When the UK voted to leave the European Union (EU) back in 2016 and the prime minister triggered Article 50, the wheels were put in motion for a clean break from the EU in March 2019.
Come back to the present day, and Theresa May is still struggling to get her Brexit deal through Parliament, with a new vote scheduled for the second week of January after the first one was postponed at the eleventh hour to save a humiliating defeat in Westminster. All this means that the UK seems to be hurtling towards a no-deal departure from the EU.
Such a situation leaves the UK in a perilous situation, with no agreement as to how to conduct trade, whether that be in the import-export industry or financial services. For commercial property owners, that is bad news when it comes to insurance.
“A no-deal Brexit leaves commercial property owners in a tricky situation,” says M2 Recovery Founder Neil Holloway. “With no arrangements in place for how financial services can be traded cross-borders, property owners could find themselves having their insurance policies cancelled mid-term if their insurance provider is based in the EU and hasn’t put arrangements in place to continue trading in the UK in the event of a no-deal Brexit.”
“Full clarity around the legal implications surrounding these policies is yet to be achieved, so it is vitally important for property owners to ensure they have a good broker with an understanding of the situation so they can advise on the best course of action should Theresa May fail in her efforts to push through a deal.”
But for now, there is little commercial property owners can do if they have a policy that expires after Brexit Day on 29 March. For those who have a policy renewing before then, they might want to consider taking out a policy with an insurer based in the UK or risk being left uninsured if their policy is cancelled mid-term.