Beware- Your Simply Business PLI may not cover you.

[PGBrew]

Phone Simply and say you want 24/7 liability insurance and ask what would they recommend?

[simplybusiness]

Hi guys,

Whilst I can't comment on what Compare Liability do or do not sell, Simply Business only cover you for your business (hence the name) - some other companies will cover you for Public Liability for the rest of the day, but as you've probably found out - it'll cost extra. They usually add on an extra supplement to the cover to insure the extra risk.

A few of our customers have asked about cover outside of work but the cost (as always) is usually the deciding factor in issues such as these and when we tell our customers they'd need to pay an increased premium, they decide against it.

Whoever you go with, it's always worth reading the terms and conditions as these will show any excesses or exclusions etc.

Hi Ade,

Dont be fooled. This statement alone should make you concerned."I am sorry however I am unable to confirm this as we are non-advisory and non claims trained"

Regarding this: most on-line insurance brokers are non-advisory as you need to be specially trained to give financial advice to people (financial advisers are a good example: they spend years in training to do what they do) - if a broker states that they're able to give "advice" then it may be worth questioning as they may not be able to.

I hope I've answered a few questions and concerns but feel free to contact me or drop a reply if you want :)

[Big Chris]

I have just re-newed my insurance with Simply about 2 weeks ago.

I feel slightly mis-lead by simply now.

I probably like many others assumed that i was covered incase of an accident when i wasn't on the premises.

I do believe that you should have made people aware of this. I would say if you had of told people that they were not covered when they are not on site, for peace of mind they would have paid the extra.

Although having just renewed, i would say it is more than doubtful i will be using you again next year.

[simplybusiness]

Hi Chris,

Are you worried about your machines being covered when you're not on site or is it for your self (if you caused an accident etc.)?

[Big Chris]

For example.

Man is drunk, knocks my machine onto another person. Person sues me as its my machine am i then covered?

Kind Regards

[simplybusiness]

It's quite unusual for any insurance company to insure products that are outside your control (almost all insurance companies will ask for some sort of safe guard if they do (bolted to a wall, for example)) but I can look into your cover for you if you'd like - can you DM me your email address or policy number and I can look into it for you.

[part-time-operator]

i and other operators in the past have had situations like the following, none of which occur while we are on site:

child gets hand stuck in a machine (very common), sometimes involving fire brigade
child discovers an allergy after eating a nut product
machine falls/is thrown onto someone (usually by a drunk)
on one occassion i had a tower + stand used as a weapon

it is completely impractical to bolt every machine to a wall, many come with sturdy stands, and I think every vending operator will aim to position their machine in a way which will "safeguard" their property. if insurers intend to wriggle out by saying operators did not sufficiently safe guard against accidents i think that is just another scam...

Chris, assuming you're ok with that, can you publicly post any response you get from Simply Business? I don't like the idea of "pm-ing" to answer what is a pretty simple question...

PLI that only covers you when you or your employees are on site is a con and I recommend you don't waste your money even if it seems cheaper...

[simplybusiness]

Hi,

The reason I asked to PM was that there is sensitive information being discussed and I cannot talk about it openly via a forum - if Chris wishes to display this then that's up to him - we have to follow strict data protection laws for which we can be fined if we display public information without the clients consent.

The bolting to a wall is an example of a exclusion and as such may not be part of your cover (always read the T&C's) if anybody wishes to discuss their cover with me directly then please do just DM me so we can chat. :)

[Big Chris]

Hi,

This is the response i recieved from Simply Business



Hi Chris,

Thank you for chatting earlier on the forums. I’ve spoken to our underwriters and they’ve confirmed that the definition of “vending machine operator” is an individual who repairs / refills vending machines – not installing them.

I’m sorry if you feel you’ve received incorrect cover and if you wish for a full refund, please reply to this email so I can get this resolved for you. It’s very important to us that our customers are covered correctly so please accept my apologies for this and if there’s anything I can do to help moving forward please just let me know.

David Buxton
Community Manager

[simplybusiness]

As Chris as placed the email I sent him I can clarify a few details:

I spoke to our underwriters and they confirmed to me that we wouldn't be able to cover the machines themselves whilst outside of your control as the risk is unknowable - we don't know who is looking after the machines and we don't know if they're safe from damage (falling over / vandalism etc etc.). All this makes for a very difficult risk assessment - some insurance brokers will cover for this but to be covered fully (i.e outside of your control) will result in a hefty premium increase. There may be some companies that specialise in this sort of cover but I don't know of any (feel free to let me know of any :) )

We always try to make sure our customers are covered correctly (this is one of the reasons we replied to this post) as it helps neither us nor you if your cover is incorrect.

Again, please DM me if you want to discuss your cover as I can't discuss individual cover over a forum - thanks! :)