This week we have seen the Prime Minister outlining his road map plan for England as well as the First Minister explaining the plan for Scotland in exiting the current national lockdown restrictions, both can be found at www.gov.uk and www.gov.scot.
The devolved administrations in Wales and Northern Ireland will be making their positions clear over the next few days.
We fully understand that during the pandemic not everything runs smoothly and to plan, so we would like to take the opportunity to highlight two important areas in order to give you and your clients some clarity and assistance.
Unoccupied Premises
Our latest communication regarding temporarily unoccupied premises, issued on 9th February 2021, confirmed that where a business was mandated to close cover would remain in-force subject to meeting the unoccupied conditions.
The Government has made clear that the earliest businesses can return will be 12th April in England, 26th April in Scotland, starting with non-essential retail, pubs/restaurants (in outdoor areas) and hairdressers/personal care businesses. Other sectors will follow according to the staging plans assuming the data allows.
We can confirm that full cover will remain in-force where businesses are mandated to remain closed and unoccupancy conditions are met.
After restrictions are lifted the standard terms and conditions found in our policy wordings will apply, so please do get in touch should any of your clients choose for any reason not to reopen once they are permitted to do so.
Safe Opening of Businesses
Whilst the reopening of retail settings is still, in the best-case scenario, over a month away it is very important for clients to start making the required preparations. Over the past few months we have issued various guidance and assistance notes, from reactivation toolkits and things to consider when premises have been shut for a period of time, to the key elements involved in implementing COVID-19 safe systems of work and protection for employees and customers. Check out these sources of information which may assist:
https://nig.com/trading-support/news/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-lockdown-restrictions-easing/
Open for Business
Finally, we would like to remind our brokers and partners that we are very much open for business and keen to work with you to find solutions for your clients. We can be contacted by e-mail, telephone, or in some instances by live chat. Please do get in touch.
Stay safe and look after those around you.