Harry Peck - Piscal outlook

Please tell us about your company.

Established for 54 years, Bennetts of Sheffield sells fishing tackle through our shop and mail order. The internet is becoming increasingly important area of business for us.

What challenges do you face in the current economic market?

I believe we are struggling less than a large corporate because I control things without endless meetings going nowhere.

What insurance do you place and who do you place them with?

Fully comprehensive with NIG through our broker; all eggs in one basket for us.

We used Joseph W Burley & Partners as our broker for 40 years because it was a great personality that came to see me but we have just moved our book to BG Balderson & Partners due to a family connection; both are based in the Sheffield area. We had no complaints about Burleys but we cannot be with two brokers at a time.

Describe your relationship with your broker.

We have had good relationships with both Joseph W Burley & Partners and BG Balderson & Partners with a lot of personal attention and good achievements on our behalf.

I would never consider operating without a broker. When a claim comes they earn their brass as Burleys did for us after the floods in 2007.

In 1968, our broker at the time would not speak to me because he thought he was too important, so I replaced the broker; the personal approach matters.

Have you made a claim recently?

The Sheffield floods devastated our ground floor in June 2007.

Burleys was helpful but not perfect. I thought that it seemed to be on the side of the insurer some of the time. However, the loss adjusters were fair and good to be in touch with.

Are you cutting back your insurance spending in this economic market?

We are increasing our insurance spending as we are increasing our stock to combat poor deliveries from amateur suppliers.

What would you like to see improve in the insurance industry in order to help your business?

Sometimes, there could be more of an aggressive approach taken to finding a culprit where one exists for the loss.

When we made our claim for the floods in 2007, the surveyor came from the insurer and agreed with me that the flood was caused by reservoir release water. The insurer had knowledge of this but did not want to tackle Yorkshire Water because "the government would be behind them." Yorkshire Water and Severn Trent did not reply to my solicitor's letters.

The water came up three feet in 10 minutes and - 12 hours later - went down to nothing in 90 seconds. Rain could not have been the cause. The Health and Safety Executive in Sheffield said that, even though three people died that day, they could not accept or process a claim against a water board. Sheffield City Council will not take the water boards to task and in my opinion this whole area of is blighted by postcode lottery for all time.