The United Kingdom Horse Shoers Union

The voice of the farrier.

       SMALL FIRMS THREATENED BY ROCKETING INSURANCE COSTS

The current crisis in the insurance market is causing enormous problems for small businesses, as insurance premiums rocket and cover becomes hard to find.

The 170,000-member Federation of Small Businesses is warning that a substantial number of small firms could go out of business this autumn as a result of the escalating cost of insurance premiums. FSB members are reporting that the costs of insurance premiums are increasing by an average of 200% and in some cases increases have exceeded 500%.

Although the cost of all commercial insurance cover is going up, businesses are finding it particularly difficult to secure employers' liability and public liability insurance. Employers' liability insurance is a legal requirement in the United Kingdom.

UKHSU insurance adviser John Cooke reports that there are great difficulties in providing economical policies for farriers at the present time. The reason appears to be that Insurance Companies are scared of the possibility of large claims involving valuable horses, despite these being a very rare and unlikely occurence.

The Company that has been running the Smithmaster scheme, the giant Zurich Group, has withdrawn and will no longer be offering the policies. Existing policies are being honoured. John Cooke is working to find an alternative. At the present time only the Eastlake and Beachell Forgemaster scheme can provide farriers with suitable business insurance cover.