How can we help you?

Business Insurance: Contact us

How we can help you

Thank you for doing your bit to tackle COVID-19, whether that’s going to work as an essential worker, or staying home.

We’re doing what we can to help too. We want to do simple, practical things that help you and the wider community.

Here are some of them.

If you’re worried about paying for your insurance, please get in touch

We know lots of our customers are worried about the impact of COVID-19 on their finances.

There are lots of things we can do to help if you’re struggling to make your payments. We may be able to offer a payment holiday or spread a proportion of your payments over the remaining months of your agreement. We can also look at reducing your cover if your needs have changed or look at other measures we can take to support you.

If your financial circumstances have changed as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, please let us know. The sooner you talk to us, the sooner we can help.

Call us on 0333 035 9435

Please help us to support our vulnerable customers – go online first

Our phone lines are really busy right now because of COVID-19.

We’re trying to make sure our vulnerable customers, those in financial difficulty and key workers get to talk to us if they need to. You can help us to help them by using our LiveChat or reading our FAQs first.

Of course, we’re still here if you need us - but you might have to wait a little bit longer than normal before your call is answered. Thanks for your patience and support.

Are you coming up to renewal? We’re working to keep our premiums low

As a broker we don’t financially benefit from the fact that fewer people are driving and making fewer claims on their car insurance right now.

Being a broker means we can negotiate with our wide panel of insurers on your behalf to pass on the benefits they’re seeing from less claims, therefore keeping renewal premiums as low as possible.

Don’t worry if you’re using your vehicle to support your community or the NHS

If you’re using your vehicle to deliver supplies to vulnerable people, or if you’ve started volunteering to help the NHS by taking people to and from appointments, we want to support you.

You don’t need to let us know about the change in use of your car or motorbike, because you’ll automatically be covered. Thank you so much for what you’re doing.

Are you a key worker? We’re here for you when you need us

If you’re a key worker, we’d like to thank you for everything. A quarter of our customers are key workers and you’re our priority on the phones. We want to help you get to work - not keep you on hold.

We’ve invested heavily in new technology to keep many of our brilliant call centre specialists safe at home and have webchat services and FAQs available to you. If you still need to talk to us, we’re not answering calls quite as quickly as before, but we’ll get to you as soon as we can.

Thank you for all the sacrifices you’re making. Stay safe.

We recommend that all our customers follow the latest Government guidance on coronavirus.

The UK Government have produced a support tool that will take you step-by-step through some simple questions to identify the help you’re likely to qualify for. Visit the coronavirus support finder.

We also recommend to visit Guidance on the Government COVID-19 support packages for businesses page.

The Association of British Insurers has also published some information to help insurance customers – along with answers to commonly asked questions.

We know there are various reasons why you might need to get in touch with us. Here you’ll find information on the different ways you can reach us depending on what it is you’re after.

Frequently Asked Questions for Business customers regarding COVID-19

My employees are working from home due to recent government guidance, will they be covered by my insurance policy?

You'll need to refer to your specific policy to see if this is covered but if you currently purchase employer’s liability cover for your business, then it should extend to cover them while they are working from home during this period, if in doubt please call your insurer. 

Please note you're still responsible for your employees Health and Safety whilst they are working from home e.g. ensuring they have appropriate equipment to perform their job safely e.g. workstation meets health and safety guidelines. Most employees' home insurance will allow them to perform clerical work from home but typically will not cover business visitors or business stock, so please check with your member of staff.

Am I covered for my contents that my employees take home in order to work there?

You'll need to refer to your specific policy to see if this is covered as it will often be optional to cover the likes of laptops, tablets or mobile phones that belong to the business but your employee takes home, if in doubt please call your insurer.

If you're not covered on your insurance it doesn't mean you're not legally responsible for them as it's unlikely your employees home insurance would cover business equipment that doesn't belong to the employee.

What happens if my premises are left unoccupied?

You would normally need to notify us if your property was going to be left unoccupied for beyond the allowable period stated in your policy.  Given the exceptional circumstances at the moment, many insurers are reviewing their policy conditions with a view to increasing flexibility.  In the meantime we recommend to shut off the water supply and gas to the premises if safe to do so and not business critical, and ensure that any measures to prevent thefts are taken, such as locking away or removing equipment, setting intruder alarms and if safe to do so periodically check the premises are secure e.g. once a week.  If in doubt please contact your insurer via the telephone number in your policy documents.

How do I find out what type of cover I have?

Your policy documents will tell you the type of cover you have.

My circumstances have changed due to COVID-19, should I cancel my policy?

Business insurance helps to protect business owners and independent professionals against everyday risks, such as accidents in the workplace and associated public liability, stock or premises damage, legal costs and cyber-attacks. There are also some types of insurance that a business is legally obliged to have, such as employer’s liability and commercial motor insurance.

Even in a time when a business is unable to operate as usual due to the impacts of COVID-19, it’s important that businesses remain covered for standard risks, many of which may be more likely when the property is unoccupied, such as vandalism of the property, theft of stock or equipment, or even loss of information or damage to IT systems and networks.

Every day insurers pay out £22 million to help firms cope with these unwelcome events. If a business without adequate insurance cover experienced significant damage whilst temporarily closed,  their ability to get back up and running once permitted to do so could be delayed. 

However, should you need to speak to us about your circumstances please call us but please be aware we may have extended waiting times

What if I have public liability or employers’ liability insurance?

Public liability insurance protects you if you injure someone or damage their property in the course of running your business.

