Christmas is coming and your warehouse is getting fat
Christmas is traditionally an exceptionally busy time for businesses that supply retailers, manufacturers and distributors. What’s more, with the festive season rapidly approaching, many organisations will be expanding their stocks to service the uplift in demand throughout their supply chains.
If you’re about to increase the value of the stocks that you hold or will be transporting more expensive loads building up to Christmas, it is vital to review your policies NOW to make sure that your sum insured fully reflects this.
The difference between surviving and closing down
Christmas sales are vital to businesses in many sectors and often account for a large proportion of annual revenues. The greater values involved can make fires, floods, thefts and other setbacks even more catastrophic should you be underinsured. It is worth considering the impact on your business of a major incident such as your premises burning down.
Would you be able to continue trading in any way during the time it took to set yourself up again? Would your valued customers be forced to buy elsewhere? Business interruption insurance can address these issues.
Important for cover to reflect the true position
Whilst we are all likely to become busier building up to Christmas, it is extremely important to talk to me about your insurance programme. I can work with you to ensure that your sum insured accurately reflects your true position.
When it comes to business interruption insurance, most companies get caught out because they underestimate the length of time that it may take to recover from a serious incident. As such, it is key to consider:
• The realistic period that it would take you to resume normal operations if a commercial building was destroyed. Here, be sure to factor in demolition and site clearance, planning applications and new machinery installation.
• The time it may take to manufacture and rebuild stocks to a serviceable level.
• Lead times for replacement specialist equipment to be delivered.
• How long clients will wait before ordering from your competitors. If they are unlikely to wait long, you may have to consider the costs of outsourcing.
Only once all of the above have been taken into account, can you decide on a sensible sum insured and indemnity period or length of time for which you’ll be covered until your business is again able to trade as it does today. Please contact me if you would like further information on making sure you’re properly prepared for Christmas and beyond.