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MFL News Page

Visit our News section on our new look website http://www.m-f-l.co.uk

Discover the latest professional insurance news on events, technical bulletins written by MFL staff and articles on our new look website m-f-l.co.uk.

Up to date information that’s tailored especially for professionals looking for professional insurance updates will be in our News section from now on.

Visit m-f-l.co.uk/news now for all the latest in professional insurance news.

Disclaimer: MFL is happy for articles to be used in reputable publications, websites and companies in a public domain. Third parties that haven’t directly received this article in the form of an electronic press release must receive express permission from MFL, the sole owners of all of this website’s marketing and PR content.

To receive permission or to make further enquiries, call or email MFL’s Marketing team.

Martin Jackson

Tel: 0161 237 7728

E-mail: martinj@m-f-l.co.uk

Karolyn Judge

Tel: 0161 237 7734

E-mail: karolynj@m-f-l.co.uk

Indemnity Accounts – August 2014 issue

Indemnity_Accounts

Download the article by clicking on the image above

Professional Indemnity Insurance At Risk: Tax Mitigation Schemes

You may be aware that many Professional Indemnity Insurers are beginning to take a hard line with those practices who have been involved in tax avoidance or mitigation schemes, even those that have merely introduced their clients to a specialist tax product provider and given no “advice”.

Download a copy of our latest newsletter, which explains our approach in further detail.

Disclaimer: MFL is happy for articles to be used in reputable publications, websites and companies in a public domain. Third parties that haven’t directly received this article in the form of an electronic press release must receive express permission from MFL, the sole owners of all of this website’s marketing and PR content.

To receive permission or to make further enquiries, call or email MFL’s Marketing team.

Martin Jackson

Tel: 0161 237 7728

E-mail: martinj@m-f-l.co.uk

Karolyn Judge

Tel: 0161 237 7734

E-mail: karolynj@m-f-l.co.uk

McParland Finn Ltd presents local businessman and ecologist from Dorset one of Britain’s top professional ecology awards

Guest speaker, leading independent environmentalist Chris Baines, MFL Managing Director Kevin McParland, Will Bond of Alaska Environmental Contracting and ceremony host, actress Helen Lederer (L-R)

Guest speaker, leading independent environmentalist Chris Baines, MFL Managing Director Kevin McParland, Will Bond of Alaska Environmental Contracting and ceremony host, comedienne and actress Helen Lederer (L-R)

Will Bond, Managing Director of environmental restoration and creation company Alaska Environmental Contracting was announced as the winner of a coveted award from the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) at an exclusive luncheon at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens hosted by comedienne and Absolutely Fabulous actress Helen Lederer, with guest speaker, leading independent environmentalist Chris Baines.

CIEEM is the leading professional membership body representing and supporting ecologists and environmental managers in Britain and abroad. The CIEEM Awards celebrate excellence in the field, honouring individuals, organisations and projects that demonstrate exemplary and inspirational best practice in their industry, with previous winners including Sir David Attenborough.

Will Bond won the CIEEM Outstanding Professional Award sponsored by McParland Finn Ltd. The award recognises exceptional achievements of a CIEEM member that, throughout their career, has been committed to delivering consistently high standards of knowledge and skill sharing, and leadership in the field of ecology and environmental management.

As part of his nomination, Mr Bond was repeatedly praised for his overriding positivity in his application of environmental restoration projects, which are often faced with planning and budget constraints. His determination for the construction industry to recognise and collaborate with ecological contractors such as his company Alaska Environmental Contracting, has led to the involvement of ecological management and restoration processes on an historically large scale in high profile infrastructure projects such as Manchester Airport.

Broking Manager Joe Aspinall, Outstanding Professional Award winner Will Bond, Director Martin Jackson at the CIEEM Awards 2014 (L-R)

Broking Manager Joe Aspinall, Outstanding Professional Award winner Will Bond, Director Martin Jackson at the CIEEM Awards 2014 (L-R)

Across his career, Will Bond has been committed to using innovative methods of restoration processes that are tailored to individual projects, working with clients and professional experts to deliver optimum outcomes. In East Anglia his team scaled up the capacity of fen restoration by supplementing hand cutters with large amphibious machinery, reversing decades of fen loss and inhibiting scrub invasion. The scale and quality of river restoration processes undertaken by his team is also recognised, as setting a gold standard in the field.

