SME

Most shops will likely have to deal with shoplifters. Reports indicate that shoplifters across the country may be getting increasingly “brazen”, and that shoplifting may be costing UK stores up to £2bn a year.

It might not be possible to entirely eliminate shoplifting from your store. But with the right shoplifting policies and procedures, you can at least manage and mitigate the loss.

In this post we will discuss what you should include in your shoplifting policies and procedures, and how you can communicate them with your staff to ensure they are enforced.

What Are Shoplifting Policies and Procedures?

Shoplifting policies and procedures are documents that explain your shop’s approach to shoplifting. Usually, shoplifting policies and procedures will provide:

• A definition of shoplifting. What exactly is it, and how does if differ from other forms of theft?
• Outline the scale of the problem
• Provide steps your staff can take if they suspect that shoplifting is taking place.

One thing to bear in mind: Shoplifters can get violent and abusive when confronted. Your shoplifting policy and procedures should account for this. While taking steps to reduce loss, you should never lose sight of your staff’s safety and wellbeing.

Staff Training on Shoplifting

As part of your shoplifting policies and procedures, you should include some mandatory training for all staff. This could cover:

• Understanding shoplifting, and common shoplifting techniques.
• Customer service techniques to deter potential thieves. For example, approaching and politely engaging with a potential thief, without confronting them directly, could let the thief know that they are being monitored.
• Procedures for safely handling incidents of shoplifting. When should staff intervene, and when should they refrain, to avoid personal injury? And if they cannot prevent the theft, how should they record and report it, and what other steps should they take afterward?
• Following an incident, you should make time for a review to discuss the matter with any staff who were involved. But this is not a disciplinary procedure. It is an opportunity to highlight what went wrong, along with any steps you and your staff could take to prevent further theft.

Regular Stock Takes

As part of your shoplifting policy and procedures, you should carry out regular stock takes. As well as giving you an idea of the scale of your loss, it could also help you identify the sort of items in your store that thieves are most likely to target and when.

If you can spot any patterns of theft, you might have an idea of the steps you can take to reduce the risk.

Identify High Risk Items

Are thieves more likely to target certain items in your store? Your policy and procedures should identify these items, and outline the steps your store will take to protect these items.

If your staff know what sort of items thieves will prioritise, they will know to be extra vigilant should they see anyone acting suspiciously around them.

Security Procedures to Reduce Shoplifting

Outline the systems you have in place, or that you intend to install, to manage theft in your store. These might include:

• CCTV systems
• Electronic article surveillance (EAS) tags, and other anti-theft devices
• Locked cabinets and display for your more expensive items
• Facial recognition software
• Signage to let potential thieves know about the systems you have in place

Your shoplifting policies and procedures should outline how you expect your staff to interact with these systems. For example, will you use CCTV passively, so as to ensure that you have a record of any incident? Or do you expect your staff to actively monitor the feeds to prevent theft?

How to Communicate Your Shoplifting Policy and Procedures

It is one thing to have shoplifting policy and procedures. But it is equally important to communicate your policy, to ensure that your staff can understand and enforce your procedures.

First, you should share your policies and procedures with all new hires during their induction. All staff should get a refresher at least once a year too, perhaps as part of their appraisals.

You could also create an accessible version of your policies and procedures, perhaps in the form of a graphic poster, which you could hang in the staff room.

Get The Right Cover For Your Retail Store

Specialist retail shop insurance can help protect your store from many of the risks you face. A comprehensive policy may not prevent shoplifting, but it can give you the cover you need to bounce back from any major disruptions or disasters.

James Hallam is an independent Lloyd’s broker with a dedicated team of experienced insurance professionals who care about protecting your store. Whether you run an online store, a single high street shop, or a chain of shops, we can help you get the cover you need at a price you can afford.

Find out how we can help your shop today.

Specialist café and coffee shop insurance can cover your establishment for the unique risks you will face when preparing and serving hot drinks and food to the public.

Read our guide to how café and coffee shop insurance works, and what it covers.

If you are shopping around for your first policy, or you are looking to renew an existing policy, in this post we will outline some techniques for reducing the cost of your café and coffee shop business insurance.

What Can Affect The Price of Café and Coffee Shop Business Insurance?

