A Guide for Musicians from the BBC
Music, noise and hearing: how to play your part.
A guide for musicians by BBC Safety.
VAT on Alterations to Listed Buildings
On 21st March 2012 the government announced its intention to remove the zero rate of VAT for approved alterations to listed buildings. This means that from 1st October 2012 the standard rate of VAT will apply to the alteration of a listed building.
The decision to add 20% VAT to approved alterations of a listed building could have severe consequences for owners of listed buildings who will be immediately effected by this change. If you are planning on altering your listed building or you’re already in the process of doing so, beware that your costs will increase by 20% from 1st of October this year.
Media Portfolio Policy Update
We are pleased to announce that following negotiation with specialist media insurer Hiscox we can now extend our exclusive Media Portfolio product to include:
- Directors’ & Officers’ Liability - making decisions on behalf of your firm puts you at personal risk of legal action for allegations of wrongful trading. D&O insurance can protect your key people.
- Professional Indemnity - protecting you against allegations of negligence, breach of duty or mismanagement.
If you would like to extend your policy with these specially negotiated premiums email me or to talk through any questions call me on 01223 200655.
La Playa’s new Probate Property Protection provides the answer to the age old problem of insuring unoccupied property.
Ever been called out on a Sunday afternoon for a burst pipe at a property in probate hundreds of miles away? It happens. Probate Property Protection is a comprehensive insurance package designed to protect both your clients’ property and your own schedule:
- Comprehensive insurance for unoccupied property
- Short term cover available (3 months minimum)
- Initial cover for home contents available
- 2 cover options: restricted/extended perils incl. subsidence*
- We survey the property’s condition for you – 2 options available
- A specialist adviser at the end of the phone
- Discounted 24hr Home Emergency call-out (just £25)
- Intelligent approach for optimum pricing
*(subject to survey)
For more details, drop me a line and let me know how I can help! Or click here for our simple application form.
Mike Taylor-West, Head of Private Client & Marine London
T: 020 7002 1544
Olympic-Proof Your Business
London 2012 Olympics
Have you considered how the Olympic Games might affect your business? Reduced workforce, slower internet services, disruption from the extra security?
Time for a quick insurance and risk management review:
- Check alternative routes into work for your staff – can some staff work from home? Olympics sites are listed here (10 outside of London).
- Ensure that you have Terrorism Insurance in place, unless you have specifically purchased the coverage, you’ll be seriously exposed.
- How would you deal with a communications failure? Plan for possible network downtime.
- For key staff who need to travel, be prepared for travel delays and work them into your business planning. Make sure your travel insurance provides cover for disruption and cancellation.
- How would your organisation hold-up following a cyber attack? Do you have Cyber Liability cover?
- Even if you’re not in London, your key suppliers (telecoms, internet service etc.) may be – and downtime could cost you dearly.
Finally, ensure that you review your Business Interruption insurance to avoid unpleasant surprises in the event of a major incident.
If you are concerned about any of the topics mentioned email me (matthew.clark@laplayainsurance.com) or call me on 01223 200667.
Matt Clark, Director Science & Technology
The Biggest Event Of The Decade Is Coming. Can You Afford Not to Buy Cancellation Insurance?
Paula Hawthorne, Head of Performing Arts at La Playa
In a year of high profile performance events, insurance specialist Paula Hawthorne urges arts organisations to work through their risk exposures to cancellation – and to think smart when buying Cancellation Insurance.
2012 is shaping up as an exciting year for the arts in the UK, with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the London 2012 Olympic Games and London 2012 Festival, the culmination of the largest ever Cultural Olympiad. Due to the size of these events, many arts organisations across the country are being pulled in to create spectacular and memorable performances, but being involved with such high-profile events also brings high-level threats to organisations. The key risks are travel disruption, denial of access to venues or offices (especially those with premises near the Olympic sites), cyber attacks or worse, terrorist threats/attacks. With this in mind, Cancellation Insurance should be a vital piece of armour for arts organisations and events companies this summer.
Traditionally, Cancellation Insurance has been perceived as expensive; in fact, it’s infinitely flexible – so you can be smart about it and only buy cover for your worst risk exposures. You can also get cover for specific periods of time, so if you’re planning an event around the Olympics, you could get cover specifically for this, and this only.
Cost-saving Cancellation Insurance tips
1. Insure against specific risks: what’s your worst “what if”?
· Venue closure due to fire, flood, failure of safety curtain, sanitation problems or access being denied (e.g.: if the area is cordoned off by the police)?
· Non-appearance of artists due to illness, injury or travel delays?
· Terrorist attack or threat at the venue or in the vicinity?
· Adverse weather for outdoor events? A water-logged site deemed too dangerous by the Health & Safety officer, or staging declared unsafe due to high winds?
2. Insure a specific period of time
3. Insure specific parts of your budget: areas where cancellation would really impact your revenue – for example your highest earning tour, or your biggest performer.
4. Get the cover in place in good time – 3 months in advance for better rates – but 14 days as a minimum.
The arts present some major implications for insurance, so it’s important to work with a specialist broker who understands your work. An experienced and well-connected broker should be able to secure rates from 1.0% at the moment, which was unheard of a few years ago.
“With our specialist knowledge and experience in the arts we can present a more realistic picture to the insurer of the actual risks arts organisations face, and achieve better terms. Cancellation Insurance isn’t a no-brainer – you need to be smart about it – but rates are excellent at the moment and it could really save your bacon”, says Paula Hawthorne, Head of Performing Arts at La Playa.
