April Showers Cause Havoc for UK Small Businesses

LONDON, May 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Insurance claims spike as businesses struggle to cope with the wettest April on record

Simply Business, the UK's largest business insurance provider, saw a huge 280 per cent increase in weather-related insurance claims between March and April 2012, with seven times as many recorded as the same period last year. The figures suggest that the unpredictable British weather has caught many small businesses unawares.

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

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

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.

"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."

About Simply Business

Simply Business is the UK's largest business insurance broker.

Launched in 2005, Simply Business provides tailored insurance products and services to landlords and small to medium size businesses. Due to its extensive internal underwriting capability, Simply Business can cover over 1,000 different trade types and currently insures almost 200,000 customers across the UK. A Sunday Times Tech Track 100 company for the past four years and named in the 2011 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 EMEA, Simply Business is a profitable company, which has grown revenues from £4.2 million in 2006, to £16.1 million in 2010.

Simply Business' has a team of 150 insurance specialists based in offices in London and Northampton. The company also provides business insurance services to price comparison sites such as Moneysupermarket.com and Gocompare.com.

SOURCE Simply Business