Don’t get left out in the cold this winter

23 September 2010

GRITIT launch the UK’s first ever winter insurance product. Leading UK commercial gritting organisation, GRITIT, is launching the UK’s first ever winter insurance product (Frost Cover Certificates), designed to protect businesses from the financial risks of adverse weather conditions.

GRITIT has partnered with Swiss based weather risk management specialist, CelsiusPro, to offer the fully customised Frost Cover Certificates. For a premium, businesses can receive automated payouts the minute pre-defined weather conditions occur.

Until now, facilities managers have been at the mercy of the weather, with unexpected office closures and lack of productivity costing dearly. It is essential that premises’ remain open in all weather conditions and that staff have safe access to their place of work.

Good quality gritting and snow clearing services deal with the challenge of keeping premises open for trading, but not knowing how many times in a winter these services will be needed means that budgets can easily be exhausted before the winter has passed. Frost Cover Certificates give facilities managers total control over their winter maintenance costs, potentially saving many thousands of pounds.

With GRITIT Frost Cover Certificates, companies can now create their own tailored solution to accurately match their risk profile and budget. The new certificates allow facilities managers to manage costs more effectively and ensure that they get paid promptly when pre-defined weather conditions occur. Unlike traditional insurance contracts, GRITIT Frost Cover Certificates pay out automatically, without the need to submit a claim.

Jason Petsch, Commercial Director of GRITIT, said: “The combined impact of recent extreme winter weather and the pressure on all sectors of the economy make the opportunity to limit the cost of vital spending on winter safety even more sensible than in less constrained times. The fact is that these so-called ‘extreme’ conditions are occurring with increasing regularity and Frost Cover Certificates are a very effective way of controlling the cost of combating this additional challenge.

“While balance sheets took a hammering last winter, the situation is potentially much more serious this year. The combined effects of slashed public spending budgets and a lack of liquidity in the economy mean that many businesses simply cannot afford to suffer in the same way again. Their very survival may depend upon it.”