THE INSURANCE SHOP TIP 54 – BURGLARY/FORCED ENTRY – IT’S ALL ABOUT CIGARETTES!
I can report that the number of forced entries to shops in 2015 was as high in number as was the case in 2014 which itself was a horrific year. What I am pleased to report is that the average cost of the goods stolen did reduce by a significant amount. I accredit this to the wonderful response from our retail customers who have responded to our warnings and advice on keeping stock levels to a minimum.
I am aware that keeping stock of cigarette products to a minimum is more challenging than ever considering the vast increase in the variety of pack size. This leads me to express my concern to ask each of you to check your current stock level against the existing Sum Insured under your policy and contact me immediately if needed.
Remember – forced entries invariably occur just after you have taken in an order and so your stock is at its highest level. Remember also that in the event that your Sum Insured is found to be inadequate your claim payment will be proportionately reduced regardless of the size of the loss/claim.
What physical protections have you in place for your cigarettes? Are your PIR, (Passive Infra Red), detectors positioned correctly? Call me with any concerns.
Always remember – call us to discuss any/every incident. We will advise and guide you.
THE INSURANCE SHOP TIP 53 – DO YOU HAVE A WALK-IN FREEZER UNIT?
In the years that we have been dealing with claims I can tell you that there have been a number of injuries sustained by staff members slipping on the floors of walk-in freezers which is hardly a major surprise.
Speak with your service engineers to enquire if your unit is sufficiently maintained and as to what type of footwear staff should be instructed to wear to avoid potential slips.
One recent rather terrifying incident was reported to me when a staff member went into a unit one evening and when she failed to return to the shop floor within a reasonable time the duty manager went looking for her and found her lying face down on the floor of the freezer unit. Thankfully she was and is perfectly fine. She thought that she might have banged her head on a shelf but it is also possible that she simply fainted.
As the manager said to me with immense relief – “thank heaven I didn’t think she had left for the evening as I locked up a short while later!”
You must have a safe working system in place to avoid this potential horrific occurrence.
Always remember – call us to discuss any/every incident. We will advise and guide you.
THE INSURANCE SHOP TIP 52 – HOW CAN I PREVENT INSURERS FROM MAKING EASY PAY OUTS TO CLAIMANTS? – EMPLOYEE CLAIMS
I would like to pay a sincere thanks to many of you who have so kindly commented so positively on the information and advice being posted. It has honestly been a great source of inspiration to continue to make every effort to work with and for retailers to improve insurance claim results through basic actions.
In our last piece I referred to what you can do to provide yourself with an improved chance of having a defence against a claim coming from visitors to your shops. On this occasion I want to address claims from employees which although historically are smaller in number are far greater in terms of cost. This is largely due to an element of loyalty to their employer in terms of frequency and loss of earnings combined with the fact that it tends to be only the more serious natured injuries that come from employees in terms of cost.
Every time I make reference to Training Records to any employer I hear an audible groan! It appears that their belief is that creating and maintaining a reasonable standard of Staff Training Records is something way beyond their humble capacity! At this point I must apologise because as I write I have paused for way too long to come up with another more suitable/appropriate word to describe what I feel about this belief. It’s bullshit!
Whatever is a part of your staff’s duties, (using a meat slicer, lifting up and down, carrying, cooking, taking reasonable care of their own well-being – write out a heading on each topic confirming the date and time that training was given. Have the trainer and the staff member sign to confirm that they have undertaken and understood the process and put it on the Personnel which I’m sure you have!!!
There is lots more that I could and should say on this subject but as ever I must keep these pieces brief – many of you have the DAS Legal Expenses Insurance cover which entitles you to free advice on employment issues – as ever call me directly for any individual advice.
Always remember – call us to discuss any/every incident. We will advise and guide you.
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