26-10-2007
Less trick and more treat for your business this Halloween
by Karen Baldwin
Halloween is probably one of; if not the busiest time of the year for certain businesses, particularly fancy dress shops, party goods suppliers, event organisers, pubs and clubs, and DJs.
One of the oldest celebrations in the world, Halloween dates back more than 2000 years to the time of the Celts and has long been known as a time for making mischief. In real terms this means that although it is a lucrative time of year, it also has the potential to be costly if a business doesn’t have the correct insurance in place.
Halloween is widely recognised as a night for making mischief, when children – and quite often adults – knock on doors demanding a treat and dispensing a punishment (or trick) if they aren’t rewarded for their efforts. People disguise themselves as witches, ghosts or goblins in the name of fun in order to obtain goodies or even money from neighbours.
While in the past such activities were conducted in a spirit of good-will, it is more often seen as a nuisance these days, with ‘tricks’ becoming an excuse to cause damage to property and to scare more elderly members of the community.
In addition to the trouble caused by rogue teenagers, Halloween is increasing becoming a time for drunken revelry and in many towns this directly affects businesses. Many business-owners experience damage to their shop or business premises as a result of rowdy teenagers and drunken partygoers taking the Trick or Treat concept a little too far.
What may seem like harmless fun at the time can end up being extremely costly to the owner of a shop, pub or restaurant. Shop owners may be left to scrub off graffiti or replace broken windows and publicans have the added pressure of keeping their customers under control and preventing accidents on their premises.
Make sure you have the right insurance
Hopefully most shop owners these days know the value, in fact necessity, of having insurance in place to ensure the security of their business and its ability to continue to operate. However, it is worth checking your policy to ensure that you are covered for the types of damage that may occur.
Would your business be adequately covered if local trouble-makers decided to make some mischief this Halloween, with your shop front or business premises as the target?
Specialist insurance cover for shops and pubs should be considered a minimum for any such business. This is generally offered as a package that includes Public Liability insurance along with a choice of other covers such as Employer’s Liability, Business Interruption etc.
Employer’s Liability is a legal requirement for all businesses that employ staff. It covers your business if a staff member makes a compensation claim against you for accident or injury while at work. This type of insurance is particularly notable for pub and club owners as the unexpected tends to happen more often when alcohol consumption is involved!
Public Liability insurance provides cover should your business activities or premises cause injury or death to a person or damage to their property.
Other relevant covers worth considering for the time of year include insurance for buildings, contents and stock as well as more specialist covers such as glass replacement cover. This generally provides 24 hour replacement cover for items such as smashed or broken windows and doors.
Glass replacement is a very serious consideration for business owners who won’t like the thought of their business being completely exposed and unsecured until the following business day, should a brick, rock or even a person somehow make its way through your shop window or door in the early hours of the morning.
Prepare for the unexpected
While more specialist Halloween suppliers such as fancy dress stores and event organisers don’t have to worry about damage to their property, they do need to make sure that their insurance covers the extra activity surrounding the celebration. Fancy dress suppliers should ensure that the full value of their rental costumes and props is covered and event companies, venues and DJs need to be confident that they have the appropriate level of Public Liability cover.
For example, if a drunk party-guest was to trip over a cord from a DJ’s sound equipment and injure himself, he may decide to sue the DJ. Similarly, if a table provided by a party goods supplier was to collapse and crush a person’s foot, this would most probably result in a public liability claim being made.
Make the most of it!
For all the warnings, however, Halloween shouldn’t only be judged as toil and trouble for businesses, who will get the best out of the occasion by getting into the spirit of things. With the right insurance in place and a watchful eye, there is no reason why a business owner shouldn’t get through the night without any real frights.
And if your premiums start to get a bit too scary – well, you can always get some independent quotes from a new provider. Simply Business offers a great choice of insurers and will get you quoted and covered well in time for Halloween and beyond!
