Partner Article

Wet weather causes spike in insurance claims

Insurance claims by businesses rose sharply last month, after the UK witnessed the wettest April on record.

According to research by Simply Business, insurance providers saw a 280% increase in weather related insurance claims between March and April. This was seven times as many recorded as were recorded during the same period in 2011.

Weather related claims made up 14% of all those received in April, compared to a monthly average of 8%. Of those who claimed, 96% cited storm damage as their reason for claiming.

Jason Stockwood, CEO of Simply Business, commented: “Long periods of rain always tend to darken the mood but the almost total washout in April reveals the more serious consequences this can have for businesses.

“Storm and flood damage doesn’t just affect properties and stock, it can have the significant knock-on effect of disrupting business.

“Insurance is therefore crucial to ensure companies can start trading again as quickly as possible.”

The West Midlands suffered the brunt of the weather, with 13% of all claims resulting from storm or flood related damage.

With wet weather forecast in the next few weeks, Simply Business are now advising all business owners to take the correct precautions to ensure their premises are storm and flood proof, but also to ensure they have the right cover to keep disruption to a minimum.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .