Higher Education

Higher Education insurance

Supporting more than 10 universities across the UK, we use our wealth of experience with large research institutions to present a fresh approach to university insurance managers.

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What type of risks do Higher Education institutions need to manage?

Managing the diverse risks in a Higher Education setting requires a strategic approach.

From the risk of water damage, fire, and flood claims across varied buildings, to ensuring the health, wellbeing, and experience of staff and students both in the UK and internationally, there are a multitude of challenges that require effective risk management and comprehensive insurance coverage.

Political instability, the adoption of new teaching methods and rising costs due to inflation all bring further risks when tuition fee income is fixed.

Why should universities choose Griffiths & Armour?

We have a dedicated Higher Education team with extensive experience in the wide range of operations, exposures, and challenges universities face. Our expert team have executed extensive property survey programs for multiple universities, enabling us to gain a deep understanding of each client’s unique operations and risks.

We’ve invested significantly in recruiting a team with diverse sector experience, and are experienced in handling the risks universities encounter as well as procurement rules.

Combined with our strong insurer relationships, we are ideally positioned to support any university.

What classes of insurance should Higher Education institutions consider?

Business Interruption insurance

Disruption from a fire, theft or other property damage can have a long term impact, and your organisation can suffer if you’re unable to operate until everything is fixed. Business Interruption insurance protects you, making sure you can continue delivering your services.

Capital Projects

Capital Projects involve managing various risks and issues including handling modern methods of construction, solving the unique challenges of listed buildings, and navigating the complexities of contract terms and conditions.

Liability Risks

We help you navigate Liability risks arising from students and staff on campus across large estates. This includes considerations such as Martyn’s Law and duty of care to students

Professional Indemnity insurance

Professional Indemnity (PI) insurance can help to protect you if your services or advice result in losses or damage for your clients, the public or other third parties – even years after the services were provided. PI insurance can help cover the costs of any compensation and legal fees that arise as the result of a claim against advice provided by you or your business.

Cyber insurance

Your network could be compromised by the loss of sensitive data or criminals holding commercial information to ransom. Cyber recovery can be costly, and Cyber insurance can help protect your organisation in the event of a data breach, security failure or cyber attack.

Travel Risks

With universities holding an increasing presence overseas and large cohorts of students travelling as part of their degrees, travel insurance can create a significant volume of work for insurance managers. We help you navigate any risks with confidence, protecting you against any claim.

Clinical Trial Risks

Clinical trials at research universities can be complex and high risk despite all of the research and precautions taken. It is vital that universities are protected and can cover any risks for both researchers and participants.

Beyond Protection

Beyond Protection is our end-to-end support designed to empower your business at every stage.

Our team gives you the tools to increase resilience and create peace of mind, no matter the challenge.

We mitigate potential risks and enhance long-term business operations through our cutting-edge risk management platform.

Risk management platform

We work closely with you to manage your claims efficiently, for a seamless experience.

Claims management

Our expert team uses leading insights to analyse macro and regulatory environments so we can help find cover for risks where others would struggle.

Market insight

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FAQs

Professional Indemnity insurance seems to be presenting challenges, what advice would you give to Universities considering alternative solutions?

The market has been dominated by one insurer for larger Universities RSA who have increased rates and restricted cover over recent years. Medium sized and smaller Universities have also been able to secure cover from direct writing insurers (Zurich Municipal) or the sector mutual (UMAL). Griffiths & Armour have been able to secure competitive primary quotations from at least two other insurers who are tentatively entering or re-entering the market and we would be happy to discuss the benefits of marketing your risks and the pros and cons of such insurers with Universities. We are also investigating alternative options such as a Captive insurer for the sector, get in touch to find out more.

Property Placements have seen increases, higher excesses and coinsurance or layered policies for some large Universities, what are the implications of this following the withdrawal of Zurich Municipal from the larger University market and what advice can you give regarding our approach to renewal?

Good risk management survey reports which articulate your main risk exposures (in particular construction details and accumulations of values) will be critical. We work closely with clients to ensure our survey reports are updated on a rolling basis so that we can explain potential EMLS (Estimated Maximum Loss Scenarios) to the market and give you well informed advice on the appropriate limit of cover you should purchase. We do not charge for such survey work and look to include it in our annual service fee as it delivers a significant differentiator when we are broking your risk.

What is the best way for us to approach the market to help us secure the most favourable renewal outcome?

We work closely with insurance managers and their procurement teams to agree a strategy for delivering the best market outcome. This can include formal tender processes such as CCS for certain policies which ensures that terms are delivered in a timely manner and follows a transparent scoring approach. We have been able to persuade new insurers to join the CCS framework to stimulate more competition for University risks. Through pre-tender engagement meetings with insurers and/or insurer days we can help secure a positive outcome for our University clients, with insurers who can meet the brief in terms of price, cover and service.
A formal tender is not always recommended, particularly where the market is restricted (such as Professional Indemnity). Another scenario where flexibility may be helpful is co-insured property risks as there is available competitive capacity but sometimes with insurers who do not participate on the framework. Our approach is to create a compelling market presentation including survey reports and clear claims experience as well as a tailored cover specification in conjunction with you. We would be happy to discuss how we do this with you.

"From day one, Griffiths & Armour put the work in, providing a plan of action and arranging and conducting surveys to get us in the best possible position for prospective insurers. Amazingly, but testament to the team’s dedication and work ethic they were able to find alternative property insurers in such a hard market and with a challenging claims experience at a slightly reduced cost as well as with an increased policy loss limit. They communicated regularly and provided some fantastic succinct reports so that we could manage expectations with management and for forecasting, avoiding any nasty surprises. Aside from the tender and renewal processes our account manager is a godsend, she is so supportive and by our side providing knowledgeable guidance, clearly communicating any points, and getting involved in discussions and meetings with other areas of the University. It is a pleasure to speak to and work with any of the team at Griffiths & Armour. I only wish we had found them sooner."

Insurance Manager, University of Sheffield

"The University of Nottingham’s move to Griffiths & Armour has been an extremely positive experience. The depth of specialism in the team working with the University has added considerable value to the service the Insurance Team are able to offer the University. All of the underwriting challenges that we throw at Griffiths & Armour have been met head on and solutions provided. The Claims Manager has proactively worked with us to improve relationships with insurers and deliver better outcomes for the University. We have benefitted from the excellent risk management support that G&A provide which we are using to improve risk in several key areas. The team are resilient and provide a seamless service which continues during holiday periods. Griffiths & Armour has become a part of the Insurance Team and seem genuinely committed working with us to deliver the best results for the University."

Insurance Manager, University of Nottingham

"Griffiths & Armour were appointed as Insurance Broker to the University of Liverpool in May 2019. From day one they have shared their expertise and knowledge to shape a tailored insurance and risk management programme to meet the needs of the University. I have been impressed with their efficient and personalised approach. I view Griffiths & Armour as a natural extension of the insurance team at the University, always available when needed and often going beyond just placing our insurance policies."

Insurance Manager, University of Liverpool

"The G&A team worked hard up front to undertake surveys and meetings with stakeholders to present our risk to insurers. The renewal process felt well managed and less rushed than in the past and the level of communication throughout has helped manage expectations during the process."

Director Legal Services, Manchester Metropolitan University