• Coffee shop location – If your coffee shop is in an area with relatively high crime rates, it can increase the risk of theft, which can increase the cost of cover.
• Number of staff – If you employ any staff, you will have a legal requirement to get employer’s liability insurance. The more staff you have, the more this might cost you.
• Shop size – The bigger your coffee shop, the more your insurance will cost. A larger shop will cost more to repair following an incident such as a fire or a flood. Plus, the more customers you can serve and seat at once, the greater the risks of slips, trips, spillages, and other accidents. This can make claims more likely, which can result in higher premiums.
• Food – If you serve food alongside your coffee, for example, you may have to pay more for cover.
• Extras – Many other factors can affect the price of your policy. If you put on events at your coffee shop, such as live music or poetry performances, it can mean more risks, which can mean higher premiums.

How to Reduce Café and Coffee Shop Business Insurance Costs

If you want to bring down the costs of your café and coffee shop business insurance, there are a number of things that could help.

Invest in Security

If your café is in an area with relatively high crime rates, investing in extra security can help reduce your cover. This might include roll shutters, extra secure locks, CCTV, alarms, and so on.

Invest in Training

Certain types of staff training can also help bring down the cost of cover. A skilled barista may be less likely to spill a drink on a customer or their property, and they may be less likely to prepare drinks or food that could result in food poisoning or other unwanted effects. Plus, training your staff to spot security risks can help reduce losses from theft, which could reduce your premiums.

Choose How You Pay

Pay Annually
You can often make a saving on your cover if you pay in an annual lump sum, rather than in monthly instalments.

Consider Combined Policies
Some insurers also offer discounts if you buy combined policies rather than separate policies. For instance, you could pay less for a combined buildings and contents policy than you would for getting each policy separately.

Consider Higher Excesses
You could also save money on your premiums through offering to pay a higher excess. However, this can be a risky move. If you ever have to make a claim on your policy, a higher excess could mean that your settlement will not be lower than you expected.

Use an Insurance Broker

If you buy an off-the-shelf insurance policy, you may end up paying for some forms of cover that you do not really need. Or worse, you may find you are underinsured for certain risks.

Talk to an insurance broker, and they will take the time to understand your cover requirements. They will then help you get a tailored policy that meets all of your needs at a price you can afford.

Get Bespoke Cover For Your Coffee Shop From James Hallam

James Hallam is an independent Lloyd’s broker with a dedicated team of experienced insurance professionals who care about protecting your café or coffee shop.

Whether you run a single coffee shop, a chain of coffee shops, or a mobile coffee van, we can help you get the insurance you need at the best price.

Learn more about how we can support your Coffee Shop or Café.

If you run a hotel, you have a legal requirement to get certain forms of hotel insurance. But other types of cover are optional. So, what happens if you do not have hotel insurance?

In this post we will outline why comprehensive, specialist cover is something that no hotel of any size should be without.

What Insurance Do Hotels Legally Need To Have?

If you employ any staff, then you have a legal requirement to get employer’s liability insurance. This will cover your staff for any accidents and injuries they may sustain while on the job.

You may be required to get buildings cover as part of your mortgage or your property leasing agreement. And if you are a member of any professional bodies, you may need to get certain forms of liability cover as a condition of your membership.

Beyond this, there are no other laws or regulations to say that your hotel has to get adequate insurance for other risks.

What Risks Do Hotels Face?

Running a hotel is an inherently risky business. On an almost daily basis you will likely have to deal with a number of small problems, any one of which could quickly escalate into a major issue:

• A guest could accidentally or intentionally damage furniture, fittings, or fixtures. You will have to pay for repairs or replacements before any other guests can use their room.
• A member of staff could accidentally spill food or drink on a guest, or their property. The guest may make a claim against you, for injuries or for damages.
• A fire or a flood could force you to close for weeks, or even months. For as long as you are closed you will not make any money. But you will still have to pay for repairs, and you will still have to cover all of your bills and your staff’s wages.
• A mistake in the kitchen could lead to an outbreak of illness among your guests. Every affected guest could make a claim against you. You may also have to deal with reputational damages, and even a visit from the health inspector.
• A power cut, or issues with other utilities, could leave your guests without water, heating, or electricity. Every single one of them may request a refund.
• A lengthy power cut could also mean food in fridges and freezers has to be thrown away, which could be very costly.
• Thieves could break into your hotel at night, lifting cash from your tills or safe. Or a dishonest employee could rob you of thousands over a long-term period.

