UK Special Risks have been supporting Dental Laboratories and the industry for the past 17 years, in these years we have seen a tremendous digital shift in the way Dental Laboratory owners carry out their work.

We started looking after Dental Laboratories in 2001, and at the time our own processes were completely different to what they are now. We would post a quotation to the laboratory’s address, and if they decided they then wanted to buy the policy, they would return a cheque with a letter confirming they would like to place cover.

As you can imagine, this process is now completely digital whereby we now email new quotations so that a new client can peruse these on their computer or mobile phone. If they are ready to proceed, they will either pay using their card or by doing a bank transfer. Just 17 years on, we are no longer posting 20 page quotations to prospective clients.

We have adapted to this rapidly changing process. The digitalisation of our procedures has been brilliant for UK Special Risks, as it reduced the amount of paper we use by a huge amount, meaning not only has it saved us money, but it has also made us more efficient in terms of posting, chasing and processing cheques, and reduced the amount of paper we use which in turn is good for the environment.

While UK Special Risks has benefitted from this digital revolution, we have seen that this may not be the case for many Dental Laboratories and their owners. Dental Laboratories can be reluctant to make the move to digital coming from the traditional ways of developing and communicating. The idea of trusting a machine to do much of the work may seem a little daunting, especially for those who strive for perfection.

After attending the Dental Technology Show for the past five years, we have been able to see the positive impact of digital growth within the industry, such as introducing new and improved equipment, tools and machinery that laboratories can use to ensure their work is carried out efficiently and impeccably. From CAD/CAM to digital printing, there are many advantages to Digital Dentistry and while the new generation are moving on, it makes you wonder if you don’t keep up, you could get left behind.

It is important to remember that if you buy a new piece of equipment, you should ensure that you have it covered under your insurance policy and for the correct value. This would also play a part in the Business Interruption cover, as you may find it difficult to trade again if you suffer a loss to a digital printer worth £65,000 which insurers did not know you owned.

As always, UK Special Risks ensure we are up to date with the new technology so that we can provide you with the most comprehensive policies.

Should you have any further questions regarding any of the above, please do not hesitate to contact myself on 01634 662948 or email cstillwell@ukspecialrisks.co.uk.

We are specialist insurance brokers and advisers for the Cleaning industry. We have over 50 years’ experience in dealing with cover for Specialist Cleaning Contractors, General Cleaning Contractors other associated trades such as Facilities Management.

We understand the insurance requirements for the Ventilation & Duct Cleaning industry, and our 10+ years’ experience in the sector really helps us make certain we know everything there is to know about your industry.

We as a business, and I personally, specialise specifically in the Cleaning and Duct / Ventilation Cleaning trades. We currently protect the interests of over 300 cleaning companies in the South East and across the UK and are growing rapidly.

 

What Makes Us Different

When dealing with most brokers in the UK, you will find they only approach one, maybe two insurers at the maximum when providing a quotation. As we are an independent chartered insurance broker, we have the facility to approach a number of insurers, and yes, we will approach all of them to complete a full market exercise.

We understand guidelines and regulations cleaners within your industry have to follow when completing the above cleaning activities such as TR19 guidelines for example.

TR19 regulations are the guidelines that govern good practice for the cleaning of ventilation ducts and should be followed by anyone carrying out kitchen duct cleaning services

There are many health and safety aspects involved in the TR19 guidelines and it is important to understand these fully, from both theoretical and practical perspectives.

Health and safety legislation, safe cleaning methodology, hazard and fault awareness needs to be understood but as well as this a working knowledge should be gained.

The new BS EN 15780 legislation regarding Ventilation for Buildings and The Cleanliness of Ventilation and Ductwork Systems, identifies the standards that need to be met by all landlords and Facilities Management.

 

Our Experience

We understand your needs, requirements and are always available to give advice.

We specialise within the cleaning industry and as such currently hold over 250+ independent companies. Our current book of clients can range from turnovers with £100,000 up to £20m.

No matter how small, medium or big the company is, we are always happy to help and assist!

