Commodity prices are rising once more to record levels because of uncertainty over Libya, the other Arab Spring uprisings and growing demand from China and India.

This is particularly affecting oil, metals and some basic food stuff such as grain.

This rapid increase has insurance implications as in times of shortage and high prices, commodities such as these become more attractive to criminals who go to great lengths to acquire them.

Businesses are well aware of these rising values as they impact heavily on costs and also make scrap metals from processes even more valuable. It is important to ensure your insurance programme keeps up to date with these rising values.

Most property insurance covers have separate values for non-ferrous metals and these needs to be checked to see if they are still adequate.

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Anyone who specialises in metal or metal goods needs to ensure the overall values in their policies are adequate. Any increases may trigger a need for higher security and insurers may well decline a claim if the sums insured are below the actual value at the time of a theft. So action is vital.

Insurance of fuel is another factor to consider. Often, this is kept in outside tanks and needs a special mention on policies. The sums insured need to be checked to see if they are still adequate.

Often Property Insurance only covers theft from a locked building and does not cover property in the open or in tanks. If this is of concern, you need to contact us to check on the position or see if wider cover is available.

Finally, some buildings are attractive to criminals who steal copper, lead etc from the structure. The damage from this activity is often far higher than the cost of the material stolen.

Some policies cover theft of part of a building but others do not. There may also be risks if you are rent your premises on a full repairing lease. If the landlord has no insurance in force, you could be responsible for repairs.

We are here to help you and if you are concerned about any of these issues, please contact us. Speak to Stephen Hegarty on 0118 979 2121.

(CD)