Sally Hayns, Chief Executive of CIEEM says: “With more categories than ever before, this year’s awards ceremony is an opportunity for us to shine a light on individuals and organisations across the country who are leading and developing pioneering ecology projects and research, many of which have made a substantial impact in protecting and enhancing Britain’s biodiversity.”

Martin Jackson, Director at McParland Finn Ltd, who sponsored the CIEEM Outstanding Professional Award says: “We recognise the importance of consistently delivering high standards and combined with our long standing commitment to the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management members. McParland Finn Ltd is delighted to be supporting the CIEEM Outstanding Professional Award category, in recognising this exceptional achievement.”

*Photo credit: Steve Burden

Disclaimer: MFL is happy for articles to be used in reputable publications, websites and companies in a public domain. Third parties that haven’t directly received this article in the form of an electronic press release must receive express permission from MFL, the sole owners of all of this website’s marketing and PR content.

To receive permission or to make further enquiries, call or email MFL’s Marketing team.

Martin Jackson

Tel: 0161 237 7728

E-mail: martinj@m-f-l.co.uk

Karolyn Judge

Tel: 0161 237 7734

E-mail: karolynj@m-f-l.co.uk

 

SRA proposal to amend the minimum terms

SRA propsal to amend the minimum terms

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The announcement by the SRA of changes to the Minimum Terms could not be more ill-timed. There should be no suggestion of adopting these revised terms at renewal in September 2014. Firms must take care to discuss the position with their advisers. Participants in the insurance market cannot assess the proposed terms and resolve their positions in time to introduce the changes at renewal this year. At best there will be some sort of knee jerk reaction and a last minute fight by smaller practices to obtain cover late in the day – again!

The outcome envisaged by the SRA will not materialise. The proposed limit of indemnity of £500,000 for smaller practices is where the majority of claims activity takes place. Therefore, there would be no reduction in claims activity, and no reduction in premium, but there would be many firms left exposed with too low a limit, which could adversely affect the financial stability of firms and their owners.

The cost of topping up the limit from a starting point of £500,000 as opposed to the current £2m will be significantly more expensive.

There is talk of major lenders demanding higher limits, failing which they will exclude small firms from their panels, along with firms’ bankers looking for more security, particularly if the £500,000 limit is in the annual aggregate rather than being available on an each and every claim basis.

The way to reduce premiums is to reduce the scope of the cover not the limit of indemnity, by allowing insurers to reject claims or policies where fraud or deception is involved. It is about time the SRA took this aspect more seriously, which they now appear to be doing, albeit many years too late.

An article we’ve prepared on the matter, which appears in the June issue of Manchester Law Society’s ‘The Messenger’, is available to download and read here.

Disclaimer: MFL is happy for articles to be used in reputable publications, websites and companies in a public domain. Third parties that haven’t directly received this article in the form of an electronic press release must receive express permission from MFL, the sole owners of all of this website’s marketing and PR content.

To receive permission or to make further enquiries, call or email MFL’s Marketing team.

Martin Jackson

Tel: 0161 237 7728

E-mail: martinj@m-f-l.co.uk

Karolyn Judge

Tel: 0161 237 7734

E-mail: karolynj@m-f-l.co.uk

Cyber insurance news brief: What you need to know about the Heartbleed Bug

Right click on the image above to download the PDF version of this article

Right click on the image above to download the PDF version of this article

Making waves in the internet community is the discovery of the Heartbleed bug, a serious vulnerability that allows hackers to steal personal information that is normally protected by OpenSSL encryption.

OpenSSL provides security for Web applications, email, instant messaging and some and some virtual private networks.

According to Internet security services provider Netcraft, about half a million trusted websites are vulnerable to the bug…

To read on, download the PDF document here.

Contact the MFL Professional team to discuss Cyber Liability, on 0161 236 2532.

Disclaimer: MFL is happy for articles to be used in reputable publications, websites and companies in a public domain. Third parties that haven’t directly received this article in the form of an electronic press release must receive express permission from MFL, the sole owners of all of this website’s marketing and PR content.

To receive permission or to make further enquiries, call or email MFL’s Marketing team.

