Gemma Swankie from QUALITY ASSURED NATIONAL WARRANTIES (QANW) sets the record straight around consumer protection schemes and explains what contractors need to check when they are looking for policies.
Is your consumer protection scheme worth paying for?
The world of consumer protection isn’t always clear, especially if you start looking into the small print and disclaimers. Generally, we take what we are sold at face value.
Unfortunately, there are some organisations which use smoke and mirror tactics to sell ‘consumer protection’ that, when it comes down to it, offers very little financial protection for homeowners or certainty for contractors.
Know your policy
When you’re looking for protection for your customer, the key thing to remember is to make sure that you are dealing with a UK Authorised Insurer offering a genuine insurance policy. If your scheme only talks about ‘guarantees’ rather than ‘insurance’ they may not be insuring your risk with a bona fi de policy in favour of your customer. It is always worth checking with your provider if this is the case.
Confidence for consumers
It comes down to the value of your reputation. Do you know what your financial protection actually offers your customers when you decide to retire, or start working with someone else? An Insurance Backed Guarantee (IBG) gives your customers complete confidence that their home improvement investment is properly protected. And that’s something you should be shouting about.
At QANW, it is our mission to change that ‘murky’ world of consumer protection into one that is easy to understand and offers better protection for both consumers and the roofing industry.
