The FSB today launched a new Safety Network Scheme as part of an ongoing programme to assist small firms suffering as a result of escalating insurance premiums.

Britain’s biggest business organisation has developed Safety Network to provide all small businesses with an affordable method of differentiating themselves from cowboy operators.

The FSB was one of the first business groups to submit its Safety Network scheme for assessment by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) under the “Making The Market Work” Initiative.

Giles Quartly, who leads the ABI initiative said:

“We encourage all insurers to take note of the valuable work that the FSB is doing to improve health and safety and bring genuine business benefits to its members.”

The idea for Safety Network came from a working party that the FSB set up in response to escalating premiums for liability insurance.  The group included a number of key liability insurers who were tasked with coming up with constructive solutions to assist small firms.

David Perry, who chaired the FSB working party said:

“The common theme seemed to be that it was not cost effective for insurers to differentiate between good firms and the cowboys at the very smallest level.  This was leading to big increases in premiums or the withdrawal of insurance altogether for some types of business.”

He added: “Small firms told us that the majority of insurers were not taking their health and safety records into account.  At the same time a government report argued that more should be done to improve the link between the health and safety practice of firms, especially smaller ones, and their insurance premiums.” 

He concluded: “We need to make small firms fireproof to the cowboy accusation and an affordable proposal like this is the perfect start.”

Notes to Editors:

1.       The FSB is Britain's biggest business organisation with 185,000 members.  It exists to protect and promote the interests of the self employed, and all those who run their own business.  

2.       FSB Safety Network is designed to provide all firms with a means, over time, of demonstrating the quality of their operation.  It diagnoses problem areas, provides constructive alternative solutions and, compiles a real-time action plan. It is also cheap and easy to use.  For further information see: http://www.warren-hill.co.uk/safetynetwork.htm.

3.       The FSB was one of the first business organisations to highlight the difficulties that small firms and community groups were facing in securing liability insurance.  The FSB has maintained an ongoing dialogue with the Government and insurers and is encouraged by the start that has been made.  However the FSB is concerned that that the true extent of the ongoing problem has been masked by the changes to working practices introduced by some small firms and is lobbying to ensure that the more fundamental problems are addressed.

Contacts:

FSB Press Office (ISDN available):

Stephen Alambritis    020 7592 8112         07788 422155

David Bishop            020 7592 8113         07740 076848