Martin Jackson

Tel: 0161 237 7728

E-mail: martinj@m-f-l.co.uk

Karolyn Judge

Tel: 0161 237 7734

E-mail: karolynj@m-f-l.co.uk

 

MFL celebrates professional excellence at LI Awards 2013

Martin Jackson and Wayne Hemingway with Churchman Landscape Architects who were highly commended award in the Neighbourhood Planning category

Martin Jackson and Wayne Hemingway with Churchman Landscape Architects who were highly commended award in the Neighbourhood Planning category

McParland Finn Ltd joined international British designer Wayne Hemingway to toast landscape architecture’s top talent at this year’s Landscape Institute Awards.

Director Martin Jackson presented prizes on behalf of MFL. The awards were in the Neighbourhood Planning category, with Glasgow-based ERZ receiving the winning prize while Churchman Landscape Architects was highly commended.

Director of Erz, Felicity Steers, receives the winning award in the Neighbourhood Planning  category.

Director of Erz, Felicity Steers, receives the winning award in the Neighbourhood Planning category.

Martin also gave the Design for a Large-Scale Private Development award to winner Grant Associates.

The awards recognise innovation, technical expertise and creativity involved in completed projects by members of the profession, both on a national and global basis.

Grant Associates, who won the Design for a Large-Scale Private Development category

Grant Associates, who won the Design for a Large-Scale Private Development category.

Martin said: “It was fantastic to be associated with such a prestigious event, recognising the very best that the landscape profession has to offer.

“The LI Awards get better and better each year.”

McParland Finn operates LI Insurance Services, a trading arm of insurance broking service MFL Professional Partnerships.  LI Insurance Services is the long-standing PI insurance partner of the LI, administering the endorsed scheme for qualified members.

Find out more at www.li-insurance.co.uk or contact us at info@li-insurance.co.uk.

Disclaimer: MFL is happy for articles to be used in reputable publications, websites and companies in a public domain. Third parties that haven’t directly received this article in the form of an electronic press release must receive express permission from MFL, the sole owners of all of this website’s marketing and PR content.

To receive permission or to make further enquiries, call or email MFL’s Marketing and Development team.

Martin Jackson

Tel: 0161 237 7728

E-mail: martinj@m-f-l.co.uk

Karolyn Judge

Tel: 0161 237 7734

E-mail: karolynj@m-f-l.co.uk

Professional Values – Issue no.2

Dear CAAV Members,

Welcome to the second edition of “Professional Values”, the newsletter designed specifically to inform and advise rural surveying practices about their professional liability exposures and the insurance solutions available to protect them.

In this second issue, we focus on the difficult process of choosing the specialist Professional Indemnity insurance broker, who advises you on the cover you should take out, the underwriter you should insure with and the claims notification and handling process, and that of choosing the insurer itself, who makes a promise to indemnify you in the event of a claim against you, but who does not have the chance to prove its credentials to you (or otherwise) until you notify a claim to it.

Both choices should not be undertaken lightly in today’s Professional Indemnity Insurance market. In particular, you should note that many insurers, in order to seek alternative means of making an underwriting profit in a loss-making surveyors’ PII market, are looking for increasingly varied ways of avoiding paying claims through much stricter interpretations of the terms and conditions of the insurance policies they sell. This is why it is absolutely vital to choose the right insurer, and to take the professional advice of a specialist broker in this context. Remember that your livelihood and/or professional reputation may be on the line if you make the wrong choices.

As always, please let me know if there is a particular topic you wish us to include in future issues.

Yours sincerely,

Jonathan Leese, LLB FCII
Director and Chartered Insurance Broker
MFL Professional

Professional Values - Issue 2 - December 2013

To read on, download the PDF version of the article here or by right clicking the image above.

Disclaimer: MFL is happy for articles to be used in reputable publications, websites and companies in a public domain. Third parties that haven’t directly received this article in the form of an electronic press release must receive express permission from MFL, the sole owners of all of this website’s marketing and PR content.

To receive permission or to make further enquiries, call or email MFL’s Marketing and Development team.