Our Specialist Insurance Policies

We will provide tailored industry specific cover which can include the following valuable extensions in cover:

• Damage to Property Being Worked Upon – including damage to duct, ventilation systems, access doors on ducts for example. This is a common exclusion on many standard policy wordings and can often be a fundamental gap in cover for Cleaning Contractors.
• Failure to Secure Customer’s Premises correctly – includes the failure to correctly set alarm systems, close / lock windows and doors and the consequential losses arising from such acts. This can be a common claim area for Cleaning Contractors when working outside business hours.
• Loss of Keys – Losing keys can render a customer’s premises unsecure. We provide cover for replacement locks / keys in such circumstances.
• Treatment Risks – Covers damage to soft furnishings resulting from incorrect application of products
• Accidental Damage of customer’s goods as well as customer’s cleaning equipment.

 

As well as the above we can provide cover for the following specialist areas:

• Duct & Ventilation Cleaning
• Extractor Fan Cleaning
• Canopy & Hood Cleaning
• All types of kitchen deep cleaning
• Grease Extract Cleaning
• Fire Damper Inspection, testing & cleaning
• IAQ Tests (Indoor Air Quality)
• High Level Access Work including use of Hydraulic Platforms, Ladders and Abseiling / Cradle work.
• Bio Hazard – Crime scene and trauma cleaning including the cleaning of bodily fluids. I am proud & privileged to say we are the recommended broker for the NACSC (National Association of Crime Scene Cleaners).

We can provide cover for your Cleaning Equipment anywhere in the UK, as well as cover for your own office contents etc. We will provide cover for Public / Products Liability of £1m, £2m, £5m or £10m as required by your contracts and work. Our wealth of knowledge puts us in an ideal position to help resolve claims as we have detailed knowledge of the types of claims which frequently occur within the industry.

 

Duct Cleaning – How can we help?

Insurance policies for Ventilation and Duct cleaners are often arranged incorrectly in our experience. Due to the relatively high level of exposure for consequential losses i.e fire*, insurers are often cautious when providing insurance for Duct / Extraction System Cleaning.

If either you or your broker disclose the works simply as “Kitchen Cleaning”, this will rarely be wide enough to cover the specialist works of Cleaning and Maintaining a Kitchen Extraction System.

Our expertise and experience means we know which insurers will accept the cover, which insurers will offer the most competitive premium, and which insurers will give the widest available cover at any given time.

The Brief

A client of ours was carrying out some drainage repairs as part of their contract when one of their engineers hit a pipe whilst excavating causing the street to flood.

 

Our Solution

Our client called us to put the claim in, we reported this to their insurers and their insurers had the following condition regarding underground services on their policy which our client had agreed to at inception of the policy;

‘It is a condition precedent to any liability in respect of Damage to pipes, cables, mains or other underground services arising out of or caused by digging, drilling, boring, excavation, or earth moving operations, that:

A. The Insured shall prior to the commencement of such work

I. have made enquiries with the owner or relevant authority responsible as to the location of existing pipes, cables, mains or other underground services and shall have received written confirmation or have confirmed any conversation in writing

II. carry out investigation using remote electrical devices to locate existing pipes, cables, mains or other underground services where practicable

III. convey the location of such pipes, cables, mains and underground services to those Employees or contractors carrying out such work on behalf of the Insured

B. The Insured shall adopt or cause to be adopted a method of work which minimises the risk of Damage to pipes, cables, mains and other underground services

C. the Insured shall retain a full written record of the enquiries and measures taken to locate and minimise the risk of Damage to such pipes cables mains and other underground services.’

After putting the claim through and reviewing this with our client, it transpired that our client had not adhered fully to the condition above which then meant despite our efforts, the insurers were not willing to pay the claim, which would have resulted in a large loss of money for our client directly.

To resolve this, we were able to get the full circumstances of the precautions taken by our insured prior to digging and convey this positively to insurers.  We were able to get the Insurer to agree the pay for this loss and then we were able to get the policy condition amended for this client so that it matched their working practices.

 

The Results

We were able to bespoke the policy wording to our client’s work practices, meaning that the cover now worked around them, rather than them trying to work around their cover.  They were now fully protected with peace of mind that they could carry on with their business without having to make changes to their activities in order to adhere to their insurance policy. We changed the policy to suit their requirements, which is something which we are able to do in a multitude of scenarios and emphasises our “client first” approach to handling and arranging insurance for contractors.