For more information contact Paula, Paula.hawthorne@laplayainsurance.com or call her on 01223 200654.
Suits in Boots 2012 – The Results
The 2012 ‘Suits in Boots’ football extravaganza, in support of the Street Child World Cup charity, culminated with victory for Deloitte with their win against Eversheds. La Playa also triumphed in the women’s final against London 2012 with a climactic penalty shoot-out.
The local business community came together on Sunday April 15, despite the wind and rain, to battle it out on the pitch. Matthew Mullee, an Ambassador for the Deloitte-sponsored Street Child World Cup and Private Client Director at specialist insurance broker La Playa, is the driving force behind the football 5-a-side tournament, with teams participating from the biggest professional firms in Cambridge. An avid footballer himself, Matt also coaches the Swavesey Spartans under-9s.
“Streets kids from Brazil kick-started this year’s tournament, and the winners’ trophies were presented by Simon Mayo, BBC radio broadcaster and a supporter of the charity. We raised £1,500, which is fantastic. The kids go back to Brazil empowered as ambassadors and their voice grows ever louder. This was the third time we’ve organised the tournament and we’re already full of ideas for next year!” Matthew Mullee, Private Client Director, La Playa
The sponsorship of the 2014 Street Child World Cup in Brazil is already underway with opportunities aplenty. Over 20 street kids’ teams from across the globe will compete in the tournament. The charity (http://streetchildworldcup.org/) gives a voice to street children across the globe who have no shelter, no education, no healthcare and no rights, and is a project that will run through to the next World Cup and beyond. These children aren’t even “a number” – no records exist for them, and abuse goes unnoticed. Conceived in Cambridge and played out in 2010 in Durban, the event has spiralled into a global campaign with endorsements from Gordon Brown, David Beckham and Gary Lineker.
“When people see us by the streets, they say that we are the street boys. But when they see us playing soccer, they say that we are not the street boys. They say that we are people like them. They are people like us.” Andile, 15, Duban
Suits in Boots
La Playa will again front the Cambridge business community in a “World Cup” 5-a-side tournament to support the Street Child World Cup.
Matthew Mullee, an Ambassador for the Street Child World Cup and Private Client Director at specialist insurance broker La Playa, is the driving force behind the football 5-a-side tournament, with teams from across theCambridge business community. An avid footballer himself, Matt also coaches the Swavesey Spartans under-9’s.
Hosted by the generosity of Downing College, this year the tournament will take place on Sunday 15 April from 12.30pm onwards at Downing College Sports Ground, Granchester Road. 14 men’s and ladies teams from the Cambridge business community will come together for a football 5-a-side tournament, a fun day with colleagues and families to support the Street Child World Cup. Streets kids fromBrazil will be there to kick-start this year’s tournament. The winners’ trophies will be presented by Simon Mayo, BBC radio broadcaster and a supporter of the charity.
Brazil will play host to the second Street Child World Cup, next year. Building on the success of the event in Durban in 2010, the 2014 event will bring teams of street children from 20 countries to compete. The Street Child World Cup (http://streetchildworldcup.org/) gives a voice to street children across the globe who have no shelter, no education, no healthcare and no rights. These kids aren’t even “a number” – no records exist for them, and abuse goes unnoticed. Conceived in Cambridge, the event has spiralled into a global campaign with endorsements from Gordon Brown, David Beckham and Gary Lineker.
End of tax year spring clean
Claiming tax relief on pension contributions
It’s possible to make additional pension contributions by the end of this tax year, over and above the normal annual allowance. An individual can go back up to 3 previous tax years and “mop-up” any unused contribution allowance that they may not have used.
The present legislation restricts a client to a maximum pension contribution of 100% of their earned income in any one tax year up to a maximum of £50,000. However if you have not made this level of contributions in previous years, then you can use any unused allowance, known as “carry-forward”. These additional contributions will also benefit from tax relief at your highest marginal rate.
Example: intervening years (2009/10 and 2010/11)
Helen earns £85,000 a year and has already paid £50,000 to her SIPP to use up her annual allowance for the tax year 2011/12. She received a large inheritance and would like to make a further pension contribution to use up unused annual allowance from previous years.
Helen’s history of pension funding for the previous three tax years and her carry forward calculation are as follows:
|
Tax year |
Pension input amount |
Unused allowance |
Cumulative carry forward available |
|
2008/09 |
£20,000 |
£30,000 |
£30,000 |
|
2009/10 |
£70,000 |
Nil |
£30,000 |
|
2010/11 |
£15,000 |
£35,000 |
£65,000 |
The key point to note is that, although Helen’s contributions for 2009/10 were more than £50,000, the £20,000 excess doesn’t use up any of her unused allowance from 2008/09.
She decides to pay a further £35,000 to her SIPP, giving her a total pension input amount of £85,000 for tax year 2011/12 (the largest personal contribution she can obtain tax relief on). This will use up the £30,000 unused allowance from 2008/09 plus £5,000 of the unused allowance from 2010/11, leaving £30,000 of unused allowance from 2010/11 available for future years.
If it is not used by April 2012, then any unused allowance for the tax year 2008/9 is lost for good…
Contact Mike Palmer, Financial Services Manager for more information:
E: mike.palmer@laplayainsurance.com or T: 01223 200674