It may cover claims relating to COVID-19, depending on the individual case. Crucially, the main area for consideration will be if you or your business has been proven to be negligent, which has resulted in a third party being impacted by COVID-19.

Being negligent means that – as a result of your actions – you've caused damage or injury to others that could have reasonably been foreseen and avoided, as opposed to someone else being careless.

Employers’ liability insurance protects you if an employee or ex-employee sues for illness or injury caused by their work. It’s a legal requirement if you have employees and can pay compensation costs and legal fees.

It may cover claims relating to COVID-19, depending on the individual case. As with public liability, the main area for consideration will be if you or your business has been proven to be negligent, which has resulted in your employee being impacted by COVID-19.

In the case of employers' liability, being negligent means that as a result of actions by you (that could have reasonably been foreseen or avoided) your employee has been injured or fallen ill, as opposed to someone else being careless.

My MOT is due to run out what do I do?

Due to the current COVID-19 situation, the government has extended MOT due dates for lorries, buses and trailers which are from 21st March by three months, for more information please visit: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-mots-for-lorries-buses-and-trailers

Do I have Business Interruption insurance and will it cover lost income due to Covid-19?

Please refer to your policy schedule and document to see whether you hold Business Interruption cover. Whilst Business Interruption does not typically extend to cover loss of income or profit from COVID-19 related incidences, this can vary by insurer and the nature of your claim.

Therefore, if your business has been affected and you are seeking to make a claim, please contact your insurer, whose contact details are in your policy document and will clarify if you are eligible to claim.  As you will appreciate there could be delays in getting a response due to the unprecedented circumstances facing the country, so if you have an enquiry rather than a claim we would ask you to hold back from contacting the insurer so they can focus on supporting customers who are in urgent need.

In addition, your business may be eligible to benefit from the UK Government’s new financial measures to support businesses through this challenging period. Find out whether your business is eligible, and how you may be able to benefit, at: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus/
 

Frequently Asked Questions for Landlord Insurance customers regarding Rent Guarantee

Do I have Landlord Rent Guarantee with Swinton?

Please check your policy documentation, Swinton sell two policies:

  1. Landlord Legal Expenses  - doesn’t include rent guarantee
  2. Landlord Legal Expenses & Rent Guarantee – includes rent guarantee

So, it will depend which (if any) of the above policies you chose to purchase in addition to your Landlord Property Insurance policy.  If you have Landlord Legal Expenses & Rent Guarantee please read on below.

What difference does the Coronavirus Act 2020 make to my policy?

The Act increases the period of notice that must be given to a tenant for possession of the property, in relation to rent arrears, from two weeks to three months, with provision to increase this further. Therefore, whilst notice of required possession can still be issued, no court proceedings to enforce possession can be commenced until the three-month notice period has elapsed.

Alongside this, we are aware of a number of county courts closing; advising that they will suspend or postpone possession hearings. We’re also aware of county court bailiffs refusing to attend properties to evict tenants, where those tenants are known to remain in occupation of the property. It will therefore take longer for possession of any property to be obtained. 

All other terms and conditions of your policy still need to be met with regards to referencing and documents to supply (see your policy terms for full details of what‘s needed).

Will I get all my rent paid under the policy?

For new claims reported after implementation of the Act i.e. from 26th March 2020, rent guarantee payments will be made:

  • after the landlord has actively engaged in mediation with the tenant, and
  • has been unable to reach an agreement to deal with any rent arrears, and
  • we have therefore issued notice for possession to the tenant.

I don’t want to evict my tenant, but will my policy pay my rent?

No, the policy will only pay out if we have accepted a claim under your policy to evict your tenant.

When do I need to notify the claim by?

If the tenant is in breach of the tenancy agreement i.e. non-payment of rent, then that is an insured event and must be reported within 45 days (or whatever notice period your policy stipulates).

Should I agree a payment holiday with my tenant?

We appreciate this is a difficult time for everybody and landlords don’t want to be evicting their tenants at this time. The government has set out its intention for landlords and tenants to mediate, to reach an amicable and mutual agreement to deal with any rent arrears. This is coupled with unprecedented levels of financial assistance being made available to both businesses and the public, intended to reduce the risk of tenants falling into rent arrears in the first place. Further, to lessen any adverse impact to landlords resulting from the Act, ‘mortgage holidays’ will be made available.

I have agreed a payment holiday with my tenant. Will that affect my insurance?

If the landlord and tenant agree a payment holiday, and this is formalised by an addendum to the Tenancy Agreement, this is not an insured event and does not need to be notified to us. We will not cover rent if the landlord / tenant have agreed a payment holiday. We will only pay rent when we are evicting the tenant. This will not prevent a claim being notified to us within 45 days if the tenant then fails to keep to the new agreement.

Get a quote for your business - Call us today

0333 035 9524

We do all the hard work for you

Make a claim

If you need to make a claim on your business insurance policy call the claims helpline number listed in your policy documents.

If you don't have your documents to hand then contact the Customer Services team on:

0333 035 9524

One of our dedicated commercial insurance team will be happy to help.

Existing Landlord Insurance customers

If you’re calling about your existing Landlord Insurance policy, please call the number that’s listed in your policy documents renewal schedule. This will ensure that we can directly connect you connect you directly with to the right team for your policy type.

Got a question about your policy?

If you’d like to make a change, pay a bill, renew, cancel or have any other query relating to your business policy, you just need to call customer services on:

0333 035 9524

Speak to one of our dedicated commercial insurance team who will be happy to help.