Thirty per cent of these small businesses have no more than the minimum cover they need to comply with the law.Certainly full-scale insurance has long been available All the big insurers offer it, at least to most companies. But the policies can apply to any business employing fewer than 20 people and three million of us work in them. There is no such easy answer if you run a couple of cars or vans for business use, or need to insure two or three shops.The self-employed – sole traders – are one group premierline wants to reach. Barry Wells, a seasoned insurance professional who made his name with Prospero Direct, has set up premierline, taking telephone-based insurance to small businesses via a Lloyd’s syndicate.
“There are more than a million people in my potential market, who may do anything from owning two or three shops, or running a pub, to working at home as an accountant, adviser or consultant,” he says.A normal insurer’s basic contents policy will not cover office equipment, even if you work at home, though you can extend the contract to cover them Most people do not bother. Moneynet One of the most innovative insurance pioneers has come back to the market to target Britain’s army of sole traders. One of the most innovative insurance pioneers has come back to the market to target Britain’s army of sole traders. Statutory sick pay is around £60 a week and covers only the first 28 weeks of your illness..

The ABI hopes this will stave off huge premium hikes.Insurers may also start to restrict the circumstances in which they will pay out on a claim.Someone who has a heart attack, for example, but whose doctor believes they can make a full recovery and return to work within a few weeks may only get a fraction of the lump sum they took out the policy for.”Someone looking to buy a policy next year will find guaranteed-rate policies are not available or they will be, but at an astronomical price,” said Matt Rann, head of underwriting at Scottish Equitable Protect, a specialist provider of critical illness insurance.Critical illness insurance may be a difficult sales pitch but it is becoming more attractive, as state provision is pretty meagre if you can not work through illness. Insurers can now say they will not pay out on cases where early diagnosis is likely to lead to a full recovery. These apply in particular to prostate cancer, because of fears that the Government’s planned national screening programme would throw up more diagnoses and more claims. This may be very good news for our health, but it has split the marketing departments of the big insurers down the middle in their attempts to grapple with the problem.As more people benefit from improvements in medical care, more people are making claims on their policies.High street insurers will have to either scale back on what diseases they will pay out for or pass on the costs of higher reinsurance to their customers by putting premiums up annually.The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has issued new guidelines for insurance companies that narrow the definitions of what illnesses are classed as critical. A 35-year-old non-smoker wanting £100,000 of cover over 20 years could pay £26.61 a month for total cover, but only £16.54 if he or she wanted to cover only the so-called “killer” illnesses.Ongoing medical advances in these areas have increased the number of people diagnosed.

It can also cover Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s or open-heart surgery.But in March the British arm of the US-owned firm UnumProvident, struck a blow at these rising costs by giving UK policyholders the chance to choose from a tariff of risks under the brand Elixia 123. Moneynetmedicalinsurancesearch This week’s shock decision by Swiss Re to cut back its involvement in the rapidly changing critical illness insurance market has undermined efforts by UK insurers to make the soaring cost of these policies more affordable.
Swiss Re has decided to stop reinsuring policies based on flat-rate premiums in the face of escalating costs of more and more complicated operations requiring the latest skills and equipment to stave off “killer illnesses” such as heart attack, cancer or a stroke. This week’s shock decision by Swiss Re to cut back its involvement in the rapidly changing critical illness insurance market has undermined efforts by UK insurers to make the soaring cost of these policies more affordable. From a pensions perspective, changing jobs might be a very good move for Anne but a disaster for Sara.Barry O’Dwyer is pensions director of Standard Life.