Arlington
News & Blog

Professional Indemnity (PI) insurance is becoming increasingly important for today’s professionals. It protects them against claims for financial loss arising out of negligent advice, designs or specifications given in the course of their business.

From accountants and solicitors to dieticians and marketing experts – any professional who offers their knowledge, skills or advice as part of their work needs to consider PI cover. Today’s PI policies also typically offer a suite of additional covers, such as loss of documents, cost of criminal proceedings and protection of intellectual property rights. Zurich Insider has published a quick guide to understanding different approaches to PI cover and terminology… “the devil really is in the detail” (Mark Brundell, Head of Regional Professional Indemnity at Zurich). The article is available here.

Aviva have put together some helpful advice covering the basics of property, liability, motor and business continuity to help you be prepared for whatever the season may deliver, from damage to building by snow and cold weather to winter driving tips.

Helping you protect your business can be done in just a few easy steps. Click here for further information on Aviva’s risk management bulletin which provides recommendations and checklists to help put managing the risks of the season into practice.

… from the DAC Beachcroft real estate asset management group: Renewing interest in lease renewals.

If your tenant is delaying agreeing a lease renewal you can encourage them to move things forward by flagging the SDLT incentives, a couple of which are highlighted below:

1. SDLT leases with security of tenure under the 1954 Act “grow” once held over for a year, requiring a further SDLT return to be filed and most likely requiring additional SDLT to be paid. This is an administrative burden for the tenant and may lead to a greater overall SDLT liability for them. This is avoided if the new lease is agreed within a year of the old lease expiring.

2. Alternatively, where the old lease was subject to stamp duty and has been held over, you may be able to greatly reduce the tenant’s SDLT liability by not requiring the new lease to be backdated to the day after the old lease expired. The value of this will depend on any rent increases in the holdover period and calculations should be done to find the most tax efficient option.

Knowledge of points such as these can strengthen your negotiating position with your tenant.

… from the DAC Beachcroft real estate asset management group: repayment of rent paid in advance. Click here

Rights to light issues are becoming increasingly common, and although cases that end up in court remain rare, the consequences of disputes can be serious. Developers who infringe neighbours’ rights to light can be forced to pay compensation or even tear down a completed building.

The amount of natural light neighbouring property owners enjoy might seem a minor consideration for a developer embarking on a major commercial development, however rights to light are protected in law.

Zurich examine four ways of addressing rights to light issues: click here to read the full Zurich Insider article.