What Happens If I Do Not Have Hotel Insurance?

If you do not have insurance to cover you for losses like those listed above, then your business will have to pay for any costs to put things right, or for legal representation to gain funds from the responsible party, if there is one.

What Does Hotel Insurance Do?

Hotel insurance can cover most, if not all, of the costs that may arise from any of these situations. For example, public liability insurance can cover the legal fees, along with any compensation, that may arise from accidents, illnesses, or injuries guests sustain while staying at your hotel. Business interruption insurance can cover any loss of income you may experience if you are forced to shut for an extended period.

Without hotel insurance, you would be liable to meet these costs yourselves. For this reason, even a small problem could potentially sink your hotel business.

Be sure to read our full guide to what hotel insurance covers, and why you need it.

You will find some additional guides for hoteliers on our site:

• A hotelier’s guide to managing risk.
• How to reduce hotel business insurance costs.
• Why your hotel needs cyber insurance.

Get the Tailored Hotel Insurance You Need

James Hallam is an independent Lloyd’s broker with a dedicated team of experienced insurance specialists. We are committed to protecting your hotel, your staff, and your guests from every risk you might possibly face.

No matter if you are running a large or a small hotel, we can tailor a niche insurance package to ensure you are covered for all risks at the best possible price.

Find out how we can help you get a bespoke and cost-effective hotel insurance policy today.

If you use social media as part of your work, or if you have a significant online following, then you may need social media influencer insurance.

Even if you do not consider yourself to be an “influencer”, you may still need some specialist insurance to cover the work you do on social media.

In this post we will discuss what social media influencer insurance is, what it covers, and why you should consider it.

What Is Social Media Influencer Insurance?

This is specialist liability insurance for social media influencers and other professionals who use social media as part of their work. Social media influencer insurance can cover anyone who uses their social media channels to promote products and services for third parties.

So, if an individual or a company pays you to endorse their product on social media, influencer insurance could provide essential cover should anything go wrong with your professional relationship.

This specialist insurance can also provide essential cover for public figures, celebrities, and other influential online figures with large audiences. A misguided social media post, or a throwaway comment in an interview, could be considered slander or libel, which could result in costly legal action.

What Does Social Media Influencer Insurance Cover?

Social media influencer insurance can cover the legal fees, along with any compensation that might be due, for a number of claims:

• Defamation – If an individual or a company claims a negative post is slanderous or libellous.
• Negligence – If the influencer represents a company or a brand, then poor online conduct can put this company or brand in a bad light. This could be considered negligence.
• Breach of contract or confidentiality – A promotional contract may specify a certain number of promotional posts, or it may even outline the desired outcomes, in terms of the number of likes or followers. If the influencer fails to meet these terms, they will be in breach of contract. Similarly, if they share any information that is classed as confidential, they will also have breached their contract.
• Intellectual property infringement – If a post uses copyrighted images, videos, or music without permission, then it could result in a highly costly intellectual property infringement claim.
• Regulatory breaches – Online content, along with all promotional content, is highly regulated in many parts of the world. If a social media influencer breaches any statutes, standards, codes, or regulations, it could lead to fines or legal action.

Who Might Need Social Media Influencer Insurance?

• Actors, athletes, politicians, celebrities, influencers, and other public figures with large online followers.
• Paid content creators including YouTubers, streamers, and bloggers.
• Podcasters, TV personalities, radio personalities, and anyone else who may speak or be invited to speak on broadcasts.
• Digital marketers who promote third party products or services on social media.

Do I Need Social Media Influencer Insurance?

If you make your living online, whether as an influencer or a digital marketer, then your reputation is everything. Businesses and brands will choose to work with you as a direct result of your large following and your influence. And when they work with you, they will expect results.

But your situation may be more precarious than it seems. A single off-colour post, or an absent-minded comment in a stream or an interview, could destroy your influence in an instant. And should this happen, it could compromise any contracts you have with your sponsors.

