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Article by Direct Line for Business – Public Liability Insurance

After some of the most severe snow for 20 years, insurer Direct Line for Business is urging business owners to ensure they limit the possibility of customers and staff slipping and getting injured.

According to Direct Line for Business, if members of the public were to slip on ice on a business? premises and the owner had not undertaken the appropriate action, such as clearing the ice or placing relevant warning signs, they could potentially be liable if a claim was made. Businesses need to ensure they are able to demonstrate due care had been taken to minimise the likelihood of an accident.

Kate Syred, Head of Direct Line for Business says: ?With the recent snow fall now turning into ice, it is essential that business owners think about how to mitigate any potential dangers for their customers and staff. It is also worth ensuring they have the appropriate insurance in the event of any accidents, as although employers? liability insurance is compulsory by law, public liability is not.?

In addition to potential accidents such as people slipping on ice or water, melting snow drifts and ice can also be hazardous. In order to mitigate the risks, Direct Line has the following tips for businesses:

? If members of the public or employees use any part of a business? premises such as a walkway, it is essential any ice is cleared or gritted accordingly. Even if a pedestrian walked across a shop?s forecourt or a pub?s car park and slipped, the business owner could be liable.

? Ice and snow also mean wet floors, so it is essential it is either mopped up or warning signs are placed notifying people of the potential risk. Remember, if a floor has been mopped up it may still be slippery so warning signs should still be used.

? Snow melting and falling from roofs can also be a danger. Whilst no attempt should be made to climb onto a roof to remove it, action should be taken to cordon off the area where the snow might fall onto unsuspecting pedestrians and appropriate warning signs placed around the area.

? Staff should be appropriately trained and aware of the correct action to take. The business owner may not be there all the time, so it is essential employees are aware of any potential dangers and how to deal with or avoid them.

For more information contact:

Simon HenrickDirect Line Press office020 8313 596507833 166717Email: Simon.henrick@rbs.co.uk

Notes to editors:

Direct Line for Business

Launched in 2007 Direct Line for Business provides a range of insurance products for the small business sector direct by phone or on-line.

Direct Line for Business is part of RBS Insurance, the second largest general insurer in the UK and is wholly owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland Group. Customers can find out more about Direct Line for Business products or get a quote by calling 0845 303 1760 or visiting http://www.directline.com

Direct Line Insurance plc is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Registered office: 3 Edridge Road, Croydon, Surrey CR9 1AG. Registered in England and Wales no. 01810801. The Financial Services Authority’s Register can be accessed through http://www.fsa.gov.uk/register

About the Author

Visit http://www.directlineforbusiness.co.uk for more information on their public liability insurance offers and get an online.

More Business Articles

Find Small Business Website Design HERE

Facts about Small Business Website Design:

Did you know that over 50% of small businesses currently have a website? And that 13% of small businesses that do not have a website plan on having one within the next 12 months?
Now you may ask yourself why so many small businesses are searching for small business website design? Well in this article we will help you understand why having a website for your small business is key to success.

First of all the main reason why your business should have a website is to win new customers from the internet, duh! If you don’t have a website then how do you expect to gain new customers from the internet? Its 2010 ladies and gentlemen and today everyone is using the internet! What sounds easier? Looking for your yellowpages book and flipping around pages for 5 minutes looking for a plumber or just typing up Plumber in XX, California in Google ?!

The second reason why you should be searching for small business website design is because your competition is doing it! If your competition has a website and you don’t that means that 100% of customers going on the internet will be finding them and 0% will be finding you. Now ask yourself this: Did you start your own business to have your competition win all the new clients? I didn’t think so.

Another very important reason why your business NEEDS a website is 24 hour access to your products and services. Let me elaborate, just because your work day ends at 5pm everyday doesn’t mean potential clients aren’t searching for you type of product or service. When you have a website your product or service is featured 24/7/365 and is accessible to anyone on the internet. You are essentially winning new clients while you sleep.

All of these reasons and many more bring us to the conclusion that having a website for your small business is a necessity and in this rough economy you cannot afford to not be on the internet, it is where you will gain most of your new business. I would advise any small business owners to start searching for small business website design as soon as possible.

Gain New Clients with Small Business Website Design

One of the most important talents any management team of a business can have is to be able to detect changes in the marketplace and adjust how the business operates to function in that new market. Some call it “thinking outside the box” and others refer to this talent as “working with a new paradigm”. Whatever the term of the day is, without the flexibility to change as the market changes, a business is destined to fade away.

Of the many business and market trends that have changed the paradigm by which business is done in the new century, internet marketing ranks near the top of the most drastic and sweeping change that virtually every business has had to adapt to in order to survive and thrive in the new business world.

At first, most in the business world considered the internet to be a toy and perhaps a good communication tool. But in the last decade, the power of internet marketing and the need to compete in that marketplace has never been more evident. And just as business learns new marketing and communication methods when they enter a new market such as learning to do business overseas, the internet has brought with it entirely new tools and weapons that the modern business must learn to use skillfully to succeed in a cyberspace business environment.

Of the many new acronyms that have been added to the business vocabulary, “SEO” is one that is central to success in the internet marketing world. SEO stands for “Search Engine Optimization” and it is an entire discipline unto itself. By learning to utilize well developed SEO methods, a business can learn to dominate their particular market niche even in a cyberspace business world.

Just as in the conventional business world, to be successful with a particular market, you have to go where they are and learn to get noticed and get your message to the consumer even as your competition is doing the same thing. In the world outside of cyberspace that may mean various methods of advertising, promotional campaigns, good customer service and a long term promotional strategy that will grow the businesses market presence over time.

All of these business objectives remain the same in the world of internet marketing, but the “places” customers can be found are profoundly different. As such, it becomes critical that a business builds a modern and up to date web site that appeals to the customers perceptions of what they will expect when they come to shop with you and that stays up to date continuously s the internet continues to change and evolve.

But it isn’t enough to just have a state of the art business web site up for modern internet business web site to succeed. Just as to be successful in the physical world, customers must come to you or you must go to them. And the primary method of letting customers know who you are and drawing them to your well designed web site is to connect to them through a search engine such as Yahoo, Google or MSN.

Search Engine Optimization methods are powerful techniques that can be used to assure that when your customer looks for a business such as yours, they will notice you first and your competition second, or not at all. That means when the customer “searches” for your product or service on Google or another search engine, your business comes up on the first page of selections that the search engine finds.

SEO takes time, investment of funds and talent and skill to work with the search engines so your business gets that kind of attention. But it is worth the investment because the outcome can be an internet business presence that bring the kind of success every business wants.