CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE JUNE 2017
I have always taken the view that the best service businesses are those which not only provide an excellent service when doing the job today, but also back up what they do with simple and robust terms that ensure that users have peace of mind for the future.
It seems to me that the invasives sector needs to be particularly vigilant in providing peace of mind. Japanese Knotweed can take years to get rid of, so it is vitally important that property owners and managers are able rely on the company they have chosen to not only remediate the problem today, but provide peace of mind should the issue re-emerge a few years down the line. In any industry and every profession, robust warranties with appropriate insurance are essential, so that there is cover in place to protect the client, no matter what happens to the company that did the original treatment.
INNSA has spent a lot of time and resource in putting in place insurance to back up its members warranties to ensure that it provides industry leading cover for their customers. The INNSA policy is provided by a rated insurance company and provides ten-year cover that commences once a treatment programme has been completed and signed off by the remediator. There is no delay whatsoever in the cover taking affect – as is the case with some policies – and the policy itself has been designed specifically for invasive species treatment, and is not just as a weak add-on to a policy designed for other purposes.
We have been able to create this new insurance because INNSA members are required to subscribe to the Invasives Code which not only provides reassurance to INNSA members’ customers, but also to the property professionals that serve them. The Invasives Code is regulated by the independent Property Codes Compliance Board (PCCB) and as part of the oversight regime the PCCB regularly inspects subscribers to ensure that they are complying with the provisions of the Code which includes the compulsory use of the INNSA insurance policy. This means that customers of INNSA members can be reassured that they will always be properly covered by an insurance-backed warranty.
As can be seen in other sectors and professions, the best way to ensure the success of an industry is to raise quality standards, and the way to do that is through a strong representative trade body, a robust, independently-policed set of standards, and best-in-class insurance for clients. INNSA is delighted to be leading the charge on all three in the Invasives sector, and we would be delighted to discuss how we can help you, whether you are a remediator or client.