Changes at GroundCover The ‘CAB’ on insurance issues for Pitchcare members
Insurance specifically designed for grounds managers, groundsmen, grounds maintenance managers, greenkeepers and other professionals involved in grounds maintenance
In recent times we at GroundCover have become concerned that our service providers were not responding well enough or quickly enough to the insurance needs of Pitchcare members, so we have rung the changes, got rid of the bits that weren’t working, kept the bits that were and added some more which we think will really improve the service.
So what are the changes?
GroundCover has entered into an agreement with a new insurance broker, Allison & Partners
www.allisonandpartners.co.uk, who have a greater range of services and products available and a stronger presence in the market, which should deliver better prices and, perhaps most importantly, we now have a dedicated resource who you can call to discuss your problems, needs or just to get advice, and you don’t need to buy any insurance to get the service. In short we have become like The Citizen’s Advice Bureau on insurance issues for Pitchcare members.
So much for the changes but what haven’t we changed?
Well we haven’t changed Insurers
for the core Liability insurances (Hiscox Insurance Company Limited) because that works and, as the saying goes, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”.
This is what Terrain Aeration had to say about their service when they got into a spot of bother with a customer.
“A customer that we did some work for didn’t want to pay us and, to justify their position, tried to say that we hadn’t done the job properly. To make things worse they even suggested claiming losses for negligence against us! We felt this was totally unfair, they couldn’t substantiate it and we felt hadn’t done anything wrong. Our solicitor didn’t seem up to the job and, because there might be a claim against us, we advised our Insurers, Hiscox. The Solicitor that Hiscox provided to defend us was brilliant, we won and we are awaiting settlement from the customer and, what’s more, we just renewed our GroundCover insurance with Hiscox through Allison & Partners and our premium went down from £787.50 to £525, how good is that!”
We haven’t changed the Insurers for Machinery and Equipment
cover either because they pay claims as well! After all if you've paid your premium you expect to get your claims paid quickly and without quibbles, so you can get back to work and earn a living.
Okay, so that's the changes sorted and we’ve told you what hasn’t changed, but what else?
We are working with the new broker on a range of new ideas, and here are just a few:
Premium in instalments
We haven't been able to do this up to now but Allison & Partners will be able to offer “easy” terms, and we are looking at the option of instalments only during the peak working season so that you only pay whilst you are earning, the choice will be yours.
Commercial and Personal motor
We had to use a separate service provider for this before, but Allison & Partners can arrange cover for you “in house”.
Bespoke business packages
If there is one thing that GroundCover has learnt it is that all you Pitchcare members are different, and that you all have different insurance needs so, in Allison & Partners, we have
chosen a provider who can deliver what you need, whatever it is, in a “one stop shop”.
How would we sum this all up?
Well, I think we would say that in the beginning we had two Insurance products:-
1 Public Liability, Employer's Liability and Professional Indemnity
2 Machinery and Equipment “All Risks”
But now we have three:
1 Public Liability, Employer's Liability and Professional Indemnity
2 Machinery and Equipment “All Risks”
3 Anything you want. Just give us a call!
Call Neil Ramsdale or Sarah Brooker at Allison & Partners on 01621 841991 or email
neil@allisonandpartners.co.uk or
sarah@allisonandpartners.co.uk and again, remember to say that you are a Pitchcare/GroundCover customer so that they can give you the right service.
BASIS invite for Scotts Scotts technical manager becomes BASIS examiner
GARY Smith, Scotts Senior Area Sales Manager for Scotland and Northern Ireland, has recently accepted an invitation to become a BASIS Examiner. He is a member of the professional register, passing the initial membership course seventeen years ago and the more in depth Facts element in 2004.
BASIS is an independent organisation set up in 1978 at the suggestion of the UK Government to establish and assess standards in the pesticide industry relating to storage, transport and the competence of staff.
To become a BASIS examiner you have to be invited and Gary was delighted to learn that his name had been put forward for selection by Richard Minton, Chairman of the BASIS Amenity Committee, Chairman of the National Association of
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Agricultural and Amenity Contractors and a member of the Pesticide Action Plan Committee and the Amenity Forum.
“I’ve known Gary as a manufacturer’s representative for many years.” said Richard. “He is highly respected within the industry and meets all the criteria required to be an effective examiner. As a professional who offers advice and solutions to the amenity and sports turf industry, I'm acutely aware of the need for objective advisors to offer guidance on the appropriate and safe application of products. Who better to assess and arbitrate on this advice than a representative of a manufacturer, with all the technical training and vast amount of experience to call on?"
Gary has acquired an in-depth knowledge of products and applications through his career in
this industry. Before joining Scotts six years ago, he has had first hand experience of turf management as a greenkeeper and gained some sales experience with other pesticide companies.
When asked why he was eager to accept what is, essentially, a voluntary position, requiring dedication and commitment, he replied. “It is important to Scotts that anyone purchasing and using their products has total confidence in the information given to them by the sales representative. The BASIS standard of training, up to date technical knowledge and implementation of current safety standards is of the highest level. By becoming an examiner I can help ensure these standards are recognised and adopted on a much wider scale.”
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