It’s been a busy few months for Construction Insure’s campaigning MD Mark Herbert with widespread media attention for his efforts to improve practices within the construction and building insurance sector.
Never content to sit back and let issues in the sector go unaddressed Mark has actively campaigned throughout 2018 for changes and improvements to be made across the industry. His efforts have been picked up widely by the media with more than 60 items of news coverage so far this year alone.
Mark has campaigned for contractors and homeowners to protect themselves against the epidemic of underinsurance plaguing the sector, winning coverage in titles including Roofing Today, Total Contractor and Planning & Building Control Today.
And as well as providing advice to home owners looking to do renovations over the bank holiday in the Daily Express, he warned businesses with vehicle fleets that they were a target for extortionate insurance premiums due to greedy claims management companies in Fleetpoint and Transport News.
Most notably, his efforts to push for the HM Treasury to introduce legislation preventing price comparison sites from offering their services to contractors attracted the attention of insurance press and Government officials who thanked him for his response.
Mark feels passionately about this issue as he believes thousands of contractors operating in the UK construction sector are under insured because of using price comparison websites. He has campaigned for changes in legislation to ensure all providers are adequately covered for the projects they undertake. He has received widespread media attention for this in titles including Insurance Business, Insurance Edge and Professional Heating & Plumbing Installer.
He also offered advice about the implications of Brexit for homeowners looking to extend and renovate their houses in Development Finance Today and concentrated on busting insurance jargon in Installer Online and Electrical Times to provide clarity for insurance novices.
Mark also gained widespread attention in Insurance Business UK, Show House and Construction Global for offering his advice services to worried construction sector bosses in need of support and help navigating Brexit with the changing economic climate.
Mark Herbert said: “At Construction Insure the whole team cares a great deal about the standards and practices within this sector. Unlike many brokers we aren’t satisfied merely to operate within the industry but rather we actively campaign to improve it.
“That means where we see issues we go out there and do our best to address them. For me personally there are several issues which I feel very strongly about and over the past few months I have been campaigning to highlight these issues through the media in the hope of encouraging as many practitioners as possible to actively raise their standards.
“One of the most pressing issues is the widespread use of price comparison websites within the industry, particularly by contractors. The use of these sites often results in the purchase of an insurance policy which isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.
“This isn’t usually the contractor’s fault, they believe they are buying adequate cover. The problem is when it comes to price comparison it’s a race to the bottom and there are literally hundreds of thousands of contractors across the UK who aren’t insured for work they carry out every day as a result.
“I have taken this issue up with the UK Government because I feel something must be done urgently to address the problem. While the Government have written to me to thank me for raising the issue I am still waiting for positive action to be taken and I shall continue to campaign until I feel this issue has been adequately addressed.”
He added that uncertainty over Brexit was also impacting the sector and his opinions on this have also been widely reported in the media.
Mark said: “This is a trying time for workers in the construction sector with Brexit increasing uncertainty for the future of business and trade. Firms are worried about increased labour costs post Brexit and a possible downturn in business if the UK exits the EU without a strong trade deal.
“Our role as specialists in the field is to provide advice and protection for businesses in the current economic climate. We aim to offer help and guidance whenever we can to those in the construction sector and to property developers and home owners.
“We are here to guide them through all their insurance needs to help cover our customers and keep investments safe. As insurance brokers, we can advise on correct policies and negotiate the best rates for cover too, rather than using price comparison sites.”
