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No-Claim Discount

Claims cost commercial insurance companies money, so if you complete a year of insurance without making a claim, you will normally get a discount off your premium when you renew your business insurance policy the following year.

Notice of Cancellation

Under the terms of most policies, either the policyholder or the insurer may cancel the policy before the expiry date by giving the other party the requisite notice according to the terms of policy, and refunding a pro rata premium.

Notification

All policies have conditions on notification of claims to insurers. Some say notice should be given ‘as soon as possible’ or ‘forthwith’ while others specify a period within which the incident must be reported. There is obviously no point in delaying. Even if you do not have full particulars of...

Occurrence

In insurance terms an occurrence is ‘the happening of an event that has given rise to a claim during the period of insurance’. In Liability insurance, this is particularly important, as policies may sometimes be issued on a ‘claims made’ basis during the period of insurance, irrespective of when the...

Ombudsman

A reference to the Financial Ombudsman Service. The Financial Ombudsman Service offers a free independent service and they can help with most insurance-related complaints. However, there are some limitations on what the Financial Ombudsman Service can look into.

Onus of Proof

‘Onus’ is simply the Latin word for ‘burden’. It is a concept relevant to Liability Insurance, where the onus, or burden, of proving negligence usually rests with the plaintiff. There are certain circumstances, however, in which a prima facie (a Latin term which means ‘at first sight’ or ‘on first...

Perils

Perils are risks that you or your business might face, such as explosions, riots and strikes, malicious damage, impact by road vehicles, burst pipes or acts of nature such as storms, floods and earthquakes.

Policy

The written contract of insurance.

Policy term

The period of time for which an insurance policy provides cover for you or your business.

Premium

The amount of money charged for the cover provided by an insurance policy.