They could make a claim against you, for breach of contract or negligence. Or anyone else involved in an online scandal could accuse you of libel or slander. In any case, this could result in hefty legal fees or compensation payments. And without sufficient cover, you will be personally liable to meet these costs.

We Can Help You Get The Specialist Social Media Influencer Insurance You Need

Online careers can be fragile, and far too many seem to fail overnight. Social media influencer insurance will not itself protect your online reputation. But it will at least ensure that, should anything go wrong, you will be covered for all resulting costs. You should think of social media influencer insurance as an essential safety net that can ensure that a bad situation will not get any worse.

James Hallam is an independent Lloyd’s broker with a dedicated team of experienced insurance professionals who care about protecting your online brand.

We will take the time to understand your public profile, and your relationships with your sponsors and promoters. We can then help you get the specialist insurance you need to cover you for the risks you face as a social media influencer.

Learn more about our specialist insurance services.

Contractor’s insurance will cover you for the many risks associated with your work, including personal accidents and injuries, and the loss or damage of your tools or equipment.

But how much is contractor’s insurance? The amount you pay for cover will depend on a number of factors, which we will outline below.

What is Contractor’s Insurance?

Contractor’s insurance can include contract works insurance, and contractors’ all risk insurance

A contractor’s insurance policy can include cover for:

• Personal injury
• Professional liability
• Public liability
• Employer’s liability
• Tools, plant, and equipment
• Damage to a structure while it is being constructed and renovated

Read our full guide to contractor’s insurance, and what it might cover.

What Affects the Cost of Contractors Insurance?

The amount you pay for your policy will depend on a number of factors:

• The type of work you carry out. Some types of contractor work are riskier than others. Painting and decorating can be less risky than construction or welding, for instance. Plus, certain types of work will require specialist tools or equipment, which can drive up the cost of cover.
• Your clients and customers. The bigger your client base, the bigger the risk that something might go wrong. The type of client you work with might increase the potential cost of claims, too. A hotel chain might make a larger claim than a private homeowner, for example.
• Your personal circumstances. Your age, your medical history, and the area where you work – all of this, and more, can affect the price of your policy. Also, if you have a history of claims, insurers may consider you to be higher risk, which may affect the cost of your premiums.
• The level of cover you choose. There are many different insurance products available for contractors. You could save money on the cost of insurance through choosing a lower level of cover, but it is never a good idea to leave gaps in your cover. You could also choose to pay a higher excess, which can bring down the cost of cover. However, this could leave you financially vulnerable if you ever need to make a claim on your policy.

How Much is Contractor’s Insurance?

As we have seen, there are so many factors affecting the price of contractor’s insurance that it is hard to come up with a ballpark figure for the cost of cover. In 2025, the average annual cost for contractor’s insurance can range from around £100 a year, for domestic flooring contractors, to around £500 a year, for plumbers, heating, or ventilation contractors.

Though of course, depending on your personal circumstances and the nature of your business, you could end up paying a lot more or less, for your cover.

Do I Need Contractor’s Insurance?

Contractor’s insurance can help your business stay afloat should anything ever go wrong. With the right cover in place, you can quickly get repairs or replacements for any lost or damaged equipment. You can also get a lump sum payment to cover your overheads if you are ever temporarily unable to trade.

Without contractor’s insurance, the slightest setback could sink your business. Also, some forms of cover are required by law. If you employ any staff, for example, you could face hefty fines if you do not get an employer’s liability insurance policy.

Finally, certain clients and customers may refuse to work with you unless you have a certain level of cover in place.

It is for these reasons, and more, that no contractor should be without dedicated contractor’s insurance.

We Can Help You Get The Cover You Need at a Competitive Price

James Hallam is an independent Lloyd’s broker with a dedicated team of experienced insurance professionals who care about protecting your business.

We will take the time to understand your business and your customers to ensure you get comprehensive insurance, with no gaps in your cover, at a competitive price.

Find out how we can help you.

If you have just opened a coffee shop, or you are thinking of doing so, you might be wondering about your insurance requirements.

At James Hallam, we have been supporting coffee shops across the UK since 1982. We can help you get the insurance you need whether you run a single coffee shop, a chain of coffee shops, or a coffee van. Learn more about how we can support you.

In this post we will outline some of the insurance products you might need to protect your coffee shop against all possible risks.

Employer’s Liability Insurance

If you employ any staff, even if they are members of your own family, this is one form of cover that you are required to have by law. Employer’s liability insurance covers you for claims made by your employees for any injuries or illnesses they sustain while on the job.

Public Liability Insurance

While employer’s liability insurance will cover you for claims made by your employees, public liability insurance will cover you for claims made by members of the public.

If somebody slips or trips while on your premises, whether they are a customer, a tradesman, a delivery driver, or any other member of the public, they may make a claim against you. In this case, public liability insurance can cover any legal fees or compensation payments that may arise as a result of the claim.

This form of insurance can also cover damage to property – such as if you accidentally spill a cup of coffee over a customer’s laptop.

Product Liability Insurance

Any business that serves food or drink to members of the public should consider product liability insurance. If a customer falls ill having consumed food or drink you sold on your premises, or if they suffered an allergic reaction, they may make a claim against you. In which case, product liability insurance can cover any legal fees or compensation that may be due.

Business Interruption Insurance

This can give you a lump sum payment should any event ever prevent you from opening or running your coffee shop. Business interruption insurance can cover you for fires, floods, break-ins, and more.

Contents Insurance

This is cover for the equipment you use to make and serve your coffee, along with the fixtures and fittings in your coffee shop, including your chairs and tables. If anything is ever lost, destroyed, or damaged by a flood, fire, or a theft, contents insurance can cover the costs of repairs or replacements.

Coffee Van Insurance

If you run a mobile coffee van, or pop-up coffee shops at events, you can tailor your insurance to cover the specific risks you face. This can include cover for your vehicle, as well as specialist public liability insurance to cover the risks you may not face when running a static coffee shop (for example, accidentally hitting someone when you open the hatch).

Get Bespoke Cover For Your Coffee Shop From James Hallam

James Hallam is an independent Lloyd’s broker with a dedicated team of experienced insurance professionals who care about protecting your coffee shop.

Whether you run a single coffee shop, a chain of coffee shops, or a mobile coffee van, we can help you get the insurance you need at the most competitive price.

Learn more about how we can support you here.

If you run a pub, then you will almost certainly have experienced some form of theft at one time or other.

In a December 2024 report, The Office for National Statistics claimed that there had been a 54% increase in robberies from business properties compared to previous years.

In this post we will discuss the common types of theft that occur in pubs, and outline some ways you can protect your pub from theft.

The Most Common Types of Theft in Pubs

• Petty theft of pub property. It is very common for customers to steal pint glasses, along with other items of cutlery, from bars and pubs. According to one survey, 34% of British adults have admitted to stealing tableware from pubs, which amounts to around £186 million worth of stolen items.
• Theft from pub staff and customers. This might include stealing unattended phones and keys, or lifting items from handbags or wallets left on tables. Or it might include violent thefts on pub premises. According to ONS, around 5% of all annual robberies take place on pub premises.
• Theft by pub staff. Whether through under ringing items, giving away free drinks, stealing stock, or lifting money directly from the till, it is unfortunately common for staff to steal from pubs.
• Breaking and entering. It feels like every few weeks there is another news story about a pub burglary. Some criminals target pubs while they are still open, using violence or the threat of violence to steal money. Others wait until the pub is closed before breaking in. In the latter case, the cost of the damages to the pub property can exceed the amount lost in cash.

How To Protect Your Pub From Theft

Below we will explore how you can address each type of pub theft, in turn.

How To Prevent Petty Theft of Pub Property

• Run a pint glass and tableware amnesty. Allow customers to return any items they may have stolen in exchange for a discount on drinks or food.
• Add a small charge to every item on your menu to offset the costs of replacing stolen items. This could be as little as 10p.
• Introduce a one-glass-per-customer system, where you wash and refill the same glass instead of handing out a new one. You could even ask customers to pay a deposit on their glass, which could deter theft while offsetting any potential losses.

How to Prevent Theft From Pub Staff and Customers

• Put up notices warning customers about the risks of theft, advising them to never leave any valuables unattended.
• Install CCTV to help deter theft, and to make conviction more likely if theft does occur.
• Consider hiring dedicated security staff, to help protect staff and customers from violent criminals.

