Insights

Every year, small businesses must contend with a wealth of new and emerging threats, while also safeguarding their operations against the sort of risks that never go away. In this post we will look at some of the most common small business insurance claims that insurers expect to deal with in 2026.

What Claims Are Expected This Year?

In the current climate, insurers are expecting to be dealing with claims relating to:

• Cyberthreats using AI
• AI risks relating to data and intellectual property
• Property damage from extreme weather
• Property damage and business interruption as a result of deferred maintenance
• Liability claims

We’ll explore each of these in more detail below, and what you can do to help protect you and your business.

AI Brings Both Internal and External Threats

Cyber threats from AI tools

There is no question that your business needs cyber insurance. One study found that around 96% of all cyberattacks target SMEs. And as artificial intelligence (AI) tools get more powerful and accessible, it has never been easier for cybercriminals to target your business for phishing, ransomware, and other cyberattacks.

Data security, IP and reputational risk from AI use

But AI brings internal threats, too. Many businesses, eager to join the “AI revolution”, have started using off-the-shelf tools to create content, draft proposals, and process their data. This may expose some SMEs to certain unexpected risks.

Without proper governance, through using an AI tool a business may inadvertently:

• Breach intellectual property laws
• Leak private or confidential data
• Provide clients with bad advice or poor services

All of this could lead to costly claims, financial losses, and significant reputational damage.

While AI can help businesses move faster while saving time on admin, you must never take these tools for granted. Never lose sight of the importance of privacy and data confidentiality, and never release or share any AI-created content without first performing a thorough human review process.

And if a client ever makes a claim against you, make sure you have adequate professional liability insurance to cover any legal fees and other expenses that may arise.

Property Damage From Extreme Weather

Extreme weather events, such as storms, high winds, and flash floods, appear to be on the increase. Whether that is the case, the fact remains that property damage from adverse weather is an ongoing risk for any business that operates out of a brick and mortar premises. Regardless of whether that is a retail shop, an office, a bar, a restaurant, or a warehouse.

From backing up your business data to installing flood defences and sprinkler systems, there are many things you can do to help mitigate the damages from any possible incident. Yet it may prove impossible to prevent certain incidents, which is why your small business insurance should give you all the cover you need to make a full recovery.

Business buildings insurance can help you cover the costs of repairs following an incident. But you should also invest in business interruption insurance, which can cover your overheads during an extended period of downtime. And as recovery from an adverse event can take much longer than expected, you should aim to make your business interruption insurance liability period as long as possible.

Read our full guide to how small business insurance can provide vital peace of mind.

Deferred Maintenance: A Disaster Waiting To Happen?

In recent years, high inflation rates and ongoing supply chain issues have resulted in higher labour and material costs, along with longer lead times, for all maintenance, repair, and renovation projects. As a result, many SMEs may have deferred some essential maintenance tasks.

While deferring maintenance can save money in the short-term, in the long-term it could expose your business to a greater risk of fire, flood, subsidence, and downtime as a result of broken or faulty tools or equipment.

In the coming years, insurers may face more claims for repairs or business interruption as all of this deferred maintenance finally catches up with SMEs.

While it is understandable that SMEs will look to save money during uncertain economic periods, it pays to think in the long-term. Switch to a preventative maintenance schedule. The savings you make on deferring maintenance will pale in comparison to the eventual cost of repairs or replacements, or the higher insurance premiums that could follow claims.

Liability Claims – A Perennial Risk For All SMEs

Finally, all SMEs should protect themselves against potential liability claims. This is when an individual or an organisation makes a claim against your business on the grounds of negligence, professional misconduct, or similar.

Here are some situations that could result in a liability claim for your SME:

• An employee injures themselves on the job, or contracts an illness through their work.
• A member of the public, such as a customer, a contractor, or a delivery driver, trips or falls while on your premises.
• A client is dissatisfied with your work, and claims you have breached your contract or acted dishonestly.

In each of these cases, liability insurance can cover any compensation payments that may be due, along with any legal fees that may arise.

Public liability insurance can cover you for any claims arising from incidents involving members of the public, while professional liability insurance can cover you for any claims arising from clients relating to your work or conduct.

You also have a legal requirement to get employer’s liability insurance, which will cover you for any claims arising from your employees.

Talk To James Hallam About Your Small Business Insurance Needs

James Hallam is an independent Lloyd’s broker with a dedicated team of experienced insurance professionals who are committed to getting you the cover you need at a price you can afford, no matter what challenges the next few years may bring.

Get in touch for a free quote today.

The specific licences you need to run a newsagent will depend on whether or not you choose to sell certain regulated products, such as alcohol and tobacco.

In this post we will list the various licences you may need as a newsagent.

When Does A Newsagent Need a Licence?

Most, if not all, newsagents will need to register for licences to undertake a number of activities and sell different types of products. You will need licences if you wish to:

• Sell food – registering will give you a licence to store, sell, or prepare food on your premises, as long as you meet all relevant food safety laws.
• Sell alcohol
• Sell tobacco products
• Sell fireworks
• Sell lottery tickets
• Play music
• Employ young people to deliver newspapers

We’ll explore some of these licences in more detail below.

