To put this challenge in to perspective, more people have travelled in to space, climbed Everest or have been to the South Pole than rowed across the Atlantic Ocean!

The race starts on the island of La Gomera in the Canary Islands and finishes 2933 miles away in English Harbour, Antigua. Dan and Will are undertaking this gruelling challenge in order to raise in excess of £200,000 for 3 charities which are important to both of them. These are Cancer Research UK, Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research and St Anna’s.

Lycetts are proud to support Dan and Will in their epic challenge by becoming members of the race 250 Club.

Whether the scheme is small or large scale, new build or the development of an existing or historic structure, the risks associated with any type of construction project are high, and the unexpected often happens. Contracts must be structured with the site owner taking responsibility for arranging the requisite insurance protection. It is therefore essential to take your broker’s advice at an early stage in the planning process and certainly before any building contract is signed.

Having control of your own insurance programme provides many benefits including broader cover, reduced costs, greater peace of mind, reduced administration, improved cash flow and control of losses.

In spite of this, many clients do rely on their contractors’ insurance, this being the easy option. By doing so they risk the following:

• Insurance costs – duplication and overlap of insurance cover. The main contractor will have cover, as will each of the sub-contractors employed on the project.  Each of their insurers will be looking at a minimum premium, incorporating a contingency premium in case the other contractors’ insurers fail to meet their obligations in the event of a claim;
• Administrative burden – under a contractor controlled programme, the employer or his representatives must check the insurances arranged by the contractor and sub-contractors, both at the outset and at yearly intervals. For phased contracts, this should be checked before the commencement of each phase. Cover should be assessed in terms of the extent of cover arranged, security of the insurer and up to date payment of premiums.  Adequate expertise is imperative and any delay in such verification can increase the cost of the project;
• Phased work delays – where different main contractors are employed for each phase of a project it can become difficult to establish responsibility for any losses that may arise.  Delays in dealing with claims while insurers argue amongst themselves will inevitably lead to increased project costs;
• Cash flow problems – the contractor will endeavour to recoup his total premium expenditure within the first monthly payment;
• Financial loss to the employer – can arise as a result of the contractor having arranged inadequate insurance.  This may be as a result of unpaid premiums, cover not being broad enough, poor financial standing of the insurer, a breach of a policy warranty, deliberate misrepresentation of facts or underwriting information, contractor liquidation or business failure and many more.

These difficulties can be largely eliminated under an employer controlled programme. As a consequence insurance and administration costs can be minimised, disputes between insurers avoided, premiums spread over time with claims controlled by the employer and his insurer. In addition to which the security of the insurer, breadth of cover and disclosure of underwriting information is all in the employer’s hands.

For further information and advice, please contact David Wishart on 0191 232 1151 or by email on david.wishart@lycetts.co.uk.

In recent years we have seen event insurance claims caused by everything from flooding to Foot & Mouth Disease; from volcanic ash clouds disrupting air travel to riots in London. Whether your event is as large as the Olympics, or as small as the local agricultural show, it is worth considering some form of event contingency cover.

Just suppose you are the organiser of a major polo tournament and the ponies get stuck in a road traffic accident on the way to the tournament, or the yard succumbs to an outbreak of strangles and you have to cancel. You’re holding an outdoor concert for charity and the lead singer cries off with an illness at 24 hours’ or less notice. This is where a good Cancellation or Abandonment policy can save the day by covering loss of total expenditure or total revenue including profit.

It is possible to obtain ‘off the peg’ insurance solutions which may work for the more ‘run of the mill’ events such as parties, weddings, dinners and conferences. However, once you introduce any rather more unpredictable elements into the equation such as animals, celebrities and more notably the weather, this type of cover may be found lacking. The safest approach for organisers of any event is to tailor their policy to meet their own specific needs.

Outdoor events are obviously prone to problems caused by the weather and mass gatherings of people but some good contingency planning will go a long way towards helping you to obtain cover.  For example car parking and access arrangement plans are key and the provision of an emergency backup plan will demonstrate good risk management.

At Lycetts we have experienced people with specialist knowledge and access to niche markets who can facilitate the more unusual covers for the likes of bad weather, terrorism, disease outbreaks (both animal and human) and non appearance of key people.

Any event organiser knows to expect the unexpected, but having a safety net when cancellation is the only option left should help reduce the number of sleepless nights.

For further information and advice, please contact Henry Norton on 0191 232 1151 or by email on henry.norton@lycetts.co.uk.

A recent survey found that 33 per cent of us ignore the old style ringing alarm bell, presuming someone else will sort it out. The police no longer respond to reports of alarm bells going off without some other evidence  that a crime has been committed, particularly in isolated rural locations, hence users of such systems may find themselves relying on neighbours to call for help.

Although some 94 per cent of thieves will avoid properties possessing any form of alarm system according to a recent survey of reformed burglars, a more comprehensive protection option is advisable. Most monitored systems qualify automatically for police response, and can also be zoned, offering greater levels of protection.

A number of different types of monitored alarm systems exist and costs vary. Some use the telephone line to create an alert, others more sophisticated technology, plus additional options such as a keyholding service. This has the advantage of a quick response time as well as ensuring the premises are swiftly re-secured, so that in the case of a business, disruption can be kept to a minimum.

Thieves as well as alarms are becoming ever more sophisticated and the adoption of new technology should be considered as an investment, not only giving peace of mind, but also a means of keeping insurance premiums affordable, as their adoption will generally bring about savings.

For further information and advice, please contact Jonathan Lloyd on 0207 423 0900 or by email on jonathan.lloyd@lycetts.co.uk.