Martin Jackson

Tel: 0161 237 7728

E-mail: martinj@m-f-l.co.uk

Karolyn Judge

Tel: 0161 237 7734

E-mail: karolynj@m-f-l.co.uk

Tackling the growing rise in third party claims against auditors

Third_Party_Claims_Auditors_optWanda Karow, Associate at Mills & Reeve LLP, lists ways for accountants to tackle third party claims made against them.

We are seeing a growing trend of claims against accountants arising out of audits and tax advice. As businesses have failed during the recession and continue to struggle during these difficult times, people often target professionals with PI cover to recover their losses.

Accountants are no exception. These claims are typically by third party investors in failed businesses claiming to have relied on accountants’ audit or tax advice before investing in the business. How should insurers and their insured accountants tackle these claims? We set out a summary of the law with some practical tips.

To read on, download the PDF version of the article here.

Disclaimer: MFL is happy for articles to be used in reputable publications, websites and companies in a public domain. Third parties that haven’t directly received this article in the form of an electronic press release must receive express permission from MFL, the sole owners of all of this website’s marketing and PR content.

To receive permission or to make further enquiries, call or email MFL’s Marketing and Development team.

Martin Jackson

Tel: 0161 237 7728

E-mail: martinj@m-f-l.co.uk

Karolyn Judge

Tel: 0161 237 7734

E-mail: karolynj@m-f-l.co.uk

Selling like hot cakes: MFL’s Coffee Morning for Macmillan

New_Raffle_CakeMFL has baked, brewed and eaten its way to nearly £160.00 for Macmillan.  Staff joined forces for the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning on Friday 27th of September, set up by the cancer charity in order to raise much-needed funds.

A total of £157.75 was raised on the day and tasty treats such as Morrocan tea, caramel macchiatos, a giant doughnut-shaped chocolate cake and gingerbread muffins were served.

Martin Jackson, Director, and Hayley Williamson, Assistant AdministratorStaff also got the chance to raise cash via competitions; 2 giant cupcakes were raffled off to winners Hayley, our assistant administrator, and Shelly, our marketing executive. There was a ‘Guess how many coffee beans in the jar?’ contest, too, which was won by our administrator, Jane.

A fantastic effort from all involved plus generous donations meant the morning was a success, proving fundraising doesn’t have to be as taxing as running a marathon. We may have to run one to work it all off, however!

Disclaimer: MFL is happy for articles to be used in reputable publications, websites and companies in a public domain. Third parties that haven’t directly received this article in the form of an electronic press release must receive express permission from MFL, the sole owners of all of this website’s marketing and PR content.

To receive permission or to make further enquiries, call or email MFL’s Marketing and Development team.

Martin Jackson

Tel: 0161 237 7728

E-mail: martinj@m-f-l.co.uk

Karolyn Judge

Tel: 0161 237 7734

E-mail: karolynj@m-f-l.co.uk

Stop Press – Important news about Berliner

Old_Bailey_Reflection_LARGEFirms who thought they’d tied up their Professional Indemnity renewal early this year with the Balva replacement, Berliner, should by now have received word from the company which manages them warning there is great uncertainty as to whether Berliner will be in a position to accept any PII risks for the forthcoming insurance year.

This will be difficult for firms to accept, particularly as most have already renewed (and paid their premiums) and now face a race to put alternative arrangements in place.

This renewal is made all the more difficult by the fact that the safety net of the Assigned Risks Pool is no longer in place and any firms who can’t source cover beyond the end of October are supposed to start to wind down their business and put their practice in to run-off.  The big question for the Balva/Berliner insured firms is who will be insuring the run-off?

With rates set to rise against the backdrop of this situation, firms finding themselves in this position need to act quickly.

MFL Professional is a specialist professional indemnity broker for lawyers and should you need help in securing alternative terms at renewal this year please call our insurance team on 0161 236 2532.

Disclaimer: MFL is happy for articles to be used in reputable publications, websites and companies in a public domain. Third parties that haven’t directly received this article in the form of an electronic press release must receive express permission from MFL, the sole owners of all of this website’s marketing and PR content.

To receive permission or to make further enquiries, call or email MFL’s Marketing and Development team.

Martin Jackson

Tel: 0161 237 7728

E-mail: martinj@m-f-l.co.uk

Karolyn Judge

Tel: 0161 237 7734

E-mail: karolynj@m-f-l.co.uk