How to Prevent Theft By Pub Staff

• Perform background checks on all new applicants. Highlight the importance of honesty and integrity during staff induction, and run regular training sessions to reiterate these values. Also make it clear that you have a zero tolerance approach to theft – one strike, and they are out.
• Perform regular stock and receipt checks. This will help you ensure that everything adds up, and that there are no discrepancies.
• Make sure every till is covered by CCTV. This could help deter all kinds of theft, while giving you a means of investigating should you suspect that theft has taken place.

How to Prevent Breaking and Entering in Your Pub

• Invest in extensive security systems, including extra locks, alarms, CCTV, motion activated floodlights, and so on.
• Lock all cash and other valuables in a safe overnight.
• Join a neighbourhood watch scheme. Encourage local residents to look out for your pub while you look out for neighbouring properties.

Get The Right Insurance For Your Pub

Dedicated insurance for your pub will not prevent theft, but it can help you bounce back from any financial loss you may experience as a result of theft.

James Hallam is an independent Lloyd’s broker with a dedicated team of experienced insurance professionals who care about protecting your pub. We can help you get the insurance you need at the most competitive price.

Learn more about how we can support you here.

Manufacturing insurance can give you all the cover you need for your manufacturing business on a single policy. This means you will only have one premium to pay, and you will have a single point of contact should you ever need to make a claim.

Though insurance is essential for all manufacturing businesses, you do not have a legal obligation to get a dedicated manufacturing insurance policy. So, in this post, we will outline what might happen if you do not have manufacturing insurance.

What is Manufacturing Insurance?

Manufacturing insurance is tailored cover for your manufacturing business. A single manufacturing insurance policy can cover every aspect of your manufacturing business, including your buildings, your equipment, your stock, your products, and your employees.

Core areas of cover in a manufacturing insurance policy include:

• Buildings insurance
• Vehicles insurance
• Product liability insurance
• Public liability insurance
• Employer’s liability insurance
• Goods-in-transit cover
• Business interruption insurance
• Stock cover (including cover for both raw materials and finished products you keep in storage)

Is There a Legal Requirement to Get Manufacturer’s Insurance?

If you employ any staff, then you have a legal requirement to have employer’s liability insurance. This provides cover for any legal fees or compensation should your employees make a claim for accidents or injuries they sustain while on the job.

Suppliers and contractors might require you to have certain cover in place before they agree to work with you. For example, if a company appoints you to manufacture their products, they may require you to have product and public liability insurance as part of their contract.

Beyond this, there is no legal requirement to get any form of manufacturing insurance. However, there are very good reasons why no manufacturing business should go without this specialist form of cover.

What Happens If I Do Not Have Manufacturing Insurance?

A manufacturing business is a complicated operation with many moving parts. If there is a problem with any aspect of the operation, it can cause a chain reaction that could bring your entire business to a halt.

With manufacturing insurance, you will have cover for every part of your business. So, if anything goes wrong with any aspect of your business, you can quickly get the means and the support to fix any issues before they get any worse. This means your business can continue to operate with minimal disruption.

On the other hand, if you do not have manufacturing insurance, even a small issue could cause a domino effect that could ultimately bring down your whole business.

Example: What Happens If I Do Not Have Product Liability Insurance?

Product liability insurance is a particularly important form of cover for manufacturing businesses.

If any of your products are ever found to be faulty or hazardous, you may need to issue a product recall. This alone will carry significant costs. But beyond the costs of the product recall, you may also face legal action and compensation payments should any customers or stockists make a claim against you.

Without manufacturing insurance, you would be liable for covering all of these costs yourself. Product recalls are themselves highly costly. Add to this the potential costs of legal fees and compensation, and it is easy to see how even a minor issue with a single product could potentially sink your business.

For an example of how much a product recall can cost a manufacturing business, take a look at the 10 biggest product recalls of all time. Most of the companies involved are major multinationals. But also consider the small, privately held food manufacturing company that faced costs of around $1bn due to a salmonella outbreak.

