We have a legal duty as a broker to ensure you have the right level of cover in place.

We as Commercial Brokers always try to recommend that company owners and property owners have regular insurance valuations.

The implications should a claim arise if the insured has not carried out regular valuations is simple under - insurance or not being able to replace stock or goods at the current rate because of inflation or a rise in a particular market that they are unaware of.

A broker should not recommend sums insured to a client or try and guess, they should advise the client, that if they can't decide on a sum insured or a replacement valuation they should carry out an insurance valuation. The broker can guide the insured and assist the client as much as they can but should not suggest a figure. Again if the client has always requested the same level of cover as they have had previously or over the last few years then the following questions must be asked?

Have your business activities changed over the last few years?

Have your stock levels not increased/decreased over the last few year?

Have you purchased any additional machinery or equipment over the last few years?

Has the value of your finished products increased/decreased over the last few years?

Have your suppliers costs increased/decreased over the last few years?

Has the re-building cost of your property increased/decreased over the last few years?

If the answer to any of these questions is YES, Then you need to have a regular Insurance Valuation.

For example you need to look no further than the major rises in recent years to the metal prices as developing countries such as India and China have sunk in these commodities and by doing so have created a huge demand for such materials. This has meant that the price of raw material needed for rebuilding or repairing structures here in the UK has also risen dramatically.