We live in an increasingly litigious society, with ever greater regulation, in which businesses and directors face the prospect of more claims than ever before. These claims can arise from scenarios such as, actual or alleged breach of trust, breach of duty, neglect, error and wrongful trading.  Even winning a case can still leave you with associated legal costs that can in themselves be crippling.

Many directors and officers of private companies are unaware of the dangers that are open to them personally, or believe that they are immune to attacks from employees, regulators, shareholders and creditors. Many assume they are protected by their company’s Limited liability status but this is not the case and the number of actions against Directors is set to increase dramatically.

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Following large losses recently incurred by motor fleet insurers, many of them have begun to ask for questionnaires to be completed at renewal focusing on which company vehicles are being included and who can drive them. As such, we thought it would be an appropriate time to provide a quick refresher on what a fleet policy does and doesn’t cover:-

What vehicles can I insure under my fleet policy?
Any vehicle which is owned and registered to the company (and in some instances director owned vehicles although these need to be referred to the relevant insurer). The fleet will also cover hired-in vehicles or loaned/courtesy car vehicles. Additionally, vehicles leased under a lease agreement to the company or a director of the company can be covered as long as they are notified to us using an MID declaration form.

What vehicles can’t I insure under the policy?

• Vehicles which are insured elsewhere under a private policy.
• Vehicles that are not registered in the UK or registered in the name of the policy holder, i.e. the company name. An exception to this may include a vehicle owned by a director but in such a case the vehicle must be disclosed in order for a specific certificate to be issued.

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Following the Lord Justice Jackson Review on civil litigation and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) consultation on the civil justice procedure, we explain what to expect from the reforms to the way low value personal injury claims are handled, ahead of implementation later this year.

The reforms represent the largest overhaul to the personal injuries legal framework in England and Wales in over a decade and are expected to bring more balance to the civil litigation system by:

• Making lawyers costs proportionate
• Combating the compensation culture
• Creating an environment where insurers can pass on savings to customers through lower premiums

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Insurance of warranties & indemnities included in the
sale & purchase agreement (SPA)

Historically this insurance was only really cost effective for larger sales and acquisitions, however NPA insurance Broking Group have have recently arranged insurance cover in respect of two business sales, one at £28 million total sale price and another at £8 million total cost. Three of the insurers that we can deal with are keen to provide insurance cover in respect of these “smaller” deals.

Insurance cover is normally arranged by the sellers. Taking insurance cover enables the shareholders to take the proceeds of the sale and put the capital to use – as opposed to having to hold sums in reserve against possible W&I claims from the purchaser. Alternatively, where a business has Professional Investors who will not enter into Warranty and Indemnity arrangements, insurance cover offers protection to the other shareholders who would otherwise be left with an inequitable amount of risk in relation to the W&I’s being provided.
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