Get The Manufacturing Insurance You Need, Today

No matter how long it takes you to get a policy, you should never start manufacturing any products or materials until you have all the cover you need. Read our guide to how long it can take to get manufacturing insurance.

James Hallam is an independent Lloyd’s broker with a dedicated team of experienced insurance brokers. We are committed to protecting your manufacturing business. We can tailor niche insurance packages for manufacturing businesses to ensure you are covered for all risks.

Find out how we can help you get a bespoke and cost-effective manufacturing insurance policy today.   

It is important to understand the common fire hazards in the workplace. If you understand where and how fires are most likely to break out, you can design and implement fire safety policies and procedures to effectively manage, mitigate, or eliminate the risks.

Some of the most common fire hazards in the workplace include:

• Electrical and battery fires
• Flammable substances
• Smoking
• Build up of combustible materials
• Cooking
• Ineffective fire safety equipment

We will explore each of these, the common causes of these issues and how they can quite quickly lead to a fire in the workplace.

Electrical and Battery Fires

Electrical items have always carried a fire risk. But the risk may be greater than ever due to the widespread use of lithium-ion batteries.

Lithium-ion batteries are used to power a wide range of devices, including laptops, smartphones, electric scooters, e-bikes, and other kinds of electrical vehicles. They are compact, they have a high energy density, and they are rechargeable. Yet they may also carry a significant fire risk.

If lithium-ion batteries are faulty or damaged, it can lead to a chemical reaction known as thermal runaway: The battery overheats rapidly, and can ignite spontaneously, burning at temperatures of around 1,000°C. Burning lithium batteries also emit toxic, flammable gases, meaning that fires can quickly spread, and even result in explosions.

Flammable Substances

It is common to store large amounts of flammable substances in many workplaces. These include flammable liquids and vapours, including many common cleaning products, and combustible materials such as paper and cardboard.

A single spark can cause these substances to ignite. And as flammable substances are often stored in bulk, even a small fire can quickly spread.

Smoking

Smoking in the workplace is perhaps not as common as it used to be, and most smokers now smoke outside in designated areas. But people can be careless. If a cigarette, or a lit match, is not properly extinguished and disposed of, it can start a fire. If this fire breaks out near any flammable materials, then it will spread rapidly.

Build-up of Combustible Materials

Most workplaces produce a lot of waste, a lot of which is combustible. If you do not take proper precautions to store and dispose of this waste, then you are creating a significant fire hazard.

The build up of dust is another major cause of fires in workplaces. If you do not have adequate ventilation in place, dust deposits, along with atmospheric dust, can cause fires, and even explosions.

Cooking

There are many fire hazards in kitchens, from faulty ovens, toasters, and other appliances to the abundance of flammable oils and other liquids.

In offices and other workplaces, it is common for workers to put something in a toaster or microwave, and leave it unattended while it cooks. Such behaviour can make fires more likely, as it creates a risk that the food will ignite, or the appliance will overheat.

Ineffective Fire Safety Equipment

Finally, if the fire safety equipment in your workplace is not working like it should, then even a small fire can quickly spread into something much more serious.

Examples include:

• Untested fire alarms – are the batteries still good?
• Fire doors left open – which means that if a fire does break out, it will have a chance to spread.
• Blocked fire doors – which can endanger lives in the event of a fire.
• Inappropriate fire extinguishers for the type of fire hazard.

How To Prevent The Risk of Fire in the Workplace

Please note that this guidance is not exhaustive, and is merely intended to provide some best-practice examples for how you can control the fire hazards in your workplace:

• Train all of your staff in fire safety. Make sure everyone understands the specific risks in your workplace, and how to manage them. Also ensure that everyone knows exactly what actions to take in the event of a fire, in order to keep themselves and their colleagues safe. Make this training part of all staff inductions, and ensure that everyone gets periodic refresher training.
• Take care with electricals. Never overload any plug sockets, and if possible, unplug any machinery or equipment when not in use.
• Take particular care with lithium-ion and other batteries. Do not use them if they appear in any way damaged or degraded. Do not overcharge them. And never dispose of any batteries in the main waste stream. Use a dedicated recycling service instead.
• Take care in how you store waste and other combustible materials. When it comes to flammable substances, follow the manufacturer’s instructions on storage and management exactly. Clean up any spillages immediately.
• Regularly test all of your fire safety equipment, and replace anything that needs replacing as soon as you spot an issue.

Are You Covered For Workplace Fires?

James Hallam is an independent, family-run Lloyd’s broker. Since 1982, we have helped hundreds of businesses across UK understand and manage their fire risks, while getting comprehensive cover for all risks at a competitive price.

Learn more about our specialist business insurance services.

If you offer any kind of beauty therapist services, then you need specialist beauty therapist insurance to cover you, and your customers, for all of the risks associated with your services.

In this post we will outline what is included in beauty therapist insurance, and why you need it.

What is Beauty Therapist Insurance?

Beauty therapist insurance is specialist cover for beauticians of all kinds, including:

• Beauty therapists
• Hair and beauty consultants
• Hairdressers
• Nail technicians
• Make-up artists
• Massage therapists
• Manicurists
• Pedicurists
• Salon owners
• Mobile hairdressers or beauticians

What Types of Treatments Can Beauty Therapy Insurance Cover?

Beauty therapist insurance can cover a range of treatments, including:

• hairdressing
• barbering
• facials
• makeup
• spray-on tans
• massages
• body wrapping
• eyelash and eyebrow treatments
• ear piercing and more

It can also cover more specialist treatments, including:

• microblading
• dermaplaning
• microdermabrasion
• hydrotherapy and more

What is Included in Beauty Therapist Insurance?

You can tailor your beauty therapist insurance policy to meet your exact requirements. But most policies will include the following cover:

Treatment Risk Insurance
There are risks involved in many of the treatments you might provide as a beauty therapist. A customer could have an allergic reaction to a product you use, for example. Or you might accidentally injure a customer while applying a treatment. If a customer makes a claim against you, treatment risk insurance can cover any legal fees or compensation that might be due.

Professional Indemnity Insurance
If a customer is unhappy with your work, or if they believe you have mis-sold or misrepresented your services, they may make a claim against you. In this case, professional indemnity insurance can cover any compensation or legal fees that may arise.

Contents Cover
This is cover for the equipment you use to apply your treatments, along with any products you might use. It can also cover your administration and IT equipment, including salon furniture, cash registers, smartphones, tablets, and laptops.

Buildings Cover
If you own or manage a beauty salon or a hairdressers, buildings insurance is cover for your premises against fire, flood, theft, and other events.

Public Liability Cover
If you own or manage a beauty salon or a hairdressers, public liability insurance can cover your customers, along with any other members of the public, for any accidents or injuries they sustain while on your business premises.

If you are a mobile hairdresser or beautician, public liability insurance can cover any accidents that may take place while you are visiting a client’s home – such as spilling a bottle of nail varnish, or accidentally scorching a surface with some hair straighteners.

Employer’s Liability Insurance
If you employ any staff, then you have a legal requirement to get employer’s liability insurance. This will cover you staff for any accidents, illnesses, or injuries they may sustain while on the job.

Do I Need Beauty Therapist Insurance?

Yes. You have a legal requirement to get some forms of cover, such as employer’s liability insurance. Certain professional bodies may also require you to get cover as part of their membership. Plus, if you rent a chair at a salon, or if you run a salon yourself, you may have a contractual obligation to get certain forms of cover.

But even if there were no legal or regulatory requirement to get beauty therapist insurance, we would still strongly advise you to get all the cover you need. If something ever goes wrong with your treatment, your customers could make a claim against you. This could result in excessive legal fees, and even more excessive compensation payments. Without cover, you would be liable to pay these fees yourself.

Also, without cover, even the smallest mishap could sink your business completely. If any of your equipment were lost or damaged, for example, would you be able to afford replacements? With beauty therapist insurance, you would be able to recover from most setbacks with the minimum of disruption to your business.

Specialist Beauty Therapist Insurance From James Hallam

James Hallam is an independent, family-run Lloyd’s broker. Since 1982, we have helped hundreds of beauty therapists across the UK get the insurance they need at the best price. Whether you are running a single hair or beauty salon, or a chain of salons, or a mobile beautician service, we can help you get specialist cover at a competitive price.

Learn more about our specialist beauty therapist insurance services.