April Showers Cause Havoc for UK Small Businesses

Simply Business, a UK business insurance broker, saw a 280 percent increase in weather-related insurance claims between March and April 2012, with seven times as many recorded as the same period last year.

Based on claims data from over 200,000 businesses, the figures show that weather-related claims made up 14 percent of all claims received in April, compared to eight percent in the average month. Of those, the biggest issue reported was storm damage affecting 96 percent of claimants.

The region most severely impacted was the West Midlands, with 13 percent of all claims resulting from storm or flood related damage, and business affected ranged from catering firms to beauty salons.

“With the rain forecast to continue for another few weeks yet, we would advise all business owners to ensure they take precautions to make sure their premises are as storm and flood proof as possible but also that they have the right cover to keep disruption to a minimum,” said Jason Stockwood, the company’s CEO.

Source: Simply Business