The New Consumer Rights Act: The Insurance Point of View
The Consumer Rights Act 2015 received Royal Assent in March 2015 and much of it is set to be introduced as law on 1 October. The new Act replaces a number of laws concerning business to consumer transactions, such as the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. It is very much aimed at making things much clearer for consumers when it comes to understanding their rights and the solutions they are able to call upon should something go wrong during a transaction. Naturally our interest has turned to how the Act will work from an insurance point of view and how our consumer clients will be affected by the new legislation.
Insurance Premium Tax Rise: Navigating the Backlash
The Chancellor George Osborne’s decision to increase Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) was one announcement that was quietly slipped in to the July Budget. Quiet it may have been at the time, but one month on there is plenty being said. Here we take a look at some of the commentaries that have caught our eye, and offer a few opinions of our own on what has become a much-discussed topic.
Could Your Commercial Property be up to 60% Underinsured?
According to the Building Cost Information Service, part of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, almost 80% of commercial properties in the UK could be underinsured by as much as 60%. For a £500,000 property, that could mean a shortfall of £300,000: a very worrying statistic. But what is it that is causing this shortfall? It seems there are two main factors.
Crostyx Juniors: End of Season Round-Up
As most of you know, Robert Gerrard proudly sponsors Crostyx Juniors, the younger section of the Woodford based Crostyx Hockey Club. And it’s high time for an update on how they’ve been doing this season!
Paper Driving Licences & Counterparts: The New Rules you Need to Know
On 8th June 2015, the paper counterpart to the driving licence photocard is being abolished. From this date, paper counterparts will no longer be issued by the DVLA and won’t hold any legal status. The official advice is that you should destroy the paper counterpart after this date, but keep your photocard licence. The end of the counterpart may seem fairly straightforward, but it has spelled some confusion in two main areas.
LEIA Seminar 2015: Bonds, Indemnities and Warranties
On 26 March 2015, we were invited to speak at and sit on a Q&A panel session at a Lift and Escalator Industry Association (LEIA) seminar held in Birmingham. The event – ‘Bonds/Indemnities/Warranties’ – invited members of the lift and escalator industry’s trade association to learn more around the subject of on-demand and performance bonds, third party warranties and indemnities. The seminar provided a great opportunity to gain insight into industry perception, expectations and demands around these products and we thought it would be useful to cover these subjects over a series of blog posts, starting with ‘bonds’.