice regarding restriction of contact and self-isolation. In the absence of any specific advice your decisions should be based on your knowledge of the health of yourself and those around you, the potential to exposure for yourself and your clients and the degree of necessity of the service you offer.
• In terms of claims, regrettably, there is no guidance that we can provide which would cover all eventualities. The current situation does not change the requirements upon you, the Insured, to notify us in the usual way of any Notice of Circumstance or Claim. Please abide by the notification condition in the policy wording and report complaints or claims as they arise. Any Claim’s notification will be assessed on its own merits in the usual way.
• Be vigilant about your hygiene procedures. At all times clients should follow the infection prevention and controls guidance provided by the UK Government (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-infection-prevention-and-control)
• Keep detailed records and evidence of any service (s) you provide

THINKING OF CANCELLING YOUR POLICY? - TAKE CAUTION!

The effects of cancelling your policy

This is a claims made policy which means that the Insurer will consider a valid claim they are notified of during the policy period, provided that the incident that led to the claim occurred after the Retroactive Date. If your Policy shows this date as 'Nil' this means that the incident in question could have occurred between ANY date in the past and the date of expiry.

However, once the policy is cancelled you cannot make a claim regardless of when the incident occurred. Due to the nature of this type of policy and dependent on the reason for cancellation you should consider the following:-

• Temporarily stopping work?

  It is important to remember that a claim can arise many weeks or months after the incident which caused the claim. Whilst your policy is active you are covered, provided the incident which caused the claim is after the retroactive date. If your retroactive date is Nil then this means from any time in the past up until the expiry date of the policy. Once you cancel the policy you are no longer covered.

  The value of having a Nil retroactive date is considerable, but this is only available on the issue of the first policy with us and then subsequent policies provided continuous cover has been maintained. If you think you will need insurance again in the future then, depending on how long you have been uninsured, the retroactive date will either be the date the new policy starts or you will have to pay an additional premium to retain your current retroactive date.

• No longer trading?

  Due to the nature of this type of policy many people maintain a ‘run-off’ period of cover. This is because claims are often made some time after the incident that led to the claim occurred. By maintaining cover for a period of time it allows time for any potential claim to come to light and thus reduces your risk of facing a costly claim when you don’t have insurance cover.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

As many of my courses are cancelled, I wondered am I covered for any type of loss of earnings?

The loss of earnings which you refer to is otherwise known as Business Interruption which unfortunately is not covered by your policy. The following clause can be found in Section 5 of your policy wording.

5.35 Business interruption
any claim arising from any trading loss or trading liability including that arising from the loss of any client, account or business.

Where do I stand if the location where I have event booked cancels on me and I don't cancel? Am I covered for loss of earnings?

In the situation which you describe – ie that a location where you would host your events cancels - you would need to refer to the contract you have with the event location organiser and whether you are entitled to any refund or compensation.

This would not be a matter involving your insurance. If the loss were sufficient enough and the event organiser was in breach of their contractual obligations to you then you may consider making a claim against their insurance for your loss.

Can I put my policy on hold?

There is no option to ‘pause’ a policy and we would strongly recommend against cancellation (please see above).

In the current health climate I need to consider working via online/video call. Will I still be covered?

The policy we offer does not exclude providing services online or virtually. So, if you able to carry out the same work and provide the same service via video chat, online media or recorded messages then this is still covered by the policy.