What Licence Does a Newsagent Need to Sell Alcohol?

In the UK, there are two types of alcohol licence: Premises licences, and personal licences. If you want to sell alcohol in your newsagent, you will need both types of licence.

• A premises licence will give you the legal right to sell alcohol from a specific location – in this case, your newsagent.
• A personal allowance will give you the legal right to sell alcohol, through acting as your newsagent’s Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS).

If you sell alcohol without the relevant licences, you will face a personal fine of up to £1,000. You may also get a criminal conviction, which could lead to up to six months’ imprisonment.

As part of your licence to sell alcohol, you will be required to implement and enforce age verification policies. Once again, you will face fines and legal sanctions if you fail to do so.

What Licence Does a Newsagent Need to Sell Tobacco?

If you want to sell cigarettes and other tobacco products in your newsagent, you will need an economic operator ID, along with a separate facility ID for your newsagent. If you run more than one newsagent, you will need a separate facility ID for each store.

The Government intends to introduce a new vape licensing scheme by the end of 2026. Under this plan, Trading Standards could issue instant fines of up to £2,500 for any stores caught storing or selling vapes without an appropriate licence.

The vape licensing laws are likely to be similar to the alcohol licensing laws, meaning you will need both a personal and a premises licence if you want to sell vapes at your newsagent.

What Licence Does a Newsagent Need to Sell Fireworks?

You must notify your local fire authority, along with the relevant trading standards departments, if you wish to sell fireworks in your newsagent.

However, you only need a licence if you intend to sell fireworks all year round. You do not need a licence if you are selling fireworks during the Bonfire Night, New Year, Chinese New Year, or Diwali periods – though you will need a licence to store fireworks during these times.

Learn more about the UK’s firework licensing laws.

What Licence Does a Newsagent Need to Sell Lottery Tickets?

If you want to sell lottery tickets in your newsagent, along with other gambling products such as scratchcards, you will need a lottery retail licence from the Gambling Commission.

You can learn more about the current lottery licensing laws.

Specialist Insurance For Newsagents

Selling alcohol, tobacco, vapes, and fireworks from your newsagents may expose your business to additional risks. Thieves may be more likely to target your store for theft, and some products carry a strong fire risk.

You need to make sure your business insurance will cover you for the risks associated with storing and selling these regulated items.

James Hallam is an independent Lloyd’s broker with a dedicated team of experienced insurance professionals who care about protecting your business. We can help you ensure that your specialist newsagent insurance meets all of your cover needs at the right price.

Find out how we can help you today.

Tool insurance is essential cover for anyone who works in construction, or any related trades. Or indeed anyone who owns and uses tools as part of their work.

In this post we will outline what tool insurance is, and what it covers. We will also give a ballpark figure for the amount you might expect to pay for this cover.

What is Tool Insurance?

Tool insurance is cover for your tools and equipment. This can include handheld tools, including hammers, screwdrivers, and saws; and power tools, including drills, angle grinders, and nail guns. A tool insurance policy can cover your equipment whether you own it, lease it, or use a hire-purchase arrangement.

A policy may be extended to cover any plant machinery you might use as part of your work, such as excavators and bulldozers. Though some insurers may offer dedicated plant and machinery insurance instead.

It’s also possible to include cover for tools as part of a Contractor’s Policy or a Trades & Professions Policy, both of which provide broader cover for the business as a whole.

What Does Tool Insurance Cover?

Most tool insurance policies will provide cover for:

• Damage, theft, or loss (whether this is accidental damage or intentional vandalism or theft)
• Tools in transit
• Toolbox cover (i.e. cover for the equipment you use to store your tools)
• EU cover (for overseas jobs)
• Hired-in plant cover, for any equipment you hire, or buy on hire purchase

In addition, your tools insurance may extend to cover any other equipment you use as part of your job, such as ladders, your smartphone, your laptop, and so on.

What Does Tool Insurance Not Cover?

Usually, tool insurance will not cover ordinary wear and tear, or any deliberate damage caused by employees. Plus, if you need to replace a tool because it becomes faulty, this should be covered by your warranty, as opposed to your tool insurance.

Finally, while your tool insurance may cover tools you occasionally leave out of sight in a van overnight, it may not cover tools you keep in a van indefinitely. The policy may specify that the cover will not extend to any tools you keep in a van for 48 hours or longer.

How Much Is Tool Insurance?

The amount you pay for your insurance will vary from insurer to insurer. Some insurers may charge as little as less than £10 a month for tools insurance. But your premiums may be much higher, depending on your personal circumstances.

The more tools you need to cover, and the more expensive these tools are to begin with, then the more you will have to pay. You may also have to pay a higher premium if you routinely work in urban areas, or other locations with comparatively high crime rates.