It is important to ensure that adequate cover is in place for a wide range of eventualities and before a commitment is made to opening a garden it is essential that its owner consults their broker with details of the event such as its date and numbers expected.

If you open your garden to the public for one-off events to raise funds for charity, you must be aware of the insurance implications. The major consideration is public liability and all reasonable measures must be taken to prevent accidents to others.

After the fairly extreme conditions late on in winter with the heavy snow and high winds, trees and pathways could be a hazard if not checked thoroughly. It is therefore essential to ensure that paths are safe to walk on and fragile boughs are pruned from trees.

If refreshments are on offer, all reasonable steps must be taken to make sure that what is being eaten or sold is of an acceptable standard.

Outside caterers and stall holders should have their own insurance cover for the event, and should be asked to produce a copy of their own schedule showing that their products liability cover is in place.

Further liabilities relate to employees or volunteers, and advice should be sought from your broker on these issues.

For further information and advice, please contact William Barne on 0131 225 9119 or by email on william.barne@lycetts.co.uk.

Dobbin said: “In the parade ring beforehand Martin and David Pipe told me that this was one of their coups so it was a bit scary but it all worked out alright in the end. I think I might have to give this up soon, I’m still blowing pretty hard.”　

The money raised was donated to the Bob Champion Cancer Trust and Bob Champion, led the runners to the start in the colours he carried to victory in the 1981 Grand National on Aldaniti, said: “That was fantastic. Jonjo and I had a lovely time gazing up at the sky. Between them the guys in the race had ridden thousands of winners between them and they clearly still know what they’re doing.”

Donations are still welcome via Tony Dobbin Cancer Trust donations page on Just Giving.

The John Smith’s Aintree Legends Charity Race will take place for the third year to celebrate the anniversary of Bob Champion and Aldaniti creating ‘racings greatest fairytale’  winning the 1981 Grand National.

Twelve legendary jockeys will take up the reins in this one mile five furlong flat race. If you would like further information or to support The Bob Champion Cancer Trust, please click the link below

Tony Dobbin, Aintree Legend

To download your own PDF version, visit the Financial Services section of this site by clicking the link below and via the Tax Tables tab you can access the downloadable file.

Lycetts Financial Services

For further information and advice, please contact Nick Straker on 0191 232 1151 or email nick.straker@lycetts.co.uk.

Unless the yard is under the exclusive ownership of an existing trainer and included in their insurance coverages, it is vitally important that these facilities have their own independent liability insurance cover for not least because Employers’ Liability cover is a legal requirement. Trainers who send horses to pre-training yards have an obligation to ensure that these yards have at least comparable cover to their own, including Care, Custody and Control insurance to protect themselves and their owners.

Although this insurance should be mandatory for everyone, it is especially important in the major training centres of Newmarket, Lambourn and Middleham.  A claim from an injured third party caused by a horse resident at an uninsured facility, will, under the strict liability ruling of the Animals Act, likely end at the owners door and could have disastrous counter-suit consequences for everyone else involved with the horse.

Pensions:  The maximum annual allowance or amount you can pay into pension is to reduce from £50,000 to £40,000 from 6 April 2014.  There is still the ability to carry forward unused relief from the previous three years.

From the 5 April 2014 the ‘lifetime allowance’, which represents the maximum amount you may have in a pension fund without suffering tax at 55% on the excess will reduce from £1.5m to £1.25m.  You will be able to apply for ‘fixed protection’ to secure the £1.5m limit but you then cannot pay any further contributions.

Pension contributions attract income tax relief at your highest marginal rate or attract Corporation Tax relief on company contributions.  The highest rate of Income Tax reduces from 50% to 45% from 6 April 2013, so if possible, contributions should be paid prior to 5 April 2013.  Labour have indicated that, if they got into power, they would limit tax relief on premiums to the basic rate only (20%).

Individual Savings Accounts (ISA) – These savings are free from Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax (CGT).  The maximum contribution for this tax year is £11,280 per person and this will increase to £11,520 on 6 April so a couple could invest up to £45,600 by 6 April 2013.

Enterprise Investment Schemes (EIS) - EIS attract income tax relief of 30% on investment as well as unlimited CGT deferral, allowing tax free capital growth, loss relief and potential Inheritance tax (IHT) exemption after two years. The maximum per investor is £500K p.a. or £1m if the previous tax year allowance remains unused.  The plan must be held for three years to retain the income tax relief.

Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) – VCTs attract the same income tax relief as an EIS and provide tax-free dividends.  However, they are ineligible for CGT deferral and potential IHT exemption.  The plan term is five years and the maximum investment is £200,000 per annum.

Junior ISAs – Parents and grandparents can invest up to £3,600 this tax year into a Junior ISA for a child under age 18 who does not have a Child Trust Fund.  This allowance increases to £3,720 next tax year and cannot be carried forward so it is lost if not used.  A similar investment can also be made into a Stakeholder Pension for children and grandchildren.

CGT – Annual exemption of £10,600 per person with transfers between spouses being exempt.  CGT at 18% for basic rate income tax payers and 28% for higher rate payers.  Entrepreneurs Relief at 10% for business gains of up to £10m.  Annual exemptions cannot be carried forward and are lost if not used.

Inheritance Tax (IHT) – The nil rate band before tax becomes payable is £325,000 but can be transferrable between spouses so the exemption on the second death is £650,000.  IHT is payable on death at 40% on taxable assets in excess of this. Should you have an IHT liability, a review of any potential liability to your estate is the first step towards planning for a solution.