52
APRIL 2015 PRO INSTALLER
PRO BUSINESS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
Safety App
Launched
For SMEs
RNF Digital Innovation has developed a new app
designed to help small and medium sized businesses
(SMEs) meet their health and safety requirements.
‘Homepreneurs’ Mistakenly
Think Home Insurance Will
Cover Their Business
New research from small business insurer, Direct
Line for Business and Enterprise Nation, conducted
in autumn last year, revealed 145,000 home-based
business owners have rejected business insurance on
the basis that they believe their business activities
are covered under their home insurance policy.
Home Contents Insurance can often cover
office equipment but
it does not offer the
full cover home business owners need.
By relying on their
home insurance alone,
they are putting their
businesses and livelihoods at risk.
The research also highlights that two in every
five home businesses are
not insured at all. This lack
of insurance puts home
businesses at significant
financial risk. Operators
of these businesses may
not recognise the potential
liabilities they face.
One in seven (14%) of
home businesses have clients visit their home. If a
customer is injured, or has
their property damaged
during a visit, a lack of
public liability insurance
could lead to financial
and legal obligations that
could bankrupt a business.
Jazz Gakhal, Head of
Direct Line for Business,
commented: “Home businesses are booming at the
moment; they are creating
jobs and local wealth, as
well as boosting the national economy by around £300
billion. With that in mind it’s
worrying to see that a significant proportion of them
have not taken out business
insurance to protect their
assets.
“Standard home insurance
will not necessarily cover
stock stored at home and
neither will it cover public
liability, or loss of earnings
due to an insurable event,
such as a flood or a fire.
Home Business Insurance
can be purchased in addition to home insurance and
provides essential business
cover for a wide range of
businesses operating from
home.”
Almost a third (29%) of
home business operators
believe they do not need
insurance because they are
not big enough. However,
even a small scale operation
could face significant liabilities potentially running into
hundreds and thousands
of pounds were they to be
found responsible for a customer being injured.
Small business insurers
should offer more advice
to new enterprises in order
to help them understand
their particular insurance
requirements. Direct Line
for Business offers a simple
online tool that can help
small businesses begin to
understand what insurance
is right for their operation.
The tool can be found
here: http://www.directlineforbusiness.co.uk/business-insurance
Source: www.
directlineforbusiness.co.uk
The free-to-download Safety Wizard
app, drawn directly from the Health
and Safety Executive (HSE) Toolbox
guidance, offers SMEs a solution to
help navigate a vast array of health
and safety information.
It’s the first time a Toolbox guidance app
has been developed using HSE website
based information and as a result will offer
SMEs the opportunity to access a treasure
trove of data at the touch of a button.
The Safety Wizard app gives the user access to straightforward advice on the most
common health and safety hazards and
shows how SMEs can take practical steps to
control the risks in their workplace.
There is advice on working environments
and on the most common causes of accidents with helpful do’s and don’ts. There
are sections on the most common hazards
such as electricity, gas, manual handling and
harmful substances as well as simple risk
assessment tools.
Rob Mannion, RNF Digital Innovation
Managing Director, said: “We are delighted
that the Health and Safety Executive have
supported us in developing the Safety Wizard app.
“It’s the first time that HSE’s Toolbox
guidance has been available in this format
and offers the user access to a rich seam of
information designed to address their workplace health and safety needs.”
Roger Thomas, Area Manager for Leamington based Pure Office, one of the first
businesses to use the app, said:
“Having access to a wide array of advice
and information from the Health and Safety
Executive, the key regulatory body in the
UK, in one app is such a huge help to small
and medium sized businesses.
In addition to the Health and Safety Toolbox data available on the app, RNF Digital
Innovation is planning additional future
functionality for the Safety Wizard including
a Health and Safety Consultants directory. This will give users the opportunity to
access the details and contacts for the best
Health and Safety consultants in the industry, most suited to dealing with the Health
and Safety needs of small and medium sized
businesses.
The Safety Wizard, which is exclusive to
the Apple iOS operating platforms, is
available now as a free download from
the Apple iTunes store.
Now in over 640 trade
counters... and growing!
Supported by our distribution network we could not have done it without you.