How to Keep Your Tools Safe

If you take steps to keep your tools safe, it can help to bring down the cost of your tool insurance:

• Never store tools in a van for any longer than you have to. Try to keep them somewhere extra secure overnight and over weekends.
• Get extra security features for your vans and other vehicles, including alarms, locks, and immobilisers, to keep your tools safer both in transit and in storage.
• Register your tools’ serial numbers online, so that police can attempt to track them, and potentially recover them, following a theft.
• Try not to keep your tools unattended. Someone may steal them when you are not looking, or they may get exposed to hazardous conditions that could lead to damage or loss.

Is Tool Insurance Worth It?

If you work in construction or own high-value tools in your business, then tool insurance is a business necessity.

According to figures from Met Police, nearly 45,000 tools are stolen every year in the UK. Typically, each individual instance of tool theft costs construction businesses between £1,000 and £3,000, which does not include the costs associated with the disruption and delays that could arise from tool theft.

Plus, beyond theft, there is also the chance you could lose or accidentally damage your tools. It is no exaggeration to say that your construction projects simply will not be able to continue without the necessary tools of the trade. Repairs and replacements can be expensive, which is why tools insurance can provide vital financial support for construction businesses of all sizes.

Get The Specialist Construction Cover You Need From James Hallam

At James Hallam, we can help you protect your construction business with specialist risk management and insurance support.

We are an independent Lloyd’s broker with a dedicated team of experienced insurance professionals who are committed to getting you the specialist construction insurance you need at a competitive price, which can include comprehensive tools insurance.

Find out how we can help you today.

UK law outlines a number of legal responsibilities and duties for charity trustees. In this post we will take a closer look at what these duties entail, and explore how specialist trustee insurance can help you stay safe and compliant in your role as a trustee.

What is a Charity Trustee?

A charity trustee is anyone who has overall control of a charity and its operations. Trustees are chiefly responsible for ensuring that the charity is run effectively, and that it stays true to its mission and goals.

As well as dedicated trustees, a charity’s directors, board members, governors, and committee members may also take on trustee roles and responsibilities.

Charity Trustee Eligibility Laws

The UK Government sets the following eligibility criteria for charity trustees:

• You must be at least 16 years old to be a trustee at a charity that is a company, or a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO). To be a trustee at any other kind of charity, you must be at least 18 years old.
• The charity must appoint you following the procedures and restrictions in their governance documents.

What Can Disqualify You From Being a Charity Trustee?

The UK Government also lists some criteria that will disqualify you from acting as a trustee:

• Bankruptcy, or an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA)
• Unspent conviction for certain criminal offences, such as those involving dishonesty or deception.
• Being on the sex offender’s register.

There are additional restrictions concerning any charities that work with children or adults at risk. You can read a full guide to the trustee eligibility laws.

You can apply for a waiver from the Charity Commission if any of these disqualifying criteria apply to you.

Main Duties of Charity Trustees

There are six main duties that charity trustees are expected to carry out:

1. Ensure that the charity is carrying out its purposes, and no other purposes, for the public benefit.
2. Comply with the charity’s governance documents, along with all applicable laws, including preparing and submitting annual returns.
3. Act in the charity’s best interests. This means making adequately informed decisions, avoiding conflicts of interest, and refusing all benefits from the charity unless they are properly authorised, and clearly in the charity’s interests.
4. Manage the charity’s resources responsibly. Among other things, this means ensuring that the charity’s assets are only used to support or carry out its purposes.
5. Act with reasonable care and skill.
6. Ensure the charity is accountable. As well as meeting all statutory accounting and reporting requirements, you should be able to evidence how your charity is run, and how it complies with all relevant legislation.

Specialist Trustee Roles: Chair and Treasurer

Some trustees, such as the chair and the treasurer, take on specialist roles. They are known as officers, and though they do not automatically have any additional legal duties, there should be specific provisions in the charity’s governance documents concerning their responsibilities.

But even if one trustee works as a treasurer, it does not mean that this trustee takes sole responsibility for the charity’s finances. Plus, while a chair of trustees might coordinate meetings, they will not take sole responsibility for anything that happens to the charity.

In short, regardless of whether or not the charity appoints officers, all trustees will always remain jointly responsible for the charity.

Can Charity Trustees Be Personally Liable for Issues?

If a charity trustee fails to comply with these duties and responsibilities, then they may be held personally liable for any financial losses the charity suffers. They may also be held personally liable for any claims made by a third party against the charity.

For example, if a trustee spends a charity’s funds on the wrong purposes, then they may ultimately be required to reimburse the charity personally. Plus, if the charity faces any fines or other penalties as a result of not meeting certain accounting or reporting requirements, then once again, the trustees may be held responsible for these expenses.

Make Sure You Are Covered For All The Risks You Face as a Trustee

Bespoke charity insurance can include cover for trustees who may be held personally liable for claims involving dishonesty or mismanagement.

At James Hallam, we have supplied dedicated insurance and risk management solutions to charities and other third sector organisations since 1982. We are an independent Lloyd’s broker, and charity trustees across the UK rely on us for expert advice and market-leading solutions at a competitive price.

Find out how we can help you manage all of the risks you face as a charity trustee.