A small Birmingham insurance broker has expanded into the business of insuring goods which have a high risk of theft even against armed gangs.

A large number of similar firms do not want to offer this type of insurance and many freight forwarders have already decided against providing the cover for clients.

But business in the vulnerable transportation sector has been won by Langley, Horrocks and Hart Insurance Services of The Green, Castle Bromwich.

Following new insurance regulations a number of warehouse operators, freight forwarders and logistics suppliers who had previously been allowed to offer insurance cover to their customers on goods in their care decided they did not wish to incur the additional expense and red tape that came with FSA involvement and the growing risks of hi-jacking.

The new insurance regulations came into effect in January 2005, when the FSA was given responsibility for regulating the selling of general insurance cover.

Langley, Horrocks and Hart has already insured some £100 million of high value theft goods, mainly electronic, in warehouses and in transit within the UK and abroad.

A substantial number of operators started to offer the minimum level of insurance cover required under their trade association memberships. This is normally no more than legal liability insurance.

David Langley, principal of Langley, Horrocks and Hart, said the problem for the customer whose goods are carried is that he must first prove negligence against the warehouse operator or carrier before a successful claim can be made and, even then, the sum he is able to claim is normally limited under the contract.

He said: "We picked-up on this new situation when a client advised us that he was unable to get more than the basic legal liability insurance from his carrier.

"The insurance would not offer the full value of the goods being carried, in this case mobile phones.

"Our client was sending the mobile phones to Europe and these, together with iPods, DVDs, camcorders, hand held computers, laptops and the like are generally attractive to gangs, often armed, who are prepared to steal in large quantities. They can also be disposed of easily. We recognised this was a major problem for the owners of the goods and we now